Payment summaries and income statements
Employees get either an income statement or a payment summary from their employer at the end of each financial year.
On this page:
End-of-year summaries
Employers must give their employees a statement of information showing the payments made to them and amounts withheld for the financial year, including:
- salary and wages
- tax withheld from payments (pay as you go (PAYG) withholding)
- Reportable Employer Super Contributions (RESC) – this includes salary sacrifice or additional super contributions (super guarantee contributions aren’t included).
This ensures employees have the right information they need to lodge their income tax return.
The type of end-of-year summary an employee gets depends on how their employer reports their payroll to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
An employee gets either:
- an Income statements – if the employer reports to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll (STP)
- a PAYG payment summary – if the employer is covered by a deferral or exemption from STP.
An employer should tell their employees whether they will be getting an income statement or a payment summary.
Employers don’t have to give their employees a payment summary for amounts they report and finalise through STP.
Income statements
Most employees in Australia get an income statement. This is because most employers in Australia use STP to report to the ATO.
Employers don’t give the income statement directly to the employee. Employees can see their end-of-year income statement in their myGov account.
Employees can find information about how to access their income statement on the ATO’s Access your income statement page.
Employers have until 14 July each year to:
- check that their STP data is correct
- make a finalisation declaration for the financial year.
Employers should tell their employees if there are any delays finalising their income statement.
Go to the ATO’s website to learn more about End-of-year finalisation through STP.
PAYG payment summaries
If an employer has deferred using STP or is exempt from using it, they have to give their employees a PAYG payment summary for the financial year by 14 July.
The PAYG payment summary is also known as a ‘group certificate’.
For more information, visit the ATO’s page PAYG withholding payment summaries.
