Configure Payroll Tax Rates (2023)

Overview

The Config > Payroll > Payroll Tax screen allows you to view the current Payroll Tax rates that have been defined in your portal for each Australian state or territory. 

You’ll also be able to add new Payroll Tax rates, to accommodate changes to legislated rates by states or to include levies that apply to your business as they’re introduced (eg mental health levies).

This report summarises the current Payroll Tax rates that are set in the portal for each state or territory, and includes the Tax Rate, Effective Date, and Financial Year that this date falls in. Each rate is marked with a timestamp and identifies the user who added the rate, with a Current checkbox which will be ticked if a rate is active in the portal. 

A Current Payroll Tax rate is the rate that will be applied for any Payroll Tax calculations for that payable state. 

By default, the report will show the current Payroll Tax rate set for each state and territory. The report can be filtered by State or Effective Date. If no Effective Date range is set, all current rates will display. 

Important: Please note that if there are updates to the Payroll Tax rates for any states or territories, Astute Payroll will not make these changes in your portal on your behalf. This process will need to be managed manually by your internal administrative team. 

Add a Payroll Tax Rate

To add a new Payroll Tax rate:

1. Go to Config > Payroll > Payroll Tax > Add New Rate.
2. Select the state that the new rate applies to from the dropdown list. The default value here is ‘ACT’, so you will need to update the field before you save the rate to ensure that the correct state is selected.
3. Enter the new Tax Rate as a percentage, to four decimal places.
4. Select an Effective Date. This is the date that the new rate will be active in your portal and become the ‘Current’ rate. 
5. Click Save.

Updates that are made to a Tax Rate or Effective Date will be recorded in the Reports > System History > Audit Report. The report will contain both the old and new values, along with a timestamp and the MID and user who submitted the update.E

Set an Effective Date

The Effective Date that you set can only be the first of the month for the current month or for future months. By default, when you click the calendar icon, the date selected will be the first day of the next calendar month.

Other dates, including past dates and days other than the first of each month, cannot be selected. 

If the Effective Date is set in the future, the Payroll Tax rate will only be active and current once that date is reached.