Page tree

Versions Compared

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.
HTML Wrap
classsection group
HTML
<span data-swiftype-index="true">
HTML Wrap
classcol span_3_of_5

AccountRight Plus and Premier, Australia only

UI Text Box
sizemedium
typenote

The functions described on this page are available in AccountRight 2018.2. Get the latest version

 

Before you can report payroll and super information to the ATO, you need to
tip

Need some guidance?

Check out our end of payroll year tasks MYOB Academy course or the EOFY hub for key end of year dates and resources.


UI Text Box
sizemedium
typenote

You must be reporting to the ATO via STP Phase 2

If you haven't already, you need to move to STP Phase 2 to stay compliant with the ATO. But we have you covered – see how easy it is to move.

You need to assign an ATO reporting category to your each of the payroll categories you use. This includes wages, allowances, deductions and superannuation categories. The ATO category indicates the lets the ATO know how to treat each type of payment you're reporting (is it a gross wage amount or an allowance?)

While it's similar to how categories were assigned to payment summary fields, there are important differences. For example, some ATO reporting categories have been renamed and you now need to report superannuation amounts.

Below is a summary of the new ATO reporting categories. To help you assign the right category, we've included a comparison to the previous payment summary reporting fields.

UI Text Box
sizemedium
typewarning

Need help assigning ATO reporting categories?

Note that we can only provide general information. If you're unsure of what's appropriate for you, talk to your accounting advisor or the ATO. You can also refer to the ATO website for more information (the ATO's info applies to payment summaries, but the same rules apply for ATO reporting categories).

UI Expand
expandedtrue
titleTo assign ATO reporting categories
  1. Go to the  Payroll command centre and select Payroll Categories. A list of your Wages categories appears.

    payroll category ATO reporting category to be assignedImage Removed

    UI Text Box
    sizemedium
    typenote

    The default category assigned is To be assigned. This is to let you know what payroll categories you haven't assigned.

  2. Click a category to open it. The ATO Reporting Category column shows the category assigned.
  3. Select the appropriate category from the ATO Reporting Category list.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Repeat for all wage payroll categories (see Wages info below for more info).
  6. Select the Superannuation tab and repeat the steps to assign categories (see Superannuation info below for more info).
  7. Repeat for all categories in the Deductions and Tax tabs (see below for more info).
UI Text Box
sizemedium
typewarning

Don't forget to assign categories to your superannuation categories!

 

Learn about the ATO reporting category types

 

through Single Touch Payroll (STP).

STP Phase 2

STP Phase 2 is the ATO's expansion of their payroll reporting requirements. This includes expanding the list of ATO reporting categories to better define the amounts paid to employees. For example, the ATO reporting category Gross payments has been split into more specific payment types, like overtime and bonuses.

To learn more about STP Phase 2, visit the ATO website.

If you set up STP since mid-December 2021, you'll likely be set up for STP Phase 2. You can see if you're reporting on STP Phase 2 via the STP reporting centre (Payroll command centre > Payroll Reporting > Payroll Reporting Centre).

Image Added

When you move to STP Phase 2, you'll need to confirm the ATO reporting categories you've assigned to your payroll categories. For example, payroll categories previously assigned to Gross Payments might now need to be assigned to a new specific reporting category, like overtime or bonus.

Which ATO reporting category should I assign?

As your business, award and employee agreements are unique, we can't tell you which ATO reporting categories you should assign to your payroll categories.

However, you can use the descriptions of reporting categories below to guide you.

For additional information and advice:

HTML
</span>
HTML Wrap
width15%
classcol span_1_of_5
 
HTML Wrap
floatleft
classcol span_1_of_5
Panelbox
namemagenta
titleRelated topics
HTML Wrap
classsidebarlinks

About Single Touch Payroll reporting

Setting up Single Touch Payroll reporting

Notify the ATO you're using MYOB for Single Touch Payroll reporting

Payroll categories

Anchor
assigning
assigning
What is each ATO reporting category for?

