Tax Facts – PAYG Withholding

Pay as you go (PAYG) withholding is a system for withholding amounts from payments to employees and businesses. An entity will have withholding obligations if the entity:

• Has employees, including company directors and officeholders
• Has other workers such as contractors, and voluntarily agrees to withhold tax from payments to them
• Makes payments to other businesses, if they don’t quote an Australian business number (ABN) to the entity

If you are an employer or run a business and withhold amounts from payments, you need to:

• Register for PAYG withholding
• Withhold amounts from wages and other payments
• Lodge activity statements and pay the withheld amounts to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• Provide payment summaries to employees and other payees
• Provide the ATO with an annual report once each income year has ended.