- an income statement – if your employer reports your income, tax and super information to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll (STP) they are no longer required to give you a payment summary, this information will be made available to you through ATO online services via myGov and finalised by 31 July; or
- a payment summary – if your employer is not yet reporting through STP they will continue to provide you with a payment summary by 14 July (as they do now).
Your employer should let you know if you will receive an income statement or payment summary, but you should talk to them if you are unsure.
If you have more than one employer, you may receive both an income statement and a payment summary. You will need to check that income from your payment summaries is included in your return. This information may be pre-filled for you or you might need to enter it manually.
ACCESSING YOUR END OF FINANCIAL YEAR INFORMATION
You can access your end of financial year information through:
- Your tax agent; or
- ATO online services via myGov.
YOUR TAX AGENT
Your tax agent will be able to access your income statement or payment summary information through their software or Online services for agents.
If your employer is reporting through STP, your agent will need to wait until the income statement has been marked as 'Tax ready' to prepare and lodge your return. Most employers have until 14 July 2020 to finalise their data. However, some employers have until 31 July to do this.
The ATO will send a notification to your myGov inbox when all of your income statements are 'Tax ready'.
THROUGH ATO ONLINE SERVICES VIA MYGOV
If your employer has started reporting through STP, they are no longer required to give you a payment summary. You will instead receive an income statement. You will be able to access this information through your ATO online services via myGov.
Your income statement will show your year-to-date salary and wages, the tax that has been withheld and the reported amounts of your employer super.
Any income statements will be ready to use in your tax return when your employer marks it as 'Tax ready'. They have until 31 July to do this but will often do it earlier. It is important that you don't use any information that is not marked 'Tax ready' as your employer may finalise your income statement with different amounts which means you may have to amend your tax return. The ATO will send a notification to your myGov inbox when all of your income statements are 'Tax ready'. If after 31 July your income statement is not marked as 'Tax ready' in ATO online services, you will need to speak to your employer to find out when they will finalise your statement.
HOW TO ACCESS YOUR INCOME STATEMENT
If your myGov account is set up and linked to ATO online services, you need to:
- Log in to myGov using your email address or mobile phone number.
- Select ATO online services.
- Select Employment and then view my Income statement.
On the screen you will see the income you have earned from your employer or employers for the financial year, and the tax that has been withheld. If you cannot access your information via myGov, you can contact the ATO for a copy of your income statement.
WHEN YOUR INCOME STATEMENT IS NOT TAX READY
If your income statement information is not marked as 'Tax ready' by your employer, you will see a red box in ATO online services saying, 'Not tax ready'. You will need to speak to your employer to find out when they will finalise your statement.
If you choose to lodge your tax return before your income statement is finalised by your employer, you will need to review any information that has pre-filled and confirm it is correct and if you wish to use it before you submit your tax return.
If you choose to use information from your income statement before it is finalised to lodge your tax return, you will need to acknowledge that:
- your employer may finalise your income statement with different amounts; and
- you may need to amend your tax return and additional tax may be payable.