Use this information to work out which reporting categories you need to assign to your payroll categories. The STP Phase 2 reporting categories will apply when your business is reporting via STP Phase 2.

UI Expand
titleWages
New
ATO reporting category
Old Payment Summary field name
(Phase 1)ATO reporting category (Phase 2)More information
Gross Payments
ATO links
Gross Payments

Gross payments

are reduced by a calculation that happens behind the scenes. You don't need to map any pre-tax deductions to gross payments to reduce gross. We'll be providing more details about how this works soon.


Overtime Image Added
Bonuses and commissions Image Added
Director's fees Image Added
Cash out of leave in service Image Added
Unused leave on termination Image Added
Paid parental leave Image Added
Workers' compensation leave Image Added
Ancillary and defence leave Image Added
Other paid leave Image Added

Include payroll categories you use for paying salary and wages.

For STP Phase 1, this includes categories for:

  • holiday pay
  • sick pay
  • overtime
  • bonuses
  • commissions
  • director's fees

For STP Phase 2, payments that don’t sit into any of the main categories, assign them to Gross payments (but check this with the ATO).

Expanding STP (Phase 2)

STP Phase 2 employer reporting guidelines

Allowance - Car
Allowance - Transport
Allowance - Travel
Allowance - Meals
Allowance - Laundry
Allowance - Other

Allowances 1 through to 9

Certain types of allowances and deductions need to be itemised as they were on Payment Summaries (like the type of allowance).

However, for Single Touch Payroll reporting, each item needs to be grouped and reported using a specific category. Amounts in these payroll categories may be used to prefill your employees' tax returns.

Withholding for allowances (ATO website)

Allowance - cents per km
Allowance - award transport payment
Allowance - travel and accommodation
Allowance - overtime meals
Allowance - laundry
Allowance - tools Image Added
Allowance - tasks Image Added
Allowance - qualifications/certificates Image Added
Allowance - other

This includes payments you make to cover your employees’ work-related expenses.

For allowances that don’t sit into any of the main categories, assign them to Allowance – Other (but check this with the ATO).

Withholding for allowances  

STP Phase 2 employer reporting guidelines

Lump Sum A - Termination
Lump Sum A - Redundancy
Lump Sum B
Lump Sum D
Lump Sum E

Lump Sum

Payments

A

(Termination)

- Termination 
Lump Sum

Payments

A

(Redundancy)

- Redundancy 
Lump Sum

Payments B


Lump Sum

Payments D


Lump Sum

Payments

E

(Accrued in 2016-2017)


Lump Sum

Payments E (Accrued in 2015-2016)
Lump Sum Payments E (Accrued prior to 1/7/2015) 

CDEP Payments

CDEP Salary or Wages

 

W Image Added

Lump sum payments may include payroll categories such as:

  • redundancies
  • payments in lieu of notice
  • payments of annual leave on termination.

See the FAQs below for more info on each lump sum type.

For STP Phase 2:

Lump Sum W — this has been added which is for return to work payments.

Lump Sum E — you'll only be able to set this up after your business moves to STP Phase 2. Learn more about Lump sum E payments.

Lump sum payments are a complex area. Chat to your advisor or check with the ATO for more guidance.

STP Phase 2 employer reporting guidelines

Expanding Single Touch Payroll (Phase 2)

CDEP Payments

No longer required

The CDEP payment scheme has ended. For STP Phase 2 these payments are not reportable.

CDEP payments
Exempt Foreign IncomeExempt Foreign Income
 

This could be assigned to payroll categories such as salary, wages, commissions, bonuses and allowances that are exempt from Australian tax.

Exempt foreign employment income
ETP - Taxable component
ETP - Tax free component
ETP - Taxable component  
ETP - Tax free component
 

These are payroll categories used to track the taxable and tax-free components of employment termination payments.

