Check myGov to see if your income statement is ‘tax ready’

Income statements are replacing payment summaries, and are now categorised into: tax ready, not tax ready and year-to-date.

The reason for this is the new Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting system, which employers need to comply with from 1 July 2019. It means that your payroll data and super information is automatically sent to the ATO with each pay run, therefore making the issuing of annual payment summaries redundant. You will be able to see this in real-time via your myGov account.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to do anything, just be aware of the change in terminology and process, and also wait until your employer marks your information as ‘tax ready’ before you lodge your tax return.

The Commissioner of Taxation at the ATO has offered the following advice:

Your end-of-year payment summary information, now called an income statement, will be available through myGov for you or your tax agent. It’s important to wait until your employer marks your information as tax ready before your tax return is lodged. Most employers have until 31 July to do this, and we’ll send a message to your myGov inbox when it is tax ready.

If you lodge your tax return before your income statement is tax ready, you may need to lodge an amendment. In some cases, additional tax and interest may be payable.
If you have more than one job, your other employers may still need to provide you with a payment summary. Make sure all income is included when lodging your tax return.

This change is because many employers are now required to report pay and super information direct to us each pay day. All employers will eventually report this way.

If you have any questions about your tax return, please do not hesitate to contact the Taxpro team who can help explain the changes. Please call us on 08 9240 7629 or email us to book an appointment at admin@taxproaustralia.com.au