✨ What are Qualifying Earnings?
Under Payday Super, super guarantee and super payments made under collective agreements, are calculated from an employee's qualifying earnings (QE). Qualifying earnings is a new STP reporting category which includes payments from ordinary hours of work, and some other payments. QE must be reported to the ATO as part of your pay runs and other STP submissions.
Learn more about what payments are qualifying earnings.
From 1 July 2026, all submissions to the ATO will include Qualifying Earnings (QE). It is important that your payroll setup is reviewed before your first pay run of the 2026/27 financial year.
If you are unsure how QE applies to your business, speak with your accountant or payroll advisor.
✨ What's changed in Reckon Accounts for QE?
You can now designate which items are QE in Reckon Accounts Hosted 2026 and Reckon Accounts Desktop 2026 v35. These versions also include a new QE column to the payroll item list. This will indicate whether a specific payroll item is set as QE.
IMPORTANT - When you upgrade to Reckon Accounts Hosted 2026 and/or Reckon Accounts Desktop v35, default QE settings will be applied to payroll items based on tax tracking type however its important that you review all your items to ensure QE is setup on all relevant items.
✨ What do I need to do?
Before you get started, its important that you review the ATO's guidance on Qualifying Earnings HERE.
When you're ready to proceed, follow the 3 steps outlined below.
1️⃣ Review your payroll items
Head to Lists ➡️ Payroll Item List and review each payroll item to ensure it has been correctly assigned to QE.
To easily view which items are set as QE, add the Qualifying Earnings column to your payroll item list. Go to Lists ➡️ Payroll Item List ➡️ Payroll Item ➡️ Customise Columns ➡️ Qualifying Earnings ➡️ Add ➡️ OK.
2️⃣ Update QE settings (if required)
If a payroll item needs to be updated, double click the item to edit it. Click Next until you reach the Inclusions screen then tick or untick the new Qualifying Earnings option as required. Click Finish to save your changes.
Important info
ℹ️ The QE setting is based on the Tax Tracking Type
ℹ️ Some payroll items cannot be edited (for example, certain termination or lump sum categories)
ℹ️ If you are unsure whether a payroll item should be included as QE, speak with your accountant or payroll advisor.
3️⃣ Review employee setup
After updating your payroll items, review your employee profile to ensure everything is setup correctly.
Check the Payroll and Compensation Info tab in employee profiles to ensure they have the correct pay items listed.
📖 More info
Check out more info in our help guide here -
https://help.reckon.com/article/uf5lmrhmfu?utm_source=kb&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=qe
