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Recent upgrades from myGov and the Australian Tax Office mean the process of onboarding employees now requires less paperwork.
In the past, a tax file number declaration from a new employee was filled out manually on paper and submitted to the tax office by their employer.
Now, the process can be completed digitally.
Digital onboarding: how it works
Most people have a myGov account these days. It takes a few moments for someone to log into myGov and link their account to the ATO’s online services.
When a new employee joins your business, make sure they have a record of your business’s ABN and the Branch ID if necessary. They can then:
- Log into myGov and access their ATO account.
- Click on ‘Employment’
- Select ‘New Employment’ and complete the form by nominating their employment type and sharing their tax file number.
Once this process is complete, the employee’s tax file number declaration will be sent straight to the tax office. You/your team won’t have to forward anything.
As for your own records, as shared on the ATO website, “If your payroll software can link to the online commencement forms, it will automatically receive your new employees’ information from (the ATO), saving you time spent entering the information manually.”
Updating information online
The New employment form on the ATO’s online services website can be used to collect other information as well. Your employee can log into their myGov account, navigate to the ATO section and use the form to:
- Authorise variations to the amount you withhold from their pay for tax or the Medicare levy.
- Let you know which super fund they wish to use.
- Update their tax circumstances based on their status as a resident or student.
- Let you know if they are claiming the tax-free status from another employer.
This new online way of filling out tax-related information isn’t mandatory, and you can still give people a paper tax file number declaration to fill out. This is helpful as a backup if the employee doesn’t have a myGov account or can’t access the internet.
If your employees have already submitted their tax file number information and you have sent the relevant details to the tax office, you don’t need to worry about starting over and submitting things electronically because the job is already done.
Want to know more about using updated digital services to streamline employee onboarding and payments? Contact Crest Accountants today.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this news post is general in nature and is intended to provide a general summary only and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice. Whilst the information is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact upon the accuracy of the information.