ETPs are concessionally taxed up to a certain limit, or 'cap'.

Certain types of termination payments are tax free up to a certain limit, for example, if the ETP is because of redundancy or early retirement.

Taxation of termination payments

required for each superannuation payroll category. The ATO reporting categories you can choose from is based on the superannuation Contribution Type.

Image Added

Here's the available ATO reporting categories for superannuation.

UI Expand
titleSuperannuation
The

An ATO Reporting Category is

automatically assigned (and can't be changed) for superannuation categories set up with the following Contribution Types :
  • Superannuation Guarantee (expense)
  • Employee Additional (deduction)
  • Redundancy (expense)
  • Spouse (deduction)

SGC category with locked ATO reporting category highlightedImage Removed

New ATO reporting categoryOld Payment Summary field name
ATO reporting category (Phase 1)ATO reporting category (Phase 2)More information

Superannuation Guarantee

New
Superannuation Guarantee

This

is the first time employers have been required to report this information to the ATO. It's requried to check

information is reported to the ATO to ensure that employee super funds are receiving the correct amounts.

UI Text Box
sizemedium
typenote

Helping you stay compliant with ATO super reporting

The ATO reporting category for superannuation payroll categories with a contribution type of Superannuation Guarantee (expense) will be automatically set to Superannuation guarantee.

Reportable Employer Super Contributions
(RESC)Step 5 in the Payment summary assistantUse this
Reportable Employer Super Contributions

Used to assign superannuation

categories which handle 'reportable' superannuation payments (as

payroll categories that are classified by the ATO

guidelines).

Only available for contribution types: Employer Additional (expense), and Salary Sacrifice (deduction).

UI Text Box
sizemedium
typewarning

Did you previoulsly report salary sacrifice amounts on payment summaries?

You don't need to assign the Gross wages category to salary sacrifice amounts. When reporting payroll amounts using Single Touch Payroll, gross wage amounts are reduced automatically by deduction amounts that are marked as a before-tax deductions. This includes salary sacrifice superannuation deductions.

as Reportable Employer Super Contributions (RESC).

 

Salary Sacrifice and RESC Image Added

Use this to assign salary sacrifice super payroll categories. These are classified by the ATO as reportable employer super contributions (RESC).
Not ReportableNot Reportable

Use this to assign superannuation payroll categories which are not reportable to the ATO for STP purposes. To clarify if a super category is reportable, check with your accounting advisor or the ATO.

UI Expand
titleDeductions
New ATO reporting
ATO reporting category
Old Payment Summary field nameMore information
(Phase 1)ATO reporting category (Phase 2)DescriptionATO reference

Deduction - Work Place Giving

Deduction - Work Place Giving
1
Work Place Giving 2
Work Place Giving 3 
Assign payroll categories that are donations made under a workplace giving arrangement.Workplace giving programs

Deduction - Union/Professional Assoc Fees

Deduction
1
- Union
Fees
Deduction 2 - Prof Assoc 

Any other deductions, including salary sacrifice (exempt from FBT) are Not Reportable.

/Professional Assoc Fees

This might include payroll categories for:

  • union fees
  • memberships to professional associations.
Union fees, subscriptions to associations and bargaining agents fees
ETP - Tax WithholdingETP - Tax WithholdingUse this reporting category when an ETP has been made to an employee.Taxation of termination payments
 

Salary sacrifice - other employee benefits Image Added

For deductions that are for benefits from an effective salary sacrifice arrangement, including those exempt from FBT.Salary sacrifice arrangements
Not ReportableNot Reportable

All other deductions are usually considered not reportable. This includes payroll categories like loan or car payments. This is because they may not need to be itemised on an employee's tax return.

If you're not sure if a deduction is reportable, check with your accounting advisor or the ATO.

 
UI Text Box
sizemedium
type
warning

Did you previoulsly report salary sacrifice amounts on payment summaries?

