How to meet your obligations and make payments.
Paying tax on property you own.
Calculate and lodge tax on the wages paid by your business.
Calculate and pay transfer (stamp) duty on purchases.
We collect and audit mineral resources royalties.
We collect gaming and wagering taxes.
For businesses that provide health benefits to contributors.
Providers of general and life insurance pay a duty.
Aims to reduce traffic congestion in Sydney's busiest areas.
Surcharge fees that apply to residential land.
Duty applies to some vehicle registrations and transfers.
Applies to authorised taxi and booking service providers.
We collect funds to support emergency services in NSW.
How government and the private sector compete
The 2020 Payroll Tax annual reconciliation is now available.
The due date for lodgement and payment of the 2019/2020 annual reconciliation has been extended to 30 October 2020.
After lodging the annual reconciliation, customers will have the option of paying their outstanding liability in full or entering into a Stimulus Payment Arrangement which can also include any monthly liabilities for the July, August and September 2020 return periods.
Customers can now establish a Stimulus Payment Arrangement for a period of up to 24 months. This option will only be available until 29 November 2020.
Lodge your annual reconciliation
If you have all the required information, it should take about 30 minutes to complete your annual reconciliation.
For an employer to receive the JobKeeper payment they must make wage payments per fortnight to eligible employees that are at least equal to the JobKeeper payment they receive from the ATO. This is called the wage condition.
In NSW, an exemption from payroll tax is available for any top up payment amounts an employer must make to meet the wage condition.
The exemption does not apply to any wage amounts paid to an employee that are greater than the JobKeeper payments paid to the employer.
The ATO has announced changes to the JobKeeper rates and wage condition amounts. For more information please visit the ATO website.
To qualify for the JobKeeper Payment scheme, employers must pay the relevant wage condition amount to eligible employees per fortnight. Any top up amount that an employer must pay to meet this wage condition is exempt from payroll tax.
The payroll tax exemption is only available in situations where:
If an employee is paid a wage above the JobKeeper wage condition per fortnight the whole wage amount is taxable for payroll tax.
An employee receives a regular fortnightly wage below the JobKeeper rate, requiring the employer to top up their wages to meet the wage condition. The regular fortnightly wage amount will be taxable and the JobKeeper top up amount will be exempt.
30 March to 30 June 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular fortnightly wage / earnings | JobKeeper top up amount | Gross wage | JobKeeper payment reimbursed to the employer | Taxable amount | Exempt amount
|
$900 | $600 | $1,500 | $1,500 | $900 | $600 |
An employee continues to receive their regular fortnightly wage that is above the JobKeeper payment. Therefore, the employer does not need to make a top up payment to meet the wage condition. The full wage amount paid to the employee is taxable.
30 March to 30 June 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular fortnightly wage / earnings | JobKeeper top up amount | Gross wage | JobKeeper payment reimbursed to the employer | Taxable amount | Exempt amount |
$2,000 | - | $2,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | - |
An employee continues to receive their regular fortnightly wage that is equal to the JobKeeper payment. Therefore, the employer does not need to make a top up payment to meet the wage condition. The full wage amount paid to the employee is taxable.
30 March to 30 June 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular fortnightly wage / earnings | JobKeeper top up amount | Gross wage | JobKeeper payment reimbursed to the employer | Taxable amount | Exempt amount
|
$1,500 | - | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1, 500 | - |
An employee has been stood down and their employer is paying them a fortnightly wage that is equal to the JobKeeper payment. The full amount of the wage is considered a JobKeeper top up so that the wage condition has been met. The full wage amount paid to the employee is exempt.
30 March to 30 June 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular fortnightly wage / earnings | JobKeeper top up amount | Gross wage | JobKeeper payment reimbursed to the employer | Taxable amount | Exempt amount |
- | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 | - | $1,500 |
An employee has been stood down and their employer is paying them a fortnightly wage that they would have received if they continued working. This wage amount is above the JobKeeper payment. As the amount paid to the employee is greater than the JobKeeper payment amount, the full wage amount paid to the employee is taxable.
