By Vanessa Sweeney, Practice Manager.
End of financial year is always a busy time for business owners and payroll obligations can be time consuming. Though there are still a few months to go, we’ve put together some helpful tips on what you can do now to make the payroll end of year process smoother and more efficient.
by Melissa Probert, Associate Director.
As the end of the financial year draws closer it’s a great time for employers to start planning for the processes required to close out a payroll year. End of year finalisation is required to be lodged with the ATO by the 14th July.
By Saumya Biskudanaruppage, Accountant.
Accountant Saumya has put together a helpful summary of recent ATO changes and updates. As always, we are here to guide you through these changes, please contact us if you need more information or clarification on any of these topics.
by Vanessa Sweeney, Practice Manager
There are a range of wage subsidies available to business to assist with the cost of hiring new employees. With many businesses looking to hire new staff but still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, any reduction in employment expenses can be helpful. Some subsidies may only apply to certain employers and employees and all have strict criteria that must be met to ensure existing employees are not displaced or disadvantaged. We can assist you to determine eligibility for these subsidies and in some cases apply on your behalf, please contact us if you have any queries or would like information specific to your business or circumstances.
by Mike Sweeney
Update - Legislation passed in February 2019 to extend Single Touch Payroll (STP) to employers with 19 or fewer employees starting from 1 July 2019. Small employers (5-19 employees) will need to begin reporting by 30 September 2019 but can begin reporting early if already using payroll software which offers STP. Deferrals past 30 September 2019 can also be applied for from the ATO. Micro Employers (1-4 employees) not currently using STP enabled software will have the option of reporting quarterly instead of each time payroll is run. Flexible reporting options are also available for employers with closely held payees (eg family members working in a business). More information on STP and reporting requirements and options can be found here https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Single-Touch-Payroll/What-is-STP
Lee Green has reviewed the low ($10 or less per month) and no cost STP software solutions listed on the ATO website and can provide advice on which option will best suit your business. Lee Green may also be able to report through STP on your behalf. Please call us on (08) 8333 3666 or email us for any STP queries.
Single Touch Payroll (STP) starts from 1 July 2018 for employers with 20 or more employees and will be expanded to include employers with 19 or less employees from 1 July 2019. STP will require employers to report salary and wages, allowances, deductions, tax and superannuation to the ATO each time you pay employees in line with your current pay cycle.
Employers will require STP ready software and those with STP compliant software can choose to report before 1 July 2019. Most employers will find that commonly available commercial software solutions will be compliant however we recommend that you check with your provider to ensure your software is ready by the relevant start date.
