1) Pensioners still working and wishing to use the SAPTO (schedule 2) Lodging BAS with ATO

I am using Reckon Hosted 2023 v1.0.1 - the latest version.

II have done my first pay in STP phase 2. Only known glitch was around pensioners working and decreased tax through SAPTO and LITO. Could be a bit more on preparing for that. Was it available in 2022 Reckon Hosted?

BAS

When I attempt to lodge BAS in Reckon Hosted, Internet explorer loads and I am asked to log in with Gov ID, ( see second screen shot) That was successful.

I am then taken to a new ATO page ( see screen shot) which states that the business portal has been retired and I am asked to click "login"

When I click on Login, the next screen (see third screenshot) states that IE version 11 is no longer supported and I need to upgrade to a supported browser.

Internet explorer v 11 incompatible with ATO web site.png

I have looked up Reckon community regarding this issue. About 2 years ago, the advice was to login to the business portal but the ATO web page states that it is retired.

Despite the ATO stating the business portal is retired, I could log in to the ATO via the ATO business services page again using Gov ID and then under "lodgments", manually entered the BAS numbers and successfully lodged the BAS.

Question: If the "Lodge" button at the bottom of the Reckon Hosted BAS screen does not work because it is using an unsupported web browser, shouldn't the "lodge" button be disabled and a message appear advising the user to lodge the BAS through ATO business services with its URL or alternatively the Reckon software direct IE to open the ATO Business services Page for the user to then login using Gov ID.

It would ideal if the BAS data was uploaded automatically like STP does.

Similarly it would be more efficient if the Super data for the last month/quarter for an employee were also uploaded automatically (and then checked by the person uploading before submitting). Is the ATO not ready for one or both STP and BAS uploading files or is this something Reckon is working on?🙂

Comments

Acctd4

Hi Don

The SAPTO & LITO you refer to are tax return-based. These offsets are dependent on an employee’s total income (& other factors for eligibility) at EOFY, not just payroll. The additional STP Tax Category dropdown selections in the STP2 Migration process are information-only & do not impact actual tax calculations within the program's payroll.

The Lodge button on the integrated BAS window DID used to automatically pull though the figures into the BAS on the old ATO portal several years ago however with all the new changes introduced since the ATO moved to the Online Services platform, I think Reckon have needed to focus on STP as a more crucial priority.

There is already an option for uploading & exporting Super Data under the Employees dropdown menu > Super Data Export. You can create & export a SAFF file ("SuperStream Alternate File Format") & import that into your Super Clearing House. However, you need to map it according to your Clearing House's required format

Don

Thanks Shaz,

I appreciate your quick response. Thank you for looking out for new questions/suggestions such as mine on the portal. I have found some of your older posts quite helpful for me as a new user.

The Lodge Button:

Although I had worked out how to lodge the BAS on line, I thought it would be helpful to share my experience on the Reckon Community Portal so that other new users would know the work around if they did a search of Reckon Community. Secondly the Reckon development team would know what Reckon issues new users find perplexing and consider them when determining the order in which they enhance the product. Personally a short term solution, when the user clicks the Lodge button, is to redirect the user via IE to an ATO site where the BAS can be manually lodged. As shown by the ATO response to IE v 11 in the screenshot in the previous post, at some point, IE will need to be replaced/fixed.

Pensioners

SAPTO and LITO are a support to seniors and pensioners who wish to continue working. I raised SAPTO and LITO as they are listed for the first time in STP phase 2 and it is a requirement to advise the ATO of seniors and pensioners on the payroll in certain circumstances.

on the ATO web site it gives a link to another ATO web page

On the second ATO web page it states that you should use schedule 9 for weekly payments of salaries, wages etc provided that you have been provided with a withholding declaration in which the person has answered yes to questions 4,5, and 6. To me this indicates that the standard tax schedule is replaced by schedule 9.

Shaz, I believe you are correct that if the senior/pensioner has not provided a declaration, it is tax return based i.e. the tax offset is applied following the end of the financial year. However if they do provide a declaration with yes answers to questions 4,5, and 6, to the employer ( see screenshot below) , how would it be handled in Reckon? Fortunately for me it seems to be a theoretical question at the moment, however it may not be for another Reckon bookkeeper?

Superannuation export

Like probably many other features in Reckon, I was not aware of the saff format.

The Super is sent to the ATO SBSCH as it meets their criteria. I cannot see where a saff file is accepted by the SBSCH. Given the small number of employees, the SBSCH method however is fine and of course SBSCH is free.

Thanks

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