30 March to 30 June 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular fortnightly wage / earnings | JobKeeper top up amount | Gross wage | JobKeeper payment reimbursed to the employer | Taxable amount | Exempt amount |
- | $2,000 | $2,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | - |
You will need to include the following information about your JobKeeper payments received for the period 30 March to 30 June 2020;
To determine the total amounts, you'll need to calculate the liable and exempt amounts for all NSW employees registered for the JobKeeper Payment scheme.
Please note, the liable amount also needs to be included in the relevant wage component field on the Wages details page of the Annual Reconciliation. You don't need to include the exempt amount anywhere else.
In the interstate wages field, enter only wages that are taxable under the legislation of that state or territory. Any exempt amount of the JobKeeper payment for those interstate wages does not need to be reported in the annual reconciliation.
For the period 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 (six fortnights) ABC Pty Ltd had four NSW employees who were eligible and received the JobKeeper subsidy per fortnight.
Employee | Employment situation |
|---|---|
Eddie | Was stood down and received $1,500 per fortnight from his employer as a JobKeeper top up amount. Eddie’s total gross NSW wages for the period 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 was $9,000.
|
Ivy | Received a gross wage of $1,000 per fortnight and required a JobKeeper top up amount of $500 per fortnight. Ivy’s total gross NSW wages for the period 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 was $9,000.
|
Josh | Received a gross wage of $2,000 per fortnight and did not require a JobKeeper top up amount. Josh’s total gross NSW wages for the period 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 was $12,000.
|
Michael | Received a gross wage of $1,500 per fortnight and was not paid a JobKeeper top up amount. Michael’s total gross NSW wages for the period 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 was $9,000. |
Nadia | Was stood down and received her regular fortnightly wage of $ 2,000 from her employer as a JobKeeper top up amount. Nadia’s total gross NSW wages for the period 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 was $9,000. |
30 March to 30 June 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employee | Regular fortnightly wage/earnings | JobKeeper top up amount | Gross wage | Taxable amount | Exempt amount |
Eddie | - | $9,000 | $9,000 | - | $9,000 |
Ivy | $6,000 | $3,000 | $9,000 | $6,000 | $3,000 |
Josh | $12,000 | - | $12,000 | $12,000 | - |
Michael | $9,000 | - | $9,000 | $9,000 | - |
Nadia | - | $12,000* | $ 2,000 | $12,000 | - |
Total | $27,000 | $24,000 | $51,000 | $39,000 | $12,000 |
* As Nadia received a fortnightly wage above the JobKeeper amount the wages paid to her are all taxable. The exemption does not apply to any wage amounts paid to an employee that are greater than the JobKeeper payments paid to the employer.
In the 2020 Annual Reconciliation the answers to the three JobKeeper questions will be:
How many NSW employees are you claiming the JobKeeper for?
A: 5
What was the total liable component of the wages paid to these employees?
A: $39,000 (You will need to include this amount in the relevant wage component field on the Wage Details page in the Annual Reconciliation.)
What was the total exempt component of the wages paid to these employees?
A: $12,000
In the Annual Reconciliation the liable and exempt component of the JobKeeper payment paid to apprentice and/or trainees will need to be included in the 3 JobKeeper questions:
In addition to the above fields, on the wage details page, all the liable gross wages (including the liable component of the JobKeeper payment) paid to an Apprentice and/or trainee must be reported in the Apprentice and trainee wage field for the rebate to be calculated correctly.
For the period 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 (6 fortnights), Jade was an employee who is eligible under the JobKeeper Scheme and is also eligible for the payroll tax apprentice and trainee rebate.
Jade received a gross wage of $1,000 per fortnight and required a JobKeeper top up amount of $500 per fortnight.
Jade’s total gross NSW wages for the period 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 was $9,000.
30 March to 30 June 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employee | Regular fortnightly wage/earnings | JobKeeper top up amount | Gross wage | Taxable Amount* (Rebate applies) | Exempt amount^ |
Jade | $6,000 | $3,000 | $9,000 | $6,000 | $3,000 |
* Include this amount in the Apprentice and Trainee wages field on the Wages Details page of the Annual Reconciliation.
^ Include this amount in the answer to the question “What was the total exempt component of the wages paid to these employees?”
Payroll tax customers whose total grouped Australian wages for the 2019/20 financial year are $10 million or less, will have their annual tax liability reduced by 25 per cent when they lodge their annual reconciliation.
