Please see below information from us and the National Tax & Accountant’s Association (NTAA). If you have any questions please contact Nicole or Kim on 03 9587 7316, email info@bayviewaccounting.com.au or visit our website at bayviewaccounting.com.au.
Small employers (19 or fewer employees) are currently exempt from reporting ‘closely held’ payees through Single Touch Payroll (‘STP’). Also, a quarterly STP reporting option applies to micro employers (four or fewer employees). These concessions will end on 30 June 2021.
The STP reporting changes that apply for these employers from 1 July 2021 are outlined below.
From 1 July 2021, small employers must report payments made to closely held payees through STP using any of the options below. Other employees must continue to be reported by each payday.
A ‘closely held payee’ is an individual who is directly related to the entity from which they receive payments. For example, this could include family members of a family business, directors or shareholders of a company, and beneficiaries of a trust.
Payments to such payees can be reported via STP (from 1 July 2021) using any of the following options:
1. Report actual payments on or before the date of payment.
2. Report actual payments quarterly on or before the due date for the employer’s quarterly activity statements.
3. Report a reasonable estimate quarterly on or before the due date for the employer’s quarterly activity statements. Note that consequences may apply for employers that under-estimate amounts reported for closely held payees.
Small employers with only closely held payees have up until the due date of the payee’s tax return to make a finalisation declaration. Employers will need to speak with these payees about when their individual income tax return is due.
From 1 July 2021, the quarterly reporting concession will only be considered for eligible micro employers experiencing ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Common examples of when the ATO would generally consider it to be fair and reasonable to grant a deferral due to exceptional or unforeseen circumstances include natural disasters, other disasters or events, serious illness or death.
Additionally, ‘exceptional circumstances’ for access to the STP quarterly reporting concession from 1 July 2021 may include where a micro employer has:
The ATO says it will consider any other unique circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
It should be noted that registered agents must apply for this concession and lodge STP reports, quarterly, on behalf of their eligible micro employer clients.
The STP reports are due the same day as the employer’s quarterly activity statements.
If an employer prefers to report monthly, the STP reports must be lodged on or before the 21st day of the following month.
Finalisation declarations will need to be submitted by 14 July each year.
NOTE
Single Touch Payroll (STP) is an ATO compliance regulation that requires employers to send employee payroll information including salary, wages, PAYG withholding, and superannuation to the ATO at the same time as their standard pay run.
Please contact our office if you require more information or assistance with these STP reporting options.
The ATO has previously advised that it will no longer issue paper activity statements after electronic lodgment. Instead, electronic activity statements will be available for access online, three to four days after the activity statement is generated.
As part of its digital improvement program, the ATO stopped issuing paper quarterly PAYG and GST instalment notices (forms R, S & T), where taxpayers had a digital preference on ATO systems. The September 2020 notice was the last one issued to these taxpayers.
However, the ATO has received feedback from tax professionals that issues have arisen for some of their clients as a result of this change. For example, some taxpayers who are self-lodgers rely on the receipt of the paper statements as a reminder that their instalments are due.
As an interim solution, the ATO said it will issue paper PAYG and GST quarterly instalment notices starting with the March 2021 quarterly notices.
For taxpayers impacted by this change, the ATO will work with their registered agents to take their circumstances into account. The ATO has a range of practical support options available, including lodgment deferrals and payment plans that agents can access online, on behalf of their clients.
For self-lodgers, the ATO has issued an email notification reminding them that their December 2020 PAYG and GST instalment notices are due for payment soon (by 2 March 2021).
The ATO said it will continue to work with the tax profession to develop a digital solution for the PAYG and GST instalment notices that is workable for registered agents and their clients.
If you have any questions please contact Kim or me on 03 9587 7316 or email info@bayviewaccounting.com.au or visit our website at bayviewaccounting.com.au.
The superannuation guarantee (‘SG’) amnesty ended on 7 September 2020.
Employers who disclosed unpaid SG amounts and qualified for the amnesty are reminded that they must either pay in full any outstanding amounts they owe or set up a payment plan and meet each ongoing installment amount so as to avoid being disqualified and losing the benefits of the amnesty.
The ATO will be sending employers reminders to pay disclosed amounts if they have not previously engaged with the ATO. Employers will have 21 days to avoid being disqualified from the amnesty.
Registered agents can assist their employer clients who qualified for the SG amnesty avoid disqualification. In particular, if a client needs to set up a payment plan, agents can do this (online) on their behalf, if the employer:
The ATO has advised that employers who are disqualified from the amnesty will:
Employers who continue to qualify for the SG amnesty are reminded that they can only claim a tax deduction for amounts paid on or before 7 September 2020 (i.e., the amnesty end date).
With the end of the tax year looming, I thought it would be a great time to remind you that your logbooks need to be updated every 5 years. Below are some helpful reminders for maintaining your logbook.
If this is the first year you have used the logbook method, you must keep a logbook for at least 12 continuous weeks during the income year. That 12-week period needs to be representative of your travel throughout the year.
If you started to use your car for business-related purposes less than 12 weeks before the end of the income year, you can continue to keep a logbook into the next year so it covers the required 12 continuous weeks.Each logbook you keep is valid for five years, but you may start a new logbook at any time.
If you establish your business-use percentage using a logbook from an earlier year, you must keep that logbook and maintain odometer readings in the following years.
If your circumstances change, such as a change in the type of work undertaken by your business, you may need a new logbook.
If you want to use the logbook method for two or more cars, the logbook for each car must cover the same period. The 12-week period you choose should be representative of the business use of all cars.