Most employers have now moved to STP Phase 2 reporting. We’ve noticed some common mistakes and want to share these with you, to help your employer clients get it right. These include:
- Pay codes: make sure your employer clients have set up their pay codes correctly, and that payments including allowances, paid leave and overtime are itemised separately.
- Continuity of year-to-date (YTD) reporting: if your employer clients transitioned to STP Phase 2 reporting part-way through the financial year, check that they have maintained the YTD amounts that have already been reported through STP Phase 1. This includes salary and wages paid to their employees, employment termination payments, pay as you go withholding amounts, and more. This applies unless they used the an alternative method for transitioning to STP Phase 2.
- Employee details: information such as an employee’s name, tax file number and date of birth helps us to match their STP records with their employees. As we approach tax time, now is a good time to make sure these details are accurate and complete.
- Employment basis: employers need to report accurate information about their employees’ employment basis (such as full time, part time, or casual) each time they run their payroll.
We have a range of resources available to help your employer clients get their STP Phase 2 reporting right. These include an overview of common STP Phase 2 reporting questions and mistakes, featuring short, topic-based videos.
How to address some common questions and mistakes to help your employer clients report correctly through STP Phase 2 reporting.