Do your payslips pass the ATO’s super test?

Do you employ staff in your business?

By now you will have received a letter from the ATO advising that the Pay As You Go Withholding tables have been updated for the current financial year (you can find a copy of those tables here).

However, the ATO is also introducing an assortment of other changes in the way that employers process employees’ wages. These are important changes of which you need to be informed.

First, under recent amendments to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, you are now required to report on your employee’s payslip:

• the amount of superannuation contributions accruing to the employee during the pay period;
• the date when you expect to pay the employee’s superannuation contribution to their superannuation fund; and
• the fund to which the contributions will be paid.

It is no longer sufficient for you to notify the employee of their superannuation benefits by any other method – it must be printed on their payslip.

This new rule is part of a series of initiatives aimed at getting employers to comply with their superannuation obligations, particularly for low income, casual and part time workers, who are the worst affected by non-compliance.

Don’t forget: You must contribute superannuation into your employees’ superannuation funds at least four times a year, or more often if this is specified in the award under which you employ your staff. If you don’t make your superannuation payment by the cut-off date, you cannot claim a deduction for the superannuation contribution and you may have to pay the superannuation guarantee charge.

In addition, the following changes will take effect from 1 July, 2013:

• the superannuation surcharge will increase from 9% to 9.25%;
• employees aged 70 years and over will be entitled to the superannuation guarantee for the first time; and
• new requirements will be introduced governing how you collect, record and securely store your employees’ personal information (e.g. tax file numbers).

As always, you can find more information via the ATO website, so make sure you stay fully informed and prepared.

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Tags: PAYG, Superannuation