Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 is a move towards a more complete digital record and reporting. Making it easier for everyone. The way employers manage Single Touch Payroll won’t change, it just means that additional information will need to be reported when processing payroll.

What Stays The Same

• The way you lodge your STP report
• STP reports will still be due on or before payday unless you are eligible for a reporting concession
• The types of payments that are in scope for STP reporting
• Taxation and superannuation obligations
• End of year finalisation requirements

What’s Changing

Phase 2 means that the ATO will require more information, but make it easier for employers to report specific payment details made to employees across all income streams:

• Gross Income will require a breakdown to include gross residual, salary sacrifice, bonus and commissions, overtime, director fees and paid leave
• Allowances will require a breakdown to include car expenses, laundry allowances, meal allowances, travel and accommodation

New fields will be required to be completed to give more accurate descriptions of your employees. These include:

• Employment basis
• Reason for cessation
• Tax scale
• Offset Amount

What’s New?

• Automated Reports: Child support agencies will automatically receive reports for deductions or wage garnishing as a total for the period.
• Easier to report on back payments: Updated capability to capture back-payments, and payments in arrears for previous reporting periods
• One less report: With the new format of the STP report, employers will no longer need to send in employees TFN Declarations

Do you have a deferral date?

Employers reporting STP using Xero Payroll have until 31 March 2023 to report their first STP Phase 2 pay run, instead of the 1 January 2022 ATO deadline. Click here for more information on becoming STP Phase 2 ready with Xero.

For MYOB‘s small business customers, the software provider has secured deferrals of the compliance deadline to 1 January 2023. Click here for more information on becoming STP Phase 2 ready with MYOB.