Enter TFN Declaration Details [Admin]

Overview

TFN Declarations can be entered by an employee in their own portal, or their TFN Declaration information can be entered by an Admin on their behalf (eg if they've provided you with a paper form).

• Profile > Tax & Super for employees submitting their own declaration; or,
• Users > Employees > select the employee > Tax & Super by a System or Payroll Administrator on behalf of an employee.

You can view an employee’s current tax details in the Tax & Super screen of their user profile. This will show the details that have been submitted in their most recent TFN declaration.

If a TFN declaration has not been submitted for an employee, these fields will be blank.

When a new PAYG employee is added to an entity, they will be prompted to submit a TFN Declaration when they log in. The portal will flag this task as incomplete until the employee submits a TFN declaration.

You will also need to enter and save an employee’s Medicare Levy details in the fields provided. These fields will only appear if the following conditions are met:

• A TFN Declaration has been submitted, in either paper or electronic form

• The employee’s tax table is set as one of the four Medicare levy tax tables:
  • Full Medicare Exemption
  • Full Medicare Exemption + STSL
  • Half Medicare Exemption
  • Half Medicare Exemption + STSL

Electronic Submission of a TFN Declaration

To submit an electronic TFN declaration for an employee:

1. Go to Users > Employees > select the employee > Tax & Super

2. Set the ‘Method’ to Electronic Submission.

3. Click ‘Start TFN Declaration’.

4. Complete the form with the necessary information. This Help Centre article covers the questions asked in the declaration in more detail.

5. Click Submit.

The submitted TFN declaration will appear in the History section of the employee’s Tax & Super screen, with the date, time and user details. As the submission progresses, any actions from the ATO (eg acceptance, rejection due to error) will appear here also. 

You can review the selections made in a declaration by clicking the blue link in the History entry. 

Paper Submission of a TFN Declaration

To record a Paper Submission on behalf of a new employee:

1. Go to Users > Employees > select the employee > Tax & Super.

2. Set the ‘Method’ to Paper Submission.

3. Click ‘Receive Paper TFN Form’.

4. In the popup window, enter:

   • the employee’s tax file number. If no TFN is provided, leave this blank
   • a not declared reason. If the employee has not provided a TFN, select the reason from the drop-down list. This field will disappear if a TFN is entered
   • the Payee Tax Status nominated by the employee
   • the Tax Free Threshold Claimed status. This will only appear for Australian Residents. 
   • the employee's tax table. You will only be able to select tax tables that align with the selections made for the Payee Tax Status and Tax Free Threshold Claimed
   • any reported tax offsets that are being claimed.

5. Click Confirm to apply and save these details.

TFN Declarations Validation

The Astute system will validate any information entered in a TFN Declaration to ensure:

• the TFN is a valid TFN
• all mandatory fields are entered
• maximum character limits and accepted character requirements are met
• the declaration checkbox is ticked
• a Full Name is supplied in the declaration

When checking for errors relating to the employee's email address, please note that the Payslip Email Address is used by default, if it has been provided, so you'll need to check this field to ensure that the email address is formatted correctly. 

If no Payslip Email Address is provided, the Primary Email Address will be used. 

IMPORTANT: The selections that an employee makes on their TFN Declaration will be submitted to the ATO as part of the next generated STP message, as a 'tax treatment code'. This applies to their first submission of details, and any updates that are made. 

The tax information that is current in an employee's Tax & Super tab at the time a pay run is created will be applied to their pay. 

Working Holiday Makers

If an employee is a Working Holiday Maker, the First Name, Last Name, DOB, Email Address, and Address details from their profile will automatically be pulled through and linked to the declaration on submission.

If you're completing a declaration on behalf of an employee, and their profile doesn't yet include a DOB or Address (these fields are not mandatory during the initial profile setup), there will be additional fields in the TFN Declaration as this is required by the ATO. The information that you enter in the declaration will update in the employee's Profile tab upon submission of the TFN Declaration.