Forum Discussion

Carol6's avatar
2 years ago

TFN Declaration Employee OnBoarding STP2

Hi 

 

We are looking for some clarification regarding the completed TFN declaration that according to the ATO (see below) must be kept for your records.  When using MYOB Employee Onboarding - where is the TFN declaration that is required to be kept as a record?  

 

 "If you’re using Single Touch Payroll (STP) Phase 2-enabled reporting software

  • Your STP Phase 2 reporting already includes the information we need.
  • You must keep your employees' completed TFN declarations for your records."

 

  • PriyaSelvaraj's avatar
    PriyaSelvaraj
    2 years ago

    Hi JillL1 ,

     

    Hope you are having a great day! Thank you for our patience  while waiting for the response.

     

    I certainly understand your concern on conflicting answers and would like to add a personal apology as my previous reply also adds to the conflict.

     

    Based on the above conflicts and your further questions, I escalated these answers for review directly with the Product Manager responsible for the employee onboarding integration and would like to provide a definitive answer here.

     

    The first point is that Flare does indeed provide a virtual TFN Declaration form in accordance with these standards:  https://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/sites/default/files/resource-attachments/n73963_js36410_TFN_declaration_approved_electronic_payee_to_payer_process.pdf

     

    The details in the form are then stored securely by Flare, and can be retrieved by MYOB's system at any time through the use of the PDF snapshot feature we have, with the given date and time of the submission of the form.

     

    The PDF snapshot we have is indeed sufficient to cover the ATO's requirement to store the TFN declaration on record, as it is a reflection of what was captured as part of that virtual form, and contains all the required information.

     

    The TFN information itself is submitted to the ATO as part of the STP2 process after the records from Flare have been imported into our system.

     

    So just to confirm, the Flare onboarding process is entirely sufficient in terms of record keeping for the collection of TFN and Super details, and no additional forms are required to be stored.

     

    Hope this helps and I would like to assure that our moderators will be updated with right information.

     

    Cheers

    Priya Selvaraj

  • HI Carol6,

     

    Thank you for your post and welcome to the Community Forum. 

     

    Thank you for Expressing your concern. In this regard, the TFN declaration is when you applied for a Tax File Number for exceptions and inclusions on the employee’s tax. You can get the details when you export the card file. You can select the name and all filter for tax. If you are on the STP2, you do not need to send it to the ATO. You can check this LINK for more information.  

     

    If you require any further assistance or questions, please feel free to post again. Rest assured that one of the MYOB Community Forum Moderators will attend it. 

     

    If my response has answered your enquiry, please click "Accept as Solution" to assist other users find this information. 

     

    Kind Regards,  

    Cel

     

    • JillL1's avatar
      JillL1
      Experienced User

      Hi Cel

       

      When asking this same question of the ATO, their response is as below:

       

      Yes, it’s necessary as part of your record keeping obligations.

      Have a look at our Payer information and obligations page under the TFN declaration page it explains on what you need to keep and for how long.

      This includes when the employee completes the paper form, or they have provided a printed employee tax and/or super details summary from ATO online.

       

      Can you confirm that you have a direct ATO response of an exemption to the above two options.   We are looking for clear confirmation that the onboarding information provided is sufficient.   We understand that the onboarding information gives the detail required to deduct tax BUT does than on it's own satisfy the ATO record keeping requirements?   Your response and the ATO response are different.    

      • Celia_B's avatar
        Celia_B
        MYOB Staff

        Hi JillL1,

         

        Thank you for your post.  

         

        In this regard, the TFN declaration you entered during onboarding cannot be printed as it is stored online. You can keep a paper copy of your records. Or we recommend speaking with your accountant.  

         

        Feel free to post again if you need further assistance.  

         

        If my response has answered your enquiry, please click "Accept as Solution" to assist other users find this information. 

         

        Thanks,  

        Cel

         

  • Earl_HD's avatar
    Earl_HD
    MYOB Moderator

    Hi Carol6,

    Thank you so much for your post and welcome to the Community Forum! Sorry to hear about the issue you've been facing. I really appreciate your patience and understanding about this issue, and I do apologize for the delayed response.

    MYOB's Employee Onboarding feature, which includes Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting, typically captures and stores TFN declarations electronically. While the exact location and method may vary depending on the MYOB software version and setup, you can generally find these completed TFN declarations in your employee records or within the STP reporting system. Here's a general guide on how to locate them:

     

      Log in to MYOB: Access your MYOB account using your credentials.

     

      Access Employee Records: Navigate to the section or module where you manage your employees. This could be labeled as "Employee Records," "Employee Management," or similar.

     

      Select Employee: Choose the specific employee for whom you want to access the TFN declaration.

     

      View Employee Details: Within the employee's profile or details, you should find a section related to tax or TFN information. This is where you typically locate the TFN declaration.

