Payroll Tax: What is It and Why is It Important to Pay?

If you are a business owner, you must know about payroll tax from the moment when you hire your first employee. It is for employers and based on the amount of the monthly wages paid to the temporary, permanent and casual employees and certain contractors. You can seek help from taxation accountants if you find difficulty understanding payroll taxes. To know more about payroll tax and its importance, keep reading this blog:

What is Payroll Tax?

Payroll taxes are considered financial obligations you and your employees are liable to pay. There are several types of payroll taxes – some are paid to the federal government and others are paid to the territory or state authorities. When it comes to the payroll tax, it is paid to the territory and state authorities on the money that employees earn. Being an employer, you need to calculate an estimate of those taxes and pay them to the government authorities on your employees’ behalf. If you don’t know how to calculate payroll tax, you can opt for taxation services where a tax accountant will help you.

What do You Need to Register for Payroll Tax?

If you are registering for payroll taxes, then you might have to submit a few details. Once you start entering details, they can’t be undone. Usually, you need:

• Australian Business Number (ABN)

• Contact, address, and bank details

• The date when you first employed staff

• All payments to employees for the existing/current year and the four previous years, including:

1. Fringe benefits

2. Wages and salaries

3. Termination payments

4. Allowances

5. Contractor payments

6. Director fees

7. Commissions and bounces

8. Shares and options

9. Employer superannuation contributions

You can hire Australian taxation accountants for your company so you can rely on them for payroll taxes. The detail that you need to provide while registering for payroll tax may differ from state to territory.

Why is It Important to Pay Payroll Tax?

When you think of payroll tax, it is important for the proper functioning of the tax system. State, territory and federal authorities depend on the employers to accurately calculate, evaluate, and submit taxes to ensure the tax system is operating properly. If you don’t have enough time to look after these types of taxes for your business, then it is advisable to seek help from taxation accounting services. Payroll tax finances the territory or state’s budget where the workers work. It also ensures that employees don’t need to pay a total sum of taxes at the end of the financial year.

Is There Any Difference Between Income Tax and Payroll Tax?

Yes, income tax and payroll tax both are different. The primary difference between income tax and the payroll tax is that payroll tax depends on the amount you pay your employees and contractors as wage. On the other hand, income tax depends on the business’s taxable earnings. When you or your taxation accountant in Melbourne calculate your payroll tax, then your company’s income is not considered.

Do You Need to Pay Taxes on Payroll?

As an employer, you are required to pay taxes on the payroll if your total payroll exceeds or meets a threshold that is usually determined by your territory and state authority. When the tax is collected and paid by the employer, it means the amount is coming from the employees’ wages. You can check whether you meet or exceed a threshold according to the limit set by your state or territory authority. Thus, it is important to understand the federal regulations and state or territory authority to know where you have a tax obligation. Despite this, you need to have accurate business books before you calculate to pay any tax. For this purpose, it is advisable to hire a Melbourne bookkeeper.

Conclusion

You need to have an extensive amount of knowledge to ensure the accuracy of payroll taxes. If you want to make sure that your company calculates and submits your payroll taxes on time and accurately, then it would be the best idea to hire a tax accountant for your company. If you are running a business, it is important for you to pay all types of taxes to which you are liable to avoid any type of penalty or fine. Moreover, you can also seek help from Reliable Melbourne Accountants for accounting solutions for your business.