Single Touch Payroll Extension – STP Phase 2

With the expansion of the requirements of Single Touch Payroll (STP) to include additional reporting of employee and earnings data, employers are reminded of their responsibility to ensure payroll files are ‘STP Phase 2’ compliant.

If you are unsure whether you are currently meeting your responsibilities under the expanded requirements, please check with your accountant. Clients using our bookkeeping service are advised that their payroll records have been updated and are Phase 2 compliant. Detailed instructions for our QBO users have been emailed directly and are available on our website.

Small Employers & STP – The ATO Gets Serious

With the expansion of STP reporting to ‘Phase 2’, the ATO advised it has begun a ‘failure to lodge’ penalty process in relation to small business employers (i.e., those with 19 or fewer employers) who have yet to commence STP reporting, despite STP being mandatory for most small employers since 2020.

The ATO advised that all remaining non-compliant small employers (i.e., those not subject to any appropriate reporting extensions or exemptions) will have been issued pre-penalty warning letters from 18 February 2022. Where an employer receives a pre-penalty warning letter, they will have a further 28 days to take action by either starting to lodge or contacting the ATO before a failure to lodge penalty will be imposed.

If you require any STP assistance please contact our office.