It’s that time of the year again and as we all know there are many things that need to be completed to make sure we remain compliant with Australian Taxation Office and Fairwork requirements. 

Following are just a few of the things your need to consider at this time of year.

1 July 2023

The Super Guarantee goes from 10.5% to 11.0%. If your pay run finishes on 30 June 2023 and you do not pay the wages until the 1 July 2023 then you will need to apply the new rate of 11.0% for that pay run. Most software providers will update the software for you but just do a quick calculation on your first pay run to ensure it is updated. 

Check the current award for your industry as 1 July 2023 is when the new awards are published. The new rates only apply to your first full pay run after 1 July 2023. Also check your award for other updates (e.g. Christmas shutdown rules have changed). 

14 July 2023 

An end of year payroll STP finalisation declaration needs to be completed. If not finalised by the due date, it should be done as soon as possible thereafter. This is to ensure that employees can access their information to complete their income tax return.

STP reporting allows employees to view their payment information at any time through their myGov account. It is not advisable to finalise your STP prior to 1 July 2023 as they are performing software updates right up until this date. Lodgements prior to this may not be accepted.

How to prepare for finalisation

Ensure that the STP information is correct.

• Check that all employee details are correct and up to date, including:

1. Name and address details, including state, postcode and email address.
2. Tax file numbers (TFN). If exemption codes (e.g., 000 000 000) were used initially, have they been updated or checked?
3. Employee superannuation details, including advising their superannuation funds of their TFN details.
4. Termination dates – check that terminated employees’ information and termination dates are up to date.

• Check that payroll activity and ATO STP reports match/reconcile at a completed date prior to 30th June so that any discrepancies or omissions may be corrected prior to finalisation.
• Check that all payroll categories are assigned to correct ATO categories for STP reporting.

The following software links will give you a detailed guide on finalising your payroll.

MYOB: https://help.myob.com.au/academy/eofy/documents/eofy_payroll_checklist.pdf

Xero: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Payroll-year-end

Quickbooks: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-au/help-article/payroll-compliance/create-lodge-finalisation-event

Reckon: https://www.reckon.com.au/blog/Documents/EndofFinancialYearProcesses_payroll.pdf

28 July 2023 

The June quarter employee superannuation is due. This does not mean you have until the 28 July 2023 to pay the super. It is due in the employee’s superannuation fund account by the 28 July 2023, so best practice would be to have it remitted and paid by the 14 July 2023 to avoid interest and penalties being imposed by the ATO. We note that you can be penalised for overdue payments even though it may only be two or three days overdue.

28 August 2023

Your taxable payments annual report must be lodged by 28 August 2023.

If you have any questions or concerns, we are always here to help.

From the bookkeeping Dream Team.