The Government has passed legislation that requires real time reporting of payroll data to the ATO at each pay period, making it mandatory for all employers to use Single Touch Payroll from 1 July 2019.
Single Touch Payroll has been a requirement for businesses with 20 or more staff from mid-2018. The new legislation now requires every employer – even those with only one staff member – to use the online reporting system from July this year.
Staff include full-time, part-time, casual, overseas, absent, and seasonal employees, and excludes independent contractors, employees provided through labour hire, or company directors or officeholders working for your business.
If you do not have Single Touch Payroll, and you have more than one employee, you will need to implement this new system by 1 July 2019.
For some clients, this change may require a simple set-up in their existing accounting system. For others, it may require moving away from, or altering, legacy accounting methods to enable the Single Touch Payroll feature to work. If you are looking to move to a new accounting software, we suggest looking at Xero as an option for your business.Â
If you are unsure about whether your accounting software is Single Touch Payroll compliant or if you would like to know more about Xero, please call us on (08) 6212 7200.
