Cash in hand payments no longer deductible
‘Cash in hand’ payments to workers no longer tax deductible The ATO has reminded employers that any ‘cash in hand’ payments made to workers from 1 July 2019 will not be tax deductible. ‘Cash in hand’ refers to cash payments to employees that do not comply with pay as you go (‘PAYG’) withholding obligations. Payments […]
Payroll update
Single Touch Payroll Update Employers with 19 or fewer employees are required to start reporting through Single Touch Payroll (‘STP’) from 1 July 2019. The ATO will be working with employers to support them as they transition to STP, including allowing small employers to start reporting any time from 1 July to 30 September (and […]
Minimum Wage Decision
National Minimum Wage increase The Fair Work Commission’s Minimum Wage Panel (“Panel”) has this week handed down its minimum wage decision which increased the National Minimum Wage, together with all Modern Award minimum rates of pay, by 3.0%. The Panel considered the current economic environment and reasoned that economic indicators now point to a healthy […]
Single Touch Payroll deferrals
Transitional deferrals A transitional deferral should be used if you need more time to get ready to report through Single Touch Payroll (STP) including, being unable to report by your software provider’s deferred start date or needing more time to transition. Employers with 20 or more employees Your software provider may have applied to us for a […]
Employer warning re leave loading and OTE
ATO warning regarding annual leave loading and OTE The ATO has warned employers that it considers that annual leave loading should normally be part of ordinary time earnings (‘OTE’) for superannuation guarantee (‘SG’) purposes, unless it is referrable to a “lost opportunity to work overtime”. Therefore, if employers have self-assessed on the basis that their […]
Other Federal Budget changes
Other announced changes Increased refunds for eligible primary producers and tourism operators The Government will provide further relief to farmers and tourism operators by amending the luxury car tax refund arrangements. For vehicles acquired on or after 1 July 2019, eligible primary producers and tourism operators will be able to apply for a refund of […]
Single Touch Payroll Update Mar-19
Understanding STP obligations Single Touch Payroll (‘STP’) is a Government initiative aimed at cutting red tape for employers and improving visibility of compliance with business obligations such as: salary and wages and similar payments; Pay As You Go (‘PAYG’) withholding; and certain superannuation related information; by requiring ‘real time’ reporting of payroll information directly to […]
Transition to Single Touch Payroll for small employers
Statement from Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan about transition to Single Touch Payroll for small employers Parliament has now passed legislation to extend Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting to include all small employers (those with fewer than 20 employees) from 1 July 2019. STP is pay day reporting by employers to the ATO as it happens, this reporting […]
Single Touch Payroll for all employers
From 29 Jan the ATO will write to small employers with <19 employees that already use payroll software. You will be told about Single Touch Payroll (STP), and reminded that you don’t need to wait for legislation to pass to start reporting through STP. If your payroll software offers STP you can update your software […]
Summary of single touch payroll
What is single touch payroll and how will it affect your business? Single touch payroll is a new regulation that changes when and how small businesses report payroll activity to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Businesses used to report this information to the ATO once a year. Now, they need to send a report after […]
