Local group employer: Payroll tax

A local group employer is an employer who is grouped with at least one other wage-paying entity and all members of the group pay wages only in WA.

A designated group employer (DGE) must be nominated for every group and must pay wages in WA. Only the DGE can claim any threshold amount on behalf of the group during the financial year.

Payroll tax is calculated on the difference between the taxable wages paid in WA and the deductable amount to which you are entitled.

For a monthly or quarterly return period, an estimated deductable amount is calculated and applied based on the group’s estimated Australian taxable wages supplied through the Estimated Taxable Wages function in Online Payroll Tax (Revenue Online).

An estimated deductable amount is allocated to the DGE.

  • The DGE is responsible for submitting the group’s estimated Australian taxable wages on behalf of the group.
  • If estimated taxable wages are not submitted, there will be no deductable amount applied.
  • At annual reconciliation, you finalise the payroll tax returns to determine the actual deductable amount based on actual wages paid, and you calculate the total payroll tax payable.
  • A credit or debit amount may arise based on the difference between the estimated deductable amount allocated to the DGE and the actual deductable amount. Any unused deductable amount is allocated to other group members on a pro-rata basis.

You are not liable for payroll tax if you are a member of a group that has total WA taxable wages of not more than $1 million for the period 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 ($83,333 monthly).

The DGE is entitled to a deductable amount if you are a member of a group that has total WA taxable wages of more than $1 million but less than $7.5 million for the period 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.

Calculate your payroll tax liability

Example

A group of employers pays annual taxable wages in WA of $1,200,000 for the period of 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.

The annual deductible amount is calculated as follows:

annual threshold amount – [(total annual taxable wages – annual threshold amount) x tapering value]
$1,000,000 – [($1,200,000 – $1,000,000) x (2/13)]
$1,000,000 – [$200,000 x (2/13)]
$1,000,000 – $30,769
= $969,231

The annual tax payable is calculated as follows:

(total annual taxable wages – deductible amount) x rate
($1,200,000 – $969,231) x 5.5%
$230,769 x 5.5%
= $12,692.30

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