From XU Magazine, 
Issue 28

Payroll for Withholding Payer Number

This article originated from the Xero blog. The XU Hub is an independent news and media platform - for Xero users, by Xero users. Any content, imagery and associated links below are directly from Xero and not produced by the XU Hub.
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A Withholding Payer Number (WPN) is allocated to individuals, and some non-individuals, who do not have an Australian Business Number (ABN) but have withholding obligations under Pay as You Go (PAYG).

Non-individual WPN holders include:

  • Embassies
  • International entities
  • School canteens
  • Sporting clubs

Single Touch Payroll started in July 2018 for employers with 20 or more employees, and July 2019 for employers with 19 or few employees and is mandatory.  The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) made an exemption for employers with a WPN reporting through STP and this has been extended to the 2021-22 financial year. WPN’s do not need to wait until this date as they can start reporting via STP now. 

Employers are required to accept and meet legal and regulatory responsibilities. By choosing an easy-to-use cloud-based payroll solution, such as CloudPayroll, your clients can process their pay run with a WPN as well as:

  • Pay their employees via bank.aba file. Alternatively, CloudPayroll can pay employees with 2-day direct debit method.
  • Calculate PAYG and pay direct to ATO each pay run or provide a report to assist with payment each quarter.
  • Calculate and pay (optional) superannuation.
  • Provide an online Timelog tool for employees to record hours work for approval to then be included in the pay run.
  • Online leave management (optional)

WPN’s may also be required by clients that employ household domestic services, for example, nannies, carers, cleaners, gardeners, or housekeepers. 

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) enables direct employment of a staff member if your client self-manages their NDIS funding. With the recent changes made to NDIS by the ATO/Government, CloudPayroll have seen a growth in participants (or a nominee of the participants) processing their payroll with CloudPayroll as they have a WPN only.

As part of CloudPayroll’s onboarding and implementation process we support our clients throughout the setup process. This includes, if applicable, setting up various pay rates depending on when employees are working, for example, evening shift, Saturday or Sunday etc. Training is personalised to support each client to ensure a smooth pay run which means employees are paid correctly and on time, every time.

With ongoing unlimited phone and email support at no additional cost, your clients can have the peace of mind that they can get assistance when required.

Why leave it there?

To request our demo

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