When lodging your annual reconciliation, you will need to provide details of the wages paid for the entire financial year.
If you have used the Payroll Tax Monthly Calculator during the year to calculate your monthly liability, these figures will be available in the annual reconciliation and you can add the wage details for any missing months or update any existing wage details.
The 25 per cent reduction will appear on the calculation page of the annual reconciliation. You will also be able to see the reduction amount on the pdf available to you after you have lodged.
For customers that are or have been a member of a group during the 2019/20 financial year, you will also need to provide the group details of all group members in your annual reconciliation. When providing other group members wage details, be aware that they need to be separated into NSW wages and Interstate wages.
If you were a Non Threshold Claimer at any time during the 2019/20 financial year and your total grouped Australian wages were $10 million or less, you will need to provide Client ID’s and total wage details for all group members to claim the 25 per cent reduction.
To claim the 25 per cent reduction, you will need to claim the threshold when lodging your annual reconciliation.
You can log in using your client ID and correspondence ID (from your most recent correspondence from us) – your correspondence ID is only valid for 12 months
To register to pay your payroll tax online, you need:
Make sure you have all the necessary details before starting the online form.
Declare other states where you employed.
Declare the number of apprentices and trainees you employed during the year.
Total interstate wages comprise wage components liable for payroll tax in the state or territory where the interstate wages are paid. Read more on interstate wages and how to determine which state or territory wages are paid.
If you’re a member of a group and are claiming the threshold, or you’re the nominated group single lodger, you also need:
If you’re not claiming the threshold, you must provide the NSW client ID of your designated group employer (DGE), if known. If not known, provide the DGE’s name.
For more information, read the grouping page.
The payroll tax deferral period for monthly payments has now ended and you are required to make a payment or lodge a ‘nil return’ for the October 2020 return period onwards.
The monthly payment or ‘nil return’ for the October 2020 return period is due by 9 November 2020.
Our online calculator helps you to work out your actual monthly tax liability or provides the option to enter an estimate tax liability for the months of July to May.
If you have an annual tax payable amount less than $150,000 for the previous financial year, you can use the estimate calculation method to estimate your liability.
When you have determined your monthly tax payable, make the payment by the due date or let us know if it’s a nil liability.
Your monthly payment or ‘nil return’ is due seven days after the end of each month, or the next business day if the seventh day is on a weekend or public holiday.
You can login to the calculator using your client ID and correspondence ID (from your most recent correspondence from us) – your correspondence ID is only valid for 12 months.
To use the actual wage calculation method, you'll need:
You will need:
For more information, read the checklist of liable and exempt items.
Total interstate wages comprise all those wage components that are liable for payroll tax in the state or territory where the interstate wages are paid.
If you’re a member of a group and are claiming the threshold, or you are the nominated group single lodger, you also need:
You can save the information entered and return to complete the form later.
If you had a payroll tax liability in NSW less than $150,000 in the previous financial year, you'll need to calculate your estimate using the following examples as a guide.
Example 1: Vanilla Pty Ltd employed for the full 2019/20 financial year (366 days as it was a leap year), with a total NSW payroll tax liability of $35,000.
| Calculation of estimate – existing taxpayer | Employed for all of the previous financial year |
|---|---|
| (Total tax payable in previous financial year x 1 + current rate*) / total number of days employed in previous financial year | (35,000 x 1.03) / 366 = 98.50 |
| Daily estimate x (366/12) | 98.50 x (366/12) = $3,004 |
| Monthly estimate for July – May | $3,004 |
Example 2: Strawberry Pty Ltd began employing in Australia on 1 October 2019 and, therefore, only employed for 274 days in the 2019/20 financial year. Their total NSW payroll tax liability for the previous financial year was $25,000.
| Calculation of estimate – existing taxpayer | Employed for part of the previous financial year |
|---|---|
| (Total tax payable in previous financial year x 1 + current rate*) / total number of days employed in previous financial year | (25,000 x 1.03) / 274 = 93.98 |
| Daily estimate x (366/12) | 93.98 x (366/12) = $2,866 |
| Monthly estimate for July – May | $2,866 |
*The current rate is 3%.
If you didn't have a payroll tax liability in NSW for the previous financial year, you'll need to have paid payroll tax for at least three separate months in the current financial year before you can use the estimate method.
