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All businesses registered for payroll tax in NSW must lodge an annual reconciliation to declare their taxable wages. Learn how to lodge your annual reconciliation and how to claim a refund.
There is still time lodge or revise your 22/23 financial year annual reconciliation online. Log-in to Payroll Tax Online to lodge or revise.
The due date for lodging an annual reconciliation is 28 July each year, or the next business day if 28 July is on a weekend or public holiday.
Information about the annual reconciliation process is posted to registered businesses in June each year.
If you do not pay your payroll tax by the due date, we will apply interest to the outstanding amount. Penalty tax may also be imposed. Read the interest and penalty tax page for more details.
Click onto the “Lodge your annual reconciliation” page and fill in the details.
Click “Next” to move to the next pages.
Once you are satisfied with the information entered, click “Lodge” at the end.
Include all wage components and tax for the month of June into the total wage figure when submitting your annual reconciliation.
Confirmation of Lodgement will appear in a green box with a lodgement reference number for your records.
Once you have lodged your annual reconciliation you will need to pay your payroll tax by the due date. Read the pay your payroll tax page for more details on the payment options.
Completing your annual reconciliation form can take time and effort. We recommend saving your progress regularly on each page by clicking the “Save” button at the bottom.
Payroll tax refunds
Can I claim a refund for the current year?
If you have overpaid your payroll tax you can:
claim a refund for the current financial year, or
make an adjustment in the remaining return periods.
Alternatively contact the payroll tax team if you would like the amount to be refunded. Please call us on 1300 139 815 or email [email protected]
If you are a member of a payroll tax group, we may offset any overpayments against other group payroll tax debt before paying a refund.
How can I prevent delays in getting my refund?
We process most payroll tax refund claims within 30 days.
Check your bank account details
If you are due a tax refund you should log in to Payroll tax online and check that your bank account details are up to date.
If you have an overseas bank account please call us on 1300 139 815 to find out how to complete your annual reconciliation.
We may request confirmation of bank details in writing.
Keep accurate records
We may need to contact you to validate your claims. The refund process is usually faster when you have supporting documents available to confirm the amounts returned in annual reconciliations.
Under sections 48 and 53 of the Taxation Administration Act 1996 you must keep any relevant records:
in English, or in a form easily translated to English, and
for at least 5 years.
Why have I not received my refund?
There are several reasons why a refund may be delayed, partially retained, or withheld:
If you lodge your refund request during our peak processing time during August and September.
We may need to apply part, or all, of your refund against a tax debt that you owe us.
You may have previously instructed us to hold your refund over to offset a future liability.
We may withhold your refund if:
you do not nominate a bank account, or if the bank account details you provide are incorrect or incomplete.
we need to verify details shown on your annual reconciliation. If it is withheld, we will contact you.
How does Revenue NSW verify refunds?
As part of our compliance program, we review a selection of refund claims to verify the accuracy of the information provided. We also compare this against information shared with us from other government agencies.
We use advanced analysis to identify high-risk refunds. We may initiate an audit to investigate the cause of your refund request, and review your annual reconciliation.
Your refund may be retained while it is being verified.
Contact the payroll tax team
For general enquiries, or questions about instalment plans or deferred payments, call 1300 139 815 or +61 2 7808 6904 for international callers.