Single Touch Payroll is a Government initiative to streamline business reporting obligations. It is a major change in the way employers report wages, tax and super information to the ATO. Single Touch Payroll will require you to report salary or wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and super information to the ATO from your accounting software at the same time you pay your employees. Instead of reporting wages and PAYG withholding to the ATO on your monthly activity statements or quarterly BAS’s and super details via your Super clearing house you will report these details to the ATO on every payday.
You need to count the number of employees on your payroll at 1 April 2018 and if it is 20 or more, you will need to report through Single Touch Payroll from 1 July 2018. If you have 19 or less employees Single Touch Payroll reporting will be optional until 1 July 2019. Note that part time, casual, seasonal and employees absent or on leave are all included in the count.