You don't need to assign the Gross wages category to salary sacrifice amounts. When reporting payroll amounts using Single Touch Payroll, gross wage amounts are reduced automatically by deduction amounts that are marked as a before-tax deductions. This includes salary sacrifice superannuation deductions.

 

note

Child support deductions

You can't currently report your child support deductions to the ATO via STP from AccountRight. This means you can assign Not Reportable as the ATO Reporting Category in your child support deduction payroll categories.

UI Expand
titleTaxes

The ATO Reporting Category

is automatically assigned (and can't be changed)

for the PAYG Withholding payroll category can only be set to PAYG Withholding.

Payroll Category Liust window showing ATO reporting category set to PAYG withholdingImage Removed

Image Added

New
ATO reporting category
Old Payment Summary field name
ATO reporting category (Phase 2) More information

PAYG Withholding

Total Tax Withheld

PAYG Withholding

This is automatically assigned and can't be changed.
UI Text Box
sizemedium
typenote

In some cases, the ATO Reporting Category is not automatically assigned to the PAYG Withholding payroll category and not editable, usually for customers who've upgraded from AccountRight v19. MYOB runs an overnight script that rectifies this, so check the ATO Reporting Category the next day. If it's still not assigned to the PAYG Withholding payroll category, please contact support. This issue will be fixed in a future release.

 

 

This category reports all tax withheld from the employee, including any extra PAYG that may be deducted.

Assigning ATO reporting categories

You need to assign ATO reporting categories to all wage, deduction and superannuation payroll categories you've used in the current payroll year, and whenever you create new ones.

If you're setting up STP for the first time or moving from STP Phase 1 to STP Phase 2, your AccountRight company file is checked to find any payroll categories that don't have an ATO reporting category assigned—so you can then assign one.

You can also manually check your payroll categories and, if required, assign an ATO reporting category.

UI Expand
titleTo check for unassigned ATO reporting categories
  1. Go to the Payroll command centre and click Payroll Reporting.

  2. Click Check Payroll Details. Employees paid in the current payroll year (including terminated employees) are included in the payroll check. You'll see a list of payroll categories you need to fix before you can connect to the ATO and start reporting using Single Touch Payroll.
    Image Added

  3. Click the arrow next to a payroll category in the errors list. The payroll category Information window appears.
  4. Choose the appropriate category from the ATO Reporting Category list. See above for information to help you select it, or speak to your accounting advisor or the ATO.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Repeat for all other payroll categories listed in the Check Payroll Details window.
  7. Click Check Payroll Details to refresh the list.
HTML
<h2><i class="fa fa-comments"></i>&nbsp;&nbsp;
Assigning ATO reporting categories
FAQs</h2><br>
UI Expand
titleWhich payroll categories are not reportable?

Which payroll categories are not reportable?

In most cases, payroll categories that don't need to be included on an employee's tax return, are not reportable. Depending on your circumstances. this may include payroll categories for post-tax deductions and deductions that are exempt from fringe benefits tax. For example, loan or car payments

If you're not sure what reporting category to assign, talk to your accounting advisor or the ATO.

UI Expand
titleHow do I assign salary sacrifice superannuation?

How do I assign salary sacrifice superannuation?

When reporting payroll amounts using Single Touch Payroll, gross wage amounts are reduced automatically by deduction amounts that are marked as a before-tax deductions. This includes salary sacrifice superannuation deductions.

It doesn’t matter which ATO category a deduction is assigned to (including the Not reportable category).

Previously, to reduce taxable gross amount on payment summaries, you needed to assign the relevant payroll category (for example, salary sacrifice) to gross payments. You don't need to do this for single touch payroll reporting.

