From the 1^st of July 2018, businesses with 20 employees or more  will need to report payroll information to the ATO at the time their payroll is processed. Business that fail to comply may face penalties.

What is Single Touch Payroll?

Single Touch Payroll, or STP, is an initiative introduced by the Australian Government to provide real-time visibility of businesses and their payroll. It will streamline businesses reporting by allowing reports to be submitted to the ATO at the same time as paying employees. It removes the need to provide annual reports to the ATO. Single Touch Payroll reports will include information about employee salaries and wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding information, superannuation contributions and more. While Single Touch Payroll will be mandatory for employers with 20 or more employees, it will be optional for those with less than 20.

What does this mean for your business?

If your business has 20 or more employees, you will need to submit STP information to the ATO at the time of payroll processing. You can begin to submit STP information now, but it will become mandatory from the 1^st of July 2018. The ATO has already defined STP messaging standards, including a message implementation guide and transmission protocol. To ensure compliance by the 1^st of July 2018, businesses must be able to:

1. submit STP information in the correct XML format and
2. submit the XML message to the ATO using the defined ebMS3 AS4 protocol via an accredited STP solution.

MessageXchange is Single Touch Payroll enabled, including ISO 27001 certified, and can assist businesses with compliance. Our secure Gateways can connect to your existing software, map native files to the required STP XML format and send these files via our existing ebMS3 AS4 connection to the ATO. Find more information and request a quote here or contact us to have a chat.