As we reach the end of the financial year, it’s time to ensure all your employee payroll and super records are accurate and up to date. Timely and compliant reporting is important to meet your legal obligations and supports a smooth year-end process for you and your employees. Here’s a handy checklist for your payroll team at this hectic time of year.
PAYG
Ensure this year’s pay data is cut off after the last pay that is to be received by staff by 30 June 2025. Check and delete any tax variations that cease as of 30 June 2025. Enter any new tax variations that apply from 1 July 2025. Revise termination worksheets used for redundancies to the new tax-free limits and the employment termination payment (ETP) cap increase. Take care: if an
employee is terminated by 30 June but paid on or after 1 July, the new rates and thresholds apply.
Review staff who have left in the 2024–2025 income year after 31 March 2025 and check whether they will have reportable fringe benefits (RFB) for the 2025–2026 income year. If so, you need to maintain a Single Touch Payroll (STP) record for them and complete the RFB field at the next income year-end. Review the RFB list to make sure none are below the disclosure level ($2,000 × 1.8868 = $3,774). For staff who’ll have an RFB amount, consider sending a memo of explanation and a link to an ATO fact sheet to minimise queries. Check that any staff overpayments have been reversed out of wages and coded as a loan before finalising in STP. Check that wages are shown in the correct income year. If the payment is to be received on or after 1 July 2025, it should be shown in the 2025–2026 income year. Submit STP annual reporting by selecting the final event indicator to “true” for all staff by 14 July 2025.
Review changes to pay rates or salary sacrifice arrangements applying from 1 July. Note that any Award rate increases usually apply to the first full pay from 1 July 2025. Review whether 2025–2026 may result in 53 weekly pays or 27 fortnightly pays – staff can elect to have additional tax withheld in these circumstances. This may also affect the amount of any employer and salary sacrifice to super for those staff tracking the concessional limit, which is $30,000 for 2025–2026. Superannuation Note that the super rate increase to 12% applies to any wages received on or after 1 July 2025, even if they were accrued before to this date.
Ensure that reportable employer superannuation contributions are showing correctly at the reportable employer super contributions (RESC) field in STP. Consider and adjust where necessary for the effect of the super maximum requirement limit increasing to $7,500 per quarter for 2025–2026. If applying this on a monthly basis, adjust the maximum monthly amount to $2,500.
Payroll tax and WorkCover Review which states and territories staff are employed in and make sure you have the appropriate payroll tax and WorkCover registrations in place. Seek and file a copy of the lodged FBT return for use for the payroll tax and WorkCover annual returns where applicable. Revenue authorities will usually request these in any audit. Obtain details of any contractor arrangements to be included. Note any changes in what must be declared for payroll tax and WorkCover purposes between the last financial year and this financial year. If the business is part of a group of employers for payroll tax purposes, check if any entities have left or joined the group. Consider any rebates or incentives on offer in each jurisdiction by reviewing the relevant payroll tax office website and any state/territory budget announcements.
Speak to one of our accountants if you have any questions about the changes in tax for 2025.
