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STP and Closely Held Employees

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How does STP apply when the Director takes drawings as and when cash is available?

The ATO last week provided a deferred STP start date for businesses with closely held payees. The start date has been put back by 12 months until 1 July 2020. A closely held payee is as an employee who is a non-arm’s length employee, directly related to the entity from which they receive payments, including family members of a family business, directors of a company and shareholders or beneficiaries.

With such businesses, the process of paying oneself is not a typical payroll process. Rather, these people may make a drawing as and when cash is available in the business, or they may use loan accounts.

Going forward, the ATO will move to quarterly reporting obligations for these payees – aligning its STP approach to the current closely held lodgement concession that applies for the PAYG withholding payment summary annual report.

Said ATO Director Michael Karavas:

“It won’t be a pay day because lots of them don’t have regular pay days but a once a quarter again with the activity statement. This is a recognition that there is a current practice in place, about where directors when they go see their tax agent and accountant to do the tax return at the end of the year they finalise what their salary and wages are at that point in time.”

The ATO will use the 12 month deferred start date to settle on, and then provide more details of, how STP reporting will affect this style of payer, with different approaches to quarterly reporting to be announced.  

Category
ABN
Published
13 Mar 2019
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