Example 3: Chocolate Pty Ltd started employing in NSW as of 1 July 2020 and paid payroll tax of $6,000 in the current financial year for the months of July, August and September (a total of 92 days). They have decided to use the estimate method for the remainder of the financial year.
| Calculation of estimate – new taxpayer | Payments paid for 3 months of the current financial year |
|---|---|
| Total tax paid in the current financial year / total number of days to which the paid payroll tax relates to. | 6,000 / 92 = 65.22 |
| Daily estimate x (366/12) | 65.22 x (366/12) = $1,989 |
| Monthly estimate for October – May | $1,989 |
Example 4: Caramel Pty Ltd started employing in NSW as of 1 August 2020 and paid payroll tax of $15,000 in the current financial year for the months of August, September, October and November (a total of 122 days). They have decided to use the estimate method for the remainder of the financial year.
| Calculation of estimate – new taxpayer | Payments paid for 4 months of the current financial year |
|---|---|
| Total tax paid in the current financial year / total number of days to which the paid payroll tax relates to. | 15,000 / 122 = 122.95 |
| Daily estimate x (366/12) | 122.95 x (366/12) = $3,749 |
| Monthly estimate for December – May | $3,749 |
Once you've determined your estimate amount, you can enter and save the amount for a month, and/or for the remaining months of the financial year, in the monthly calculator. You can also schedule your direct debit payments.
Using the estimate option in the monthly calculator won't pre-populate your estimate amounts in your annual reconciliation at the end of the financial year.
The 2020/21 NSW State Budget has announced a temporary reduction in the payroll tax rate to 4.85% for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years. The threshold will also increase to $1,200,000 for the 2020/21 and subsequent financial years. These changes will apply retrospectively from 1 July 2020.
More information will be provided on our website once the Payroll Tax Act 2007 has been amended.
The payroll tax rate is 5.45 per cent. From 1 July 2020, the threshold is $1,000,000. Your monthly threshold is calculated using the number of days in the month, divided by the number of days in the year, multiplied by the threshold.
The payroll tax liability if your NSW wages for the full month of July are $115,000.
| Calculation of threshold for period of employment | Monthly - full period |
|---|---|
(Number of days employing x threshold) / Number of days in the period | (31 x $900,000) / 366 = $76,230 If employing for less than a full month, |
| Calculation of employers tax payable for the period | |
| (Employers NSW wages - threshold for the period) x tax rate on the balance | ($115,000 - $76,230) x 5.45% = $2,112.97 |
The payroll tax liability if your NSW wages for the full month of April 2019 are $115,000 and interstate wages are $50,000. Making your total Australian wages $165,000.
| Calculation of threshold for period of employment | Monthly - full period |
|---|---|
(Number of days employing x threshold) / Number of days in period | (30 x $900,000) / 366 = $73,770 If employing for less than a full month, |
| (NSW wages x threshold) / Employer's total Australian wages | ($115,000 x $73,770) / $165,000 = $51,415 |
| Calculation of employer's tax payable for the period | |
| (Employers NSW wages - threshold for the period) x tax rate on the balance | ($115,000 - $51,415) x 5.45% = $3,465.38 |
The payroll tax liability if your business is grouped with another business for the full month of November 2018. Your NSW wages are $80,000, the other group members total NSW wages are $50,000 and the group’s total Australian wages are $200,000.
| Calculation of threshold for period of employment | Monthly - full period |
|---|---|
(Number of days employing x threshold) / Number of days in period | (30 x $900,000) / 366 = $73,770 If employing for less than a full month, |
| Calculation of threshold for period of employment | |
| (Total NSW wages of group x threshold) / Total Australian group wages | (($80,000 + $50,000) x $73,770) / $200,000 = $47,951 |
| Calculation of employer's tax payable for the period | |
| (Employers NSW wages - threshold for the period) x tax rate on the balance | ($80,000 - $47,951) x 5.45% = $1,746.67 |
If you employ apprentices or trainees and want to calculate the apprentice/trainee offset, you will need to do the following:
Information collected from you on the registration form helps us determine if you have a liability or entitlement. The information may be provided to third parties with your consent or as required or permitted by law. We will correct or update your personal information at your request. You can read our privacy page for more information.