The ATO review PAYG withholding cycles every year. They base their reviews on a business’s annual withholding amount.
The ATO will write to employers and tax agents in April to let you know if your PAYG withholding cycle is changing. If affected, your reporting and paying obligations will change from 1 July.
Your new withholding reporting and payment cycle will be based on the amount you withheld and reported under your Australian Business Number (ABN) in all branches in 2022-23.
Medium withholders
The ATO will classify you as a medium withholder if you withheld from $25,001 up to $1 million.
You’ll need to:
-
report your PAYG withholding amounts on your activity statement monthly
-
pay by the monthly due date
-
check that your stated withholding matches the amounts you reported using Single Touch Payroll (STP).
Large withholders
The ATO will classify you as a large withholder if you withheld more than $1 million. You’ll get a new Payment Reference Number (PRN) to quote when you pay on the set payment dates.
You’re not required to report PAYG withholding on your activity statement. You should still reconcile your reported STP and paid amounts.
Changing your withholding reporting and payment cycle
You’ll need to make the changes to your payroll software before 1 July, to align your withholding reporting payments with the new due dates.
You can ask to stay on your existing cycle if you estimate your 2024-25 PAYG withholding amount will be less than the relevant threshold.
To do this, send a completed Request to review ATO initiated PAYG withholding cycle change form to us within 21 days of receiving our letter. Provide the reason for your request. This should include your change in circumstances and the estimated amount you expect to withhold in 2024-25.
For more information, visit ATO annual review of PAYG withholding cycles and review your record keeping practices.
Contact us today if you need more information in this area.
Source: ato.gov.au March 2024
Reproduced with the permission of the Australian Tax Office. This article was originally published on https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/small-business-newsroom/changes-to-your-pay-as-you-go-withholding-cycle.
Important:
This provides general information and hasn’t taken your circumstances into account. It’s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what’s right for you. Although the information is from sources considered reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person.
Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business and our Licensee. Neither our business nor our Licensee takes any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author. Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.