PAYG Payment Summaries – FAQs

What are the relevant dates?

• 14 July – this is the deadline by which you have to give each of your employees their PAYG PS.
• 14 August – this is the deadline by which you have to give the ATO a list of each PAYG PS issued on or before 14 July. This list must be contained on the PAYG withholding payment summary annual report. 

What happens if I find out I’ve made a mistake on an employee’s PAYG PS?

• Pre 14 July – simply put a line through the PAYG PS and prepare a replacement. You will need to keep both of these documents on file.
• Post 14 July – by now, you should have already issued the PAYG PS to your employee. 

What if I’m asked for a PAYG PS for only part of the year?

If:

• your employee has made his or her request to you in writing 
• he or she does not have any reportable fringe benefits tax amount, and 
• you received this request before 9 June… 

then you must give your employee a PAYG PS form within 14 days of having received that written request. You can wait until 14 August (when you have to provide an annual report) to notify the ATO. 

How long do I need to keep copies of PAYG PS issued by my business?

Five years. 

What if an employee loses their PAYG PS?

You do not need to prepare a replacement PAYG PS. All you have to do is give your employee a photocopy of your copy (called the ‘Payer Copy’).

When filling out ATO forms that have squares that need to be filled in, I never know whether to leave a spare square between words. Does it matter?

The ATO specifically requests that, between each word, there is a square that’s been left blank. 

What do I put into the ‘reportable employer superannuation contributions’ section of the PAYG PS form?

You should include the cash value of payments made, at the employee’s request, to the employee’s superannuation fund. 

You should not include any superannuation payments that your business has to pay to its employees’ superannuation funds to satisfy its legal obligations under superannuation guarantee or industrial relations laws. 

Which dates do I put into the ‘Period during which payments were made’ section?

Pay dates are irrelevant for the purposes of this form.

• For permanent full or part-time employees – simply refer to the period of employment (not the pay dates). 
  If the employee was employed for the whole year, put 1 July to 30 June. If they were employed after 1 July or resigned before 30 June, put their actual start or finish date instead 1 July or 30 June. 
• For casual employees – if it is an ongoing arrangement (i.e. year-in, year-out) put 1 July to 30 June. Otherwise, simply specify the dates that represent the start and finish of the whole arrangement. 

Do I need to separate the allowances from the total amount of pay?

Yes, you will need to separate allowances that do not form part of the base rate of pay.