Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding
Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding is a legal requirement to withhold amounts for income tax purposes.
If you have employees, you're required to withhold tax from payments you make to them. You may have to withhold tax from payments to other workers, such as contract workers. As a new employer, you must register with the Tax Office before you withhold from payments to your employees.
You may also need to withhold an amount from payments to other businesses if they don't quote their ABN to you on an invoice or other document if required.
You must send all withheld amounts to the Tax Office.
What to do...
- Visit the Tax Office website to:
- find out more about PAYG withholding essentials
- read No ABN withholding - questions and answers
- refer to the Tax Tables or use the Tax Withheld Calculator to calculate the amount you need to withhold from your employees and other workers.
To register for PAYG withholding:
- use the same form that the you use when you apply for an ABN
- phone 13 28 66 (you will need to have your ABN or tax file number to register over the phone)
- phone 1300 720 092 to request a copy of the Add a new business account form to complete.
This content is supplied to Flying Solo via business.gov.au,
the Australian Government's principal website for business information and resources.
