Single Touch Payroll (STP): What it means for SMSF trustees

Single touch payroll (STP) reporting is a streamlined way for employers to provide the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) with payroll information, that is, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and superannuation guarantee information.

The STP reporting regime was introduced as an integrity measure to hold employers accountable and provide employees with more transparency over their salary and reportable superannuation and fringe benefit entitlements.

As Kimberley Noah, a lawyer with DBA Lawyers explains, Section 389–5 of Schedule 1 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) (TAA) details the amounts that the ATO must be notified of, on the day the relevant amount is withheld or paid. “These amounts broadly comprise salary or wages, ordinary time earnings and PAYG withholdings.”

SMSF obligations?

Noah says it’s important to note that under previous provisions, certain superannuation benefits such as some pensions have received a similar treatment as salary and wages for PAYG and reporting purposes. “This poses the question of whether the STP obligations extend to SMSF trustees in relation to pensions payable to those under 60 years.”