Aus Govt urging payroll providers to prepare for new legislation

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will write to employers in March 2018 advising them to take action to prepare for Single Touch Payroll (STP) – the next step in streamlining payroll reporting.

The letter will outline that from July 1, 2018, Australian employers with 20 or more employees will need to use STP-enabled software to report employees' tax and super information to the ATO.

It will also detail the steps they will need to take to prepare for STP.

ATO assistant commissioner John Shepherd says Digital Service Providers (DSPs) should be prepared to provide advice and implementation support to employers in the lead up to July 1, 2018.

"Digital Service Providers play a vital role in ensuring their users have the right information at the right time to adequately prepare for Single Touch Payroll.

"It's likely you'll receive an increasing number of enquiries from current and prospective users in the coming weeks and months," he says.

"As a first step, digital service providers should advise users when their product will be Single Touch Payroll-ready, and encourage them to visit the ATO website to download the 'Get ready checklist'.

If you have applied for a deferral the ATO will issue you a letter which you can provide to your users to confirm the deferred start date.

"We know that some users may not be ready to implement Single Touch Payroll by July 1, 2018, or your deferred start date. They should apply for their own deferral.

"We'll also continue working closely with digital service providers over coming months to ensure that Single Touch Payroll can be successfully implemented.

As part of the new reporting system, employers will report payments such as salaries and wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and super information to the ATO when they pay their employees.