ACT Payroll Tax for Accountants

ACT payroll tax depends on your client’s ACT taxable wages and Australia-wide wages, including its payroll tax group. Establish liability, obtain authority for the employer and reconcile the wage record before lodging through the ACT Self Service Portal.

Assess the ACT Client’s Payroll Tax

Establish liability using the financial year’s threshold, rate and group position. For 2026-27, the annual threshold is $1.75 million and the monthly registration threshold is $145,833.33.

The ACT Revenue Office’s rate table applies these general rates using annual Australia-wide wages at group level.

Annual Australia-wide wages in 2026-27	General rate
More than $1.75 million, up to $20 million	6.75%
More than $20 million, up to $50 million	6.85%
More than $50 million, up to $100 million	7.35%
More than $100 million, up to $150 million	7.85%
More than $150 million	8.75%

Eligible universities have a separate rate cap. Use the official eligibility wording for that exception.

The threshold tests liability. The deduction reduces taxable ACT wages when the employer is entitled to claim it. Interstate wages and part-year employment can reduce that deduction. An ordinary group employer cannot claim a second threshold.

An ACT payroll tax increase can arise from a lower threshold, a different rate band or changed wages and group membership. The 2025-26 annual threshold was $2 million. That year also has separate rate periods for the largest employers. Compare each return with its applicable official rules, not one rate copied across both years. For a period in 2027, distinguish 2026-27 from 2027-28 before choosing the applicable instrument.

ACT means the Australian Capital Territory. A payroll tax Act means legislation. If the client asks about a statute without naming the jurisdiction, start with the national payroll tax guide and identify where wages are taxable. Then select that jurisdiction’s legislation.

Get Authorised Portal Access

Obtain Self Service Portal access for the specific employer before changing its returns or group record. A practice’s authority in another government service does not establish ACT portal access.

Complete registration before using the portal for a new employer.

1. Document ACT taxable wages and Australia-wide group wages against the monthly registration threshold. Apply within seven days after the month in which wages exceed it.
2. Obtain the client’s authority to register. Collect the employer’s legal entity details, ABN, contacts, wage commencement information and group details.
3. Use the official payroll tax registration and notification route. Declare the correct employer status and retain the application and registration confirmation.

Follow the ACT portal access guide for each staff member.

1. Set up the staff member’s personal myID with at least Standard identity strength.
2. Have the client’s principal authority link the business in Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). The principal authority or authorisation administrator must authorise the staff member for the Australian Capital Territory Revenue Office.
3. Accept the RAM authorisation within seven days. Sign in to the Self Service Portal and register user details when prompted.
4. Confirm the selected employer and permitted access against the client authority before entering wages or editing a group.

If the employer is unavailable, check registration and the RAM agency authorisation. Ask the client’s authorised administrator to correct the link before proceeding.

Prepare the ACT Wage Record

Reconcile ACT taxable wage components and interstate amounts to the employer’s payroll and accounts. Gross salary alone does not capture every taxable payment.

Collect payroll reports, superannuation records, fringe benefits calculations, contractor payments and director fees. Review termination payments and claimed exemptions separately. Keep the ACT allocation beside the Australia-wide total and group-member totals. Retain the source and legal basis for each exclusion.

Consider this fictional adjustment. The employer’s draft ACT wage total is $2,940,000. A reviewer finds $60,000 of taxable employer superannuation omitted from the workpaper. The corrected ACT total is $3,000,000.

Retain the payroll-to-superannuation reconciliation, the $60,000 adjustment and the reviewer’s explanation. Check whether the same omission affected Australia-wide wages or earlier returns.

For a fictional 2026-27 annual calculation, assume the corrected employer is independent and pays wages throughout the full financial year. The example uses the ordinary rate and full-year threshold. The independent employer’s wages are the complete Australia-wide total.

Calculation input or result	Amount
ACT taxable wages	$3,000,000
Interstate taxable wages	$1,000,000
Australia-wide wages, including all group wages	$4,000,000
Full-year threshold	$1,750,000
ACT share of Australia-wide wages	75%
ACT deduction: $1,750,000 × 75%	$1,312,500
ACT wages after deduction	$1,687,500
Applicable general rate	6.75%
Annual liability: $1,687,500 × 6.75%	$113,906.25

The official calculation method apportions the threshold for employment days and interstate wages. Subtract credits for monthly obligations when reconciling the remaining amount payable.

Incorrect: deduct the full $1.75 million from these ACT wages despite the interstate wages. Correct: use the 75% ACT deduction in the table. For a group, establish the approved claimant and complete group wage inputs before calculating any deduction.

Update the Client’s Group Details

Check the client’s group record against ownership, control and business relationships before lodging. A group can include employers outside the ACT. Grouping is a legal assessment, not a choice to combine convenient accounts.

Identify the approved designated group employer (DGE) and any approved joint return lodger (JRL). A JRL covers only the nominated members. Other group employers lodging themselves have separate obligations and cannot claim the threshold.

Use the published group-management instructions.

1. Open Group Management and inspect the existing members and roles. If the group has a DGE, only the DGE can edit its structure.
2. Create or amend the group as applicable. Record the effective period, grouping reason and member roles. An added ACT member must already be registered and cannot belong to another group.
3. Include relevant non-ACT members. Identify the DGE and JRL where applicable, then attach supporting records for the change.
4. Review the summary, make the declaration and submit. Retain the request PDF from Activity History and confirm the approved details appear in the group record.

A submitted request awaiting approval does not establish an approved new role. If the deduction or return coverage depends on that role, resolve its status with the ACT Revenue Office before relying on it.

Lodge Outstanding ACT Returns

Lodge outstanding monthly returns, including nil-wage returns, before the annual reconciliation. Approved annual lodgers do not have monthly obligations. Employers covered by an approved joint return must follow that return coverage.

Use the ACT return-lodgement guide.

1. Select Return Lodgements, then Payroll Tax. The oldest outstanding return appears first. Confirm the employer and period, then select Save and Next.
2. Enter the period’s wages. Mandatory wage fields require a value, including zero where appropriate. A JRL includes the covered ACT members’ wages.
3. Enter the required ACT and Australia-wide group wages when claiming the deduction. Confirm the employer status matches the workpaper.
4. Review the lodgement summary. Use Back to correct figures, then make the declaration and submit.
5. Download the lodged PDF from Activity History and retain its payment instructions.

The annual return corrects the year’s totals and declares the full financial year’s wages including the final month. On annual submission, monthly credits and debits move to the annual reconciliation obligation. Compare that result with the workpaper before instructing payment.

The ordinary ACT monthly deadline is seven days after month-end, with a holiday-period exception and next-working-day adjustments. The annual lodgement and payment boundary is in the official due-date rules. Use those rules for the particular obligation.

Review the ACT Account After Lodgement

Review lodged wage figures and account movements against the approved workpaper before handing the account back to the client. Match each monthly liability, payment and credit to the annual reconciliation. Investigate a difference before treating the account balance as the tax on the latest return alone.

The Self Service Portal guidance sets out the correction routes. Open Return History and select Amend for a lodged return. For a refund, first update refund bank details through Tax Registration Update, then use Service Requests and Generic Request. Group changes follow Group Management and its approval rules.

Use the lodged PDF’s payment details. BPAY references differ between lodgements, so a previous return’s reference can misallocate the client’s payment. Allow for account interest and changes still awaiting approval when explaining the balance.

Retain the lodged returns, reconciliation, correction confirmations and payment instructions together. The handover must show the wages declared, annual liability, payments credited and remaining balance. Assign any pending amendment, refund or group request to a staff member until its confirmed outcome matches the client’s account.