Australia / Guides / Single Touch Payroll finalisation: what happens by 14 July
Australia · guideSingle Touch Payroll finalisation: what happens by 14 July
The short answer
Single Touch Payroll finalisation is a declaration made to the ATO, through STP-enabled payroll software, confirming that the amounts reported for each employee across the financial year are complete and correct. For most employers it is due by 14 July following the end of the financial year; employers with closely held payees have until 30 September for those payees. Finalisation is what flips an employee income statement in myGov from "not tax ready" to "tax ready," and it is lodged by the employer or their registered agent, not by the employee.
Key facts — verified dates on each
What finalisation actually declares
Employers using Single Touch Payroll report payroll information — gross pay, tax withheld, superannuation liability, and related amounts — to the ATO each pay run throughout the year. Finalisation is a separate, one-time-per-employee event at year end: a declaration that the year-to-date figures already reported are the final figures for that employee for that financial year, with nothing more to correct before the employee relies on them.
Finalisation is made per employee, not as a single blanket action for the whole payroll, though most STP-enabled software lets an employer finalise all employees for a financial year in one operation. The declaration is what the ATO uses to unlock the employee income statement for tax return pre-fill.
The 14 July deadline
Employers with arm’s length employees must make their finalisation declaration by 14 July each year. This is the standard deadline referenced across ATO guidance for STP reporters and applies regardless of employer size once ordinary (non-closely-held) employees are on payroll.
The date matters because employees who lodge their own tax returns early in July are relying on the income statement showing as "tax ready." Late STP lodgment can fall within the ATO’s general failure-to-lodge penalty framework, though ATO guidance describes a practical, case-by-case approach to STP compliance rather than an automatic fine for every late finalisation. The more immediate cost of missing the date is that any employee who has already lodged a return did so against figures that were not yet finalised.
Closely held payees: the 30 September carve-out
A closely held payee is someone directly related to the entity paying them — for example a family member of a family business, a director of a closely held company, a beneficiary of a trust, or a shareholder of a closely held company. The ATO applies a separate, later finalisation date to this group because closely held payees are less likely to be relying on an early income statement to lodge.
Where an employer has both arm’s length employees and closely held payees, the arm’s length group is still due by 14 July; the closely held group is due by 30 September. An employer whose payroll consists only of closely held payees has until the closely held payee’s own individual tax return due date to finalise, which in practice can run later still.
- Arm’s length employees — 14 July
- Closely held payees, mixed payroll — 30 September
- Closely held payees only — the payee’s individual return due date
What employees see in myGov
Before finalisation, an employee’s income statement in ATO online services (accessed through myGov) is marked "not tax ready" or shown as year-to-date only. Once the employer lodges the finalisation declaration, the ATO updates the status to "tax ready" and the figures become available for tax return pre-fill and for the myGov app’s income statement view.
This is the visible signal employees use to know their payroll information is settled for the year. A "not tax ready" income statement after 14 July is usually the first sign an employer has not yet finalised, rather than a system delay on the ATO side.
Correcting figures after finalisation
A finalisation declaration is not a one-way door. If an employer identifies an error after lodging — a missed allowance, an incorrect reportable fringe benefit amount, a superannuation liability correction — the fix is to resubmit an updated finalisation event through the same STP-enabled software, which flows the corrected figures through to the employee’s income statement.
Amended STP information can be lodged for up to five years after the end of the financial year it relates to, which gives employers room to correct historical errors well past the original deadline. A correction typically also involves checking the business activity statement labels for the relevant period, and notifying the affected employee, since they may need to amend a tax return that was prepared from the earlier figures.
Reconciling each pay cycle beats a year-end scramble
STP finalisation is fastest and least error-prone when it is a confirmation of numbers that were already checked, not the first time anyone looks closely at a year of payroll data. Reconciling gross pay, tax withheld, and superannuation guarantee accruals against the general ledger each pay cycle — rather than only at year end — means finalisation week is spent reviewing a short list of exceptions instead of auditing twelve months of payroll in a few days.
Superannuation guarantee liability calculations and BAS-related labels sit with the business’s registered BAS or tax agent, who is the right party to confirm those figures before a finalisation declaration is lodged. STP finalisation itself is reported by the employer, or by the registered agent acting for the employer, through STP-enabled payroll software — bookkeeping support can keep the underlying payroll ledger reconciled through the year so that step is a formality rather than a fire drill.
The figures, and when we checked them
These numbers change by year or by notification. Each one shows the date we last verified it against the source — if that date looks old, check the source before relying on it.
Questions on this
What does STP finalisation mean?
It is the declaration an employer makes through STP-enabled payroll software confirming that the year-to-date payroll figures reported for an employee are final and complete for that financial year.
When is the STP finalisation deadline?
14 July following the end of the financial year for employees who are not closely held. Employers with closely held payees have until 30 September for that group.
What happens if an employer misses 14 July?
The affected employees’ income statements remain "not tax ready" in myGov until finalisation is lodged, which can cause pre-fill problems for anyone who has already lodged a return. Late STP lodgment can fall within the ATO’s failure-to-lodge penalty framework, in addition to the pre-fill disruption.
Who counts as a closely held payee?
Someone directly related to the paying entity — for example a family member in a family business, a director of a closely held company, or a beneficiary of a trust or shareholder of a closely held company.
What is the finalisation deadline for closely held payees?
30 September following the end of the financial year, where the employer also has arm’s length employees. If the payroll consists only of closely held payees, the due date aligns with the payee’s own individual tax return due date.
How do employees know their income statement is finalised?
In ATO online services accessed through myGov, the income statement status changes from "not tax ready" to "tax ready" once the employer’s finalisation declaration is processed.
Can a finalisation declaration be corrected after it is lodged?
Yes. An employer can resubmit an updated finalisation event through STP-enabled software, and amended STP information can be lodged up to five years after the end of the relevant financial year.
Does STP finalisation replace an employee’s tax return?
No. Finalisation only confirms the payroll data used to pre-fill a tax return; the employee still needs to lodge their own return.
Do sole traders need to worry about STP finalisation?
A sole trader with no employees on payroll has no STP finalisation obligation for themselves. STP applies to payments made to employees and, separately, to closely held payees of a business.
Who actually submits the finalisation declaration — the employer or their accountant?
Either can, depending on how payroll is run. The declaration is lodged through STP-enabled payroll software by the employer directly or by a registered agent acting for the employer; superannuation guarantee liability and BAS-related figures feeding into it are matters for that registered agent to confirm.
Primary sources
- ATO — Finalise your STP data by 14 July
- ATO — End-of-year finalisation through STP
- ATO — Closely held (related) payees
- ATO — Finalising your STP data (Phase 2 employer reporting guidelines)
- ATO — Accessing your income statement online
Last reviewed 2026-08-14. Statutes and schedules change — the sources above are authoritative, this page is orientation.
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