Finalise your Single Touch Payroll before 14 July

If you employ staff, one of your key end of financial year obligations is your Single Touch Payroll (STP) finalisation. For the 2025–26 financial year, the declaration is due by 14 July 2026, and getting it done on time matters for both you and your employees. 

What STP finalisation means 

Throughout the year, your software reports wages, PAYG withholding and super to the ATO. Finalisation is the last step: it confirms your reporting is complete and that each employee’s year to date figures are correct. 

Once finalised, employees’ income statements show as “Tax ready” in myGov, which is what they and their tax agents use to lodge.  

The deadline 

The 14 July deadline applies to most employers, regardless of business size. Different due dates can apply if you have closely held payees (such as family members, directors or shareholders), so check your situation if this applies to you. 

If you can’t finalise by your due date, you can’t simply lodge late, you’ll need to apply to the ATO for a deferral. 

Quick checks before you finalise 

Before submitting your final declaration, take a moment to make sure the information is correct. Ask yourself: 

• Are all year to date amounts correct? 

• Have I included all employees, including those not paid recently, such as casual workers and former staff? 

• Have I reported under the right Australian Business Number (ABN) in STP? 

If you’ve changed payroll software or employees’ payroll IDs during the year, you may need to check the ATO Instructions on what you need to do to keep your STP data correct. 

Errors can be corrected after finalising, but if an employee has already lodged their return, they may need to amend, so it’s far better to get it right the first time. 

We can help 

End of year payroll can be one of the more stressful parts of running a business. If you’d like a hand reviewing your figures or finalising your STP correctly and on time, please get in touch with our team before 14 July.