Still unfamiliar of the upcoming changes in the payroll system and how it will affect your dental practice? We have put together some pertinent details to help you understand what Single Touch Payroll is and how it will affect the health care industry, to be more specific to your dental practice.

What Exactly is STP:

Single Touch Payroll or STP is a mandatory requirement for your dental practice alongside other Australian small businesses, given you have 19 employees or less. STP is geared to improving and changing the way employers report employees’ payroll information to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Employers are now required to electronically transmit payroll information to the ATO at the same time employees are paid.Payment summaries that previously had to be submitted at the end of the financial year will now be reported directly to the ATO from the payroll solution. The process will simplify payment reporting for salaries, wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and superannuation. This digital initiative is intended to revamp tax and super reporting.

What will STP do?

STP is all about increased visibility and electronic information sharing for all types of businesses and practices.The law is implemented to allow employers to report salary, wage details and PAYG withholding on their activity statements using W1 and W2 forms. From there, the ATO will provide employees with real-time tax reports and super status using an individually created MyGov account.For practices with 19 or fewer employees, the STP will commence on 1 July 2019.

Benefits of STP Compliance to Your Dental Practice

1. Streamlines the reporting process of all your dental employee payments
2. Minimises Errors in Reporting Payroll
3. Eliminates Payment Summary Generation
4. On-demand Access to employee information and tax records
5. Encourages practices to conform to the standards of the digital age

There is upcoming event in 23rd May 2019: Get Ready for Single Touch Payroll and Dental Chatbots

How to Get STP Ready for Your Practice:

1. Start by discussing with your bookkeeper or accountant to get a full grasp of the changes you need to abide and implement to ensure proper compliance with this law.2. Get a hold of STP ready accounting software or third-party providers approved and verified by ATO to handle this new payroll system.3. Prepare your reports as early as now. All reports about your practice’s employed staff must be reported through the ATO accredited STP software. It would help if you started preparing for details as provided by the Australian Tax Office.

• Mandatory items:
  • Payment to employee
  • A payment of remuneration to the director of a company
  • A payment to an office holder
  • A payment to a religious practitioner
  • A return to work payment to an individual
  • A payment for termination of employment
  • An unused leave payment
  • A payment of parental leave pays
  • A payment of parental leave pays
• Voluntary
  • A payment that is covered by a voluntary agreement
  • A payment under a labour-hire arrangement or a payment specified by regulations
  • A payment for termination of employment

Get your dental practice ready to comply with STP to avoid penalties for failure to file and report.If you are still in doubt as to how your dental practice can benefit from the STP implementation, we invite you to attend our upcoming seminar on STP compliance, to understand more of the digital initiative. We provide our expert dental marketing services across Australia, including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Queensland. Reserve your seat here.