HTML Wrap
classcol span_3_of_5

 

 

 

HTML
 
HTML Wrap
width15%
classcol span_1_of_5
 
HTML Wrap
floatleft
classcol span_1_of_5
Panelbox
namemagenta
titleRelated topics
HTML Wrap
classsidebarlinks

Task 1 - Check payroll details  

Task 2 - Connect to the ATO

Error: "PayrollCategory_InvalidStpCategory"

Panelbox
nameyellow
titleFrom the community

RSS Feed
titleBarfalse
max5
showTitlesOnlytrue
urlhttp://community.myob.com/myob/rss/search?q=set+up+employees&filter=labels%2Clocation%2CsolvedThreads&location=forum-board%3AEssentialsAccounting&nospellcheck=true&search_type=thread&solved=true

HTML Wrap
classmorelinks
More »

 

  • For STP Phase 1 the ATO reporting category Reportable Employer Super Contributions can be used for Salary Sacrifice (deduction) superannuation categories.
  • For STP Phase 2 the ATO reporting category Salary Sacrifice can be used for Salary Sacrifice (deduction) superannuation categories.

If you're not sure what reporting category to assign, talk to your accounting advisor or the ATO.

UI Expand
titleWhy can't I choose an ATO reporting category for a payroll category?

Why can't I choose an ATO reporting category for a payroll category?

Some payroll categories that exist in AccountRight by default, like Superannuation Guarantee, have the ATO reporting category set for you and cannot be changed. This ensures those critical payroll categories are reported correctly to the ATO.

UI Expand
titleWhat are the types of lump sum payments?

What are the types of lump sum payments?

Here's a brief description of each type of lump sum payment. For more details, or to clarify if a payment you're making is a lump sum, check with your accounting advisor or visit the ATO website.

TypeDescription
Lump Sum A - redundancy

Payments of unused long service leave accrued after 17 August 1993 or unused holiday pay and other leave-related payments, where the amount was paid in connection with a payment that includes (or consists of) either – a genuine redundancy payment – an early retirement scheme payment – the invalidity segment of an ETP or super benefit.

Lump Sum A - termination

Payments of unused long service leave that accrued after 15 August 1978, but before 18 August 1993, or unused holiday pay and other leave-related payments that accrued before 18 August 1993.

Lump Sum BPayments for unused long service leave that accrued before 16 August 1978.
Lump Sum DThe tax-free component of a genuine redundancy payment or an early retirement scheme payment.
Lump Sum EAn amount of back payment that accrued, or was payable, more than 12 months before the date of payment and is $1200 or more. Learn more about lump sum E payments
Lump Sum WA return to work amount that's paid to induce an employee to resume work. For example, to end industrial action or to return from working for another employer.
UI Expand
titleWhere can I see a list of assigned ATO reporting categories?

Where can I see a list of assigned ATO reporting categories?

When you view your list of payroll categories (Payroll > Payroll Categories), you'll see which ATO reporting categories have been assigned on the Wages, Superannuation and Deductions tabs.

This is a handy way to see if any ATO reporting categories are yet to be assigned.

Image Added

UI Expand
titleWhere do I assign an employee's income type?

Where do I assign an employee's income type?

To be compliant with the ATO's rules for STP Phase 2, you need to assign each of your employees an income type (Card File command centre > Cards List > Employee tab > open the employee's card > Payroll Details tab > Taxes section > Income Type).

Image Added

The available choices are Salary and wagesClosely held payeesWorking holiday makerSeasonal worker program or Labour hire. If you're not sure what to choose, check with your accounting advisor or the ATO.

If you choose Working holiday maker, you also need to choose the employee's Country of origin.

UI Expand
titleHow can I tell if I'm on STP Phase 2?

Single Touch Payroll (STP) Phase 2 is an expansion of the ATO's payroll reporting system, and it started on 1 January 2022.

You'll see whether you're reporting on STP Phase 1 or Phase 2 in the STP reporting centre (Payroll command centre > Payroll Reporting > Payroll Reporting Centre > STP reports tab). How do I move to STP Phase 2?

Image Added