     

      Review Documents: Look for an option like "Tax Documents," "Tax Declaration," or "TFN Declaration." This is where you may find the completed TFN declaration form.

     

      Store Securely: Ensure that you securely store the TFN declaration as required by the ATO for your records.

     

    Please do let me know how you go on this.
    Regards,
    Earl

    • JillL1's avatar
      JillL1
      Experienced User

      Hi Earl

       

      Thanks for your detailed response.   We are using Account Right Plus 2023.7.0.    Can you please give guidance on how to access the TFN declaration using that version of the software?

       

      There is a PDF accessable under payroll/personal details which gives a summary of onboarding information but is not a TFN declaration.    The Super Choice form is available under the Superanuation tab but nothing for TFN under the taxes tab?

       

       

      • Earl_HD's avatar
        Earl_HD
        MYOB Moderator

        Hi JillL1,

        Thanks for reaching out. In MYOB AccountRight Plus 2023.7.0, accessing the TFN (Tax File Number) declaration might vary slightly depending on how you've set up your employee onboarding process. Typically, you can access the TFN declaration as follows:
         

        Log in to your MYOB AccountRight Plus software.

        Navigate to the Payroll module.

        Go to the "Payroll Reporting" section or a similar option that manages employee details.

        Look for an option related to employee onboarding or tax information. This is where you should be able to access the TFN declaration form or summary.

        Once you find the TFN declaration section, you should be able to view and manage the TFN declaration forms submitted by employees.
         

        If you can't find the TFN declaration in the Taxes tab, please check other sections of the Payroll module related to employee details or onboarding. 

        Please do let me know how you go on this.
        Regards,
        Earl

  • Earl_HD's avatar
    Earl_HD
    MYOB Moderator

    Hi Carol6,

    Thanks for the detailed information and my apologies for the late response. That's right, you can simply utilize the PDF copy of the employee details for self-onboarding. You can also visit this help article that has detailed information about: Employee self-onboarding 


    Please do let me know how you go on this.
    Regards,
    Earl

    • JillL1's avatar
      JillL1
      Experienced User

      Hello Earl

       

      To keep this straight forward lets go back to the earlier question.    Are you confirming that the PDF called "Employee Details submitted via Employee Onboarding" satisfies the ATO record keeping requirement for TFN Declarations?

       

      Jill

       

      • Hi Earl

         

        We are about to use the Employee Onboarding once again for new employee.  Do you have an answer as to whether the  PDF called "Employee Details submitted via Employee Onboarding" satisfies the ATO record keeping requirement for TFN Declarations?

         

        Carol

  • Hi Carol6 JillL1 

     

    Thanks for raising this query.

     

    I would like to provide some clarity around this TFN declaration in the Employee Onboarding process.

     

    The employee should do their TFN Declaration as per the normal process through the ATO Portal and give a copy to the employer when they start with them. The employer will then put the TFN into the employee card where it will be included in STP submissions as normal.

    Flare has also confirmed that they do not store the TFN as part of their details. We recommend storing copies of declarations as per normal business process, as it is not part of STP or stored in MYOB Software directly. 

     

    Hope this helps and appreciate your patience.

     

    If you have any further questions, please reach out.

     

    Cheers

    Priya Selvaraj

    • JillL1's avatar
      JillL1
      Experienced User

      Hi Priya

       

      Thank you for your reply and clarification that the ATO record keeping requirements are not filled by the onboarding process.    It is good to get that clarity however it is very frustrating that we both need to replicate the process solely for that purpose and that this response has been so difficult to extract from MYOB.    It also opens up the possibility of incorrect or conflicting answers from the employee by supplying two different versions of the same information.

       

      Can you please respond to the following:

       

      - The onboarding process includes TFN details which are automatically pre-filled to the employee card, from the data the employee enters.   Why would we then need to re-enter the duplicate information supplied by the employee from either the MyGov entry (presume this is what you mean by ATO portal) or via completion of a paper form? 

       

      - Please confirm that MYOB are intending to urgently change the misleading wording on the software that tells the user that there is "no need" to capture separate TFN and super forms when registered for STP2.    Although it has taken over a week to get that clarity the statement is clearly wrong and will no doubt lead to MYOB users not meeting their ATO reporting compliance.

       

      - Please confirm that MYOB will review the help information to clearly state that when using the onboarding process there is still a need to duplicate the TFN capture via an ATO paper TFN declaration form OR by entering directly via their MYGOV account and providing a printed copy to the employer.

       

      - Please confirm that MYOB will update the Moderators so that clearer answers can be given in future.    This trail could be a good training tool for moderators as it shows multiple conflicting responses.

       

      Regards
      Jill

       

      • JillL1's avatar
        JillL1
        Experienced User

        Hi PriyaSelvaraj 

         

        Could we have a response please?     Even if it just an acknowledgement that you will consider these points and get back to us.

         

        Jill