Payroll tax accountants for Sydney businesses
Payroll tax registration, calculation and lodgement support for growing Sydney businesses, so you stay compliant with your state obligations as your team expands.
Payroll tax, separate from running your payroll
Payroll tax is a state-based tax on your total taxable wages, a defined term that includes salaries, superannuation, fringe benefits and most contractor payments, once those wages pass the relevant threshold. If you employ staff in more than one state, don’t assume you get the full threshold in each one. Every state apportions your threshold based on your wages there as a share of your combined national wage bill. This is a common trap for growing businesses expanding interstate.
SMA Business Advisory provides payroll tax accounting for growing Sydney businesses, helping you work out whether you need to register, calculate what you owe, and stay compliant with the relevant state revenue authority, Revenue NSW for NSW-based employees, or the equivalent body in other states such as the Queensland Revenue Office. This is handled alongside your other tax compliance by a CPA-qualified, registered tax agent, so nothing falls through the gap between services.
Registration through to
ongoing lodgement
We assess your position, calculate your liability, and manage lodgement and correspondence with the relevant state revenue authority so payroll tax doesn’t catch you by surprise as your business grows.
- Registration assessment
- Calculation & reconciliation
- Grouping provisions review
- Lodgement & correspondence
Grouping rules reviewed properly, not assumed away
Payroll tax grouping rules catch out a lot of business owners who run more than one related entity, and Manraj reviews your structure specifically for this risk rather than treating each entity in isolation.
Because payroll tax is handled alongside your other tax compliance, your wages, BAS and income tax figures stay consistent across every lodgement, which matters most once your business operates through more than one entity.
- Grouping provisions specifically reviewed for businesses with related entities
- Payroll tax handled alongside your BAS and income tax, not as a standalone task
- Support correcting a past underpayment, including voluntary disclosure to the relevant state revenue authority
- One adviser managing your position as your team and wage bill grow
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions we hear most often. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
What is payroll tax, exactly?
It’s a state-based tax on your total taxable wages, a defined term that includes salaries, superannuation, fringe benefits and most contractor payments, once you pass a registration threshold for the relevant state revenue authority. If you employ staff in more than one state, that threshold is based on your combined national wage bill, not just what you pay in that state.
Is payroll tax the same as running my payroll each week?
No. Running payroll is the process of paying your staff and meeting their withholding and superannuation obligations. Payroll tax is a separate state-based tax on your total wage bill. If you need help with running payroll, see our Payroll Processing service.
How do I know if my business needs to register for payroll tax?
It depends on your total taxable wages, a defined term broader than just salaries, combined with wages paid by any grouped related entities. If you employ across more than one state, total taxable wages include your total wages Australia-wide. We can review your current and projected wages and confirm your position.
What are grouping provisions, and why do they matter?
Grouping combines related businesses into a single taxpayer for payroll tax, triggered by common ownership, common control, related companies, or even just shared employees between entities. Grouped businesses share one threshold between them rather than one each, and every member becomes jointly and severally liable for the group’s payroll tax, meaning one entity’s unpaid liability can be pursued against another.
What happens if I've underpaid payroll tax without realising?
We can review your position, help you correct any underpayment, and manage the conversation with the relevant state revenue authority if a voluntary disclosure is needed.
Do you handle payroll tax for businesses with employees across multiple states?
Yes. We assess your obligations based on your combined national wage bill and the relevant requirements of each state revenue authority, given thresholds and rates vary by jurisdiction.
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