Single Touch Payroll (STP) started 1 July 2018 for businesses employing 20 or more employees.  STP is now compulsory for all businesses including those with less than 20 employees as of 1 July 2019.  It’s time to get ready for STP.

Some things you can do right now:

Review your business processes

  • Make sure the right people in your business know about Single Touch Payroll – especially your payroll staff
  • Check if you are paying your employees correctly
  • Check if you are calculating your employees’ super entitlements correctly
  • Check if you are addressing overpayments correctly
  • Is your employee information accurate, including names, addresses, date-of-birth records?

Contact your payroll software provider

  • Your payroll software provider can let you know when your payroll software will be ready for Single Touch Payroll
  • Find out how your payroll software provider will offer Single Touch Payroll reporting – this may be through an update to your existing software, or an additional service
  • Check if they have a deferred start date
  • Find out what support they will offer to their clients to transition to Single Touch Payroll
  • Subscribe to their communications – this may be email, newsletter, web updates

Connect with the ATO

  • The ATO is working closely with payroll solution and service providers and they regularly publish information on their website and newsletters
  • Subscribe to updates from the ATO – Go to https://www.ato.gov.au/business/single-touch-payroll/
  • Follow the ATO on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Make sure the ATO has the right contact details for your business or organisation

Apply for more time, if you need it

  • If your software will be ready, but you won’t, you will need to apply to the ATO for a deferred start date
  • To find out about the ATO’s deferral process visit https://www.ato.gov.au/business/single-touch-payroll/
  • If your payroll software provider has a deferred start date, and you still need more time, you will need to apply for your own deferral
  • Make sure you follow the ATO guidelines and provide all the evidence required

Connect with  Taxation and Business Consultants

We’re here to help you be STP ready.  We offer a free consultation for new clients seeking help to transition to Single Touch Payroll.

We can also provide you with a free STP checklist. For more information about how we can help Phone or Email us or use the contact form on this page. You may also wish to review relevant pages on our website:

Options for smaller employers

The ATO states “Different STP reporting options will be available by 1 July 2019 to help smaller employers. However, we won’t force employers with 19 or less employees to purchase payroll software if they don’t currently use it.   We have asked software developers to build low-cost STP solutions at or below $10 per month for micro employers – including simple payroll software, mobile phone apps and portals. A register of providers who intend to build these solutions is available by clicking here. 

Micro employers (1–4 employees) will also have a number of alternative options that are not available to employers with 20 or more employees – such as initially allowing your registered tax or BAS agent to report quarterly, rather than each time you run your payroll. Exemptions to STP reporting will also be available if you have no internet or an unreliable connection.”

For more information about how we can help Phone or Email us or use the contact form on this page.