The extension of Single Touch Payroll to employers with 19 or less employees has passed both Houses on 12 February 2019, after late amendments were tabled in late last year.
The Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 4) Bill 2018 secured passage today after it was referred back to the House of Representatives last December due to proposed amendments to other measures contained in the same bill.
This will mean that employers with 19 or less employees will have to report under STP rules from 1 July 2019. Businesses with 20 or more employees began reporting from 1 July 2018.
There are approximately 781,908 businesses with 19 or less employees in Australia. That’s about 36.8 per cent of Australian businesses, according to ABS data. Broken down, microbusinesses with 1–4 employees account for 584,744 of that total, and the remaining 197,164 are businesses with 5–19 employees.
What does this mean for employers and your business?
The ATO has published an updated list of suppliers who will provide payroll software that utilise STP. Major accounting software providers MYOB and Xero have announced their lSTP products for the micro business space- one for employers, and one for tax and BAS agents.
At Elliott Webb, we provide complete payroll and STP solutions that are affordable, easy to use and takes only minutes to complete each pay period; and does not require you to maintain any software. Contact us today to see how this can benefit you.
Regardless of your preferred option, STP will be compulsory for all businesses of any size from 1 July 2019 so action will be required. STP follows a global trend to real time reporting to tax authorities, which are then used by the ATO to ensure compliance and identify audit risks. Coinciding with STP, we recommend you ensure your payroll obligations (e.g. superannuation, PAYG, payroll tax) are up to date.
Please contact us if you have any questions at info@elliottwebb.com.au
