Single Touch Payroll (STP) is a change in how the Australian Government required employers to report payroll information to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to make reporting easier across government agencies. Businesses with over 20 employees started reporting via STP on 1 July 2018, while companies with 19 or below employees commenced on 1 July 2019.
With STP, payroll information such as salaries and wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and superannuation are sent immediately to ATO through STP-enabled software. There would be no need for annual payment summaries since businesses submit reports at every pay. By the end of the financial year, employers need to ensure that the information is finalised and complete so that the ATO can include this in the individual’s tax return.