WA Payroll Tax for Accountants

WA payroll tax applies to taxable wages allocated to Western Australia when the employer’s or group’s Australian taxable wages exceed the threshold. Before lodging, establish the group position, reconcile wage categories and confirm the WA deduction through Revenue Online.

Establish the WA Employer’s Liability

Assess registration using Australian taxable wages and WA wage allocation, including every employer in a payroll tax group. A WA payroll report alone cannot establish whether the client is below the threshold.

RevenueWA requires registration within seven days after the month ends when WA or Indian Ocean Territories wages are paid and Australian taxable wages exceed $83,333. For a group, use all members’ Australian taxable wages. Follow the registration guidance, then retain the registration confirmation and employer classification.

Obtain the ownership chart, relevant trust deeds and details of employees working across related businesses. RevenueWA’s grouping rules cover related corporations, common employees and controlling interests. Record the designated group employer (DGE), which is the member entitled to the group deduction. Keep any exclusion decision issued by RevenueWA. Separate ABNs do not establish separate payroll tax thresholds.

WA administers payroll tax under the Pay-roll Tax Act 2002 and the Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002. The register identifies current consolidations 00-d0-02 and 04-d0-03 respectively. Select the version applying to the client’s reporting period before using a registration, wage or group provision. Retain the provision and version in your workpaper.

Treat an employer exemption and an exempt wage payment separately. Certain charitable employers require a Commissioner’s exemption or beneficial body determination. For individual payments, apply the wage exemption conditions, such as those for qualifying parental leave. Keep the decision, payroll coding and documents that establish eligibility. A client’s description of itself as a charity does not establish exemption.

Check WA Thresholds and Rates

RevenueWA’s published calculation schedule sets an annual Australian taxable wage threshold of $1 million and a 5.5% rate. The deduction diminishes as Australian wages rise above $1 million and reaches zero at $7.5 million. All amounts here are payroll tax amounts.

Between those thresholds, the full-year deduction starts with $1 million less two-thirteenths of Australian wages above $1 million. For an interstate non-group employer, multiply that result by WA taxable wages divided by Australian taxable wages. RevenueWA’s interstate calculation shows this allocation. Part-year employment or group changes can alter the deduction. Use the client’s classification and actual employment periods.

For a historical enquiry, select the applicable period in RevenueWA’s previous-rates table. Earlier periods include different thresholds and a higher marginal scale for very large employers. A question about 2023 needs the financial year and wage period before you select its rate.

For 2026 or a future-year budget, distinguish the enacted schedule from a forecast. Apply an announced change only to its published operative period. Leave an unpublished future figure as a planning assumption in the client’s workpaper.

Consider this fictional, full-year interstate non-group employer. Its Australian taxable wages total $2 million, of which $1.5 million relates to WA. The records supporting its WA wages reconcile as follows.

WA reconciliation item	Amount	Supporting record
Gross WA payroll wages	$1,300,000	Payroll register reconciled to accounts
Employer superannuation added	$140,000	Contribution report
Taxable fringe benefits added	$60,000	Reviewed payroll tax valuation
Qualifying exempt wages removed	-$20,000	Leave records and exemption workpaper
Interstate-coded wages allocated to WA	$20,000	Monthly nexus review
WA taxable wages	$1,500,000	Reviewed reconciliation

The example assumes each adjustment satisfies WA’s wage rules and excludes amounts already included in gross payroll. Its other-state taxable wages are $500,000 after the corresponding nexus adjustment. The national total remains $2 million.

The full-year deduction before interstate apportionment is $846,153.85: $1 million less ($1 million multiplied by 2/13). WA’s 75% share gives a deduction of approximately $634,615.38. Applying 5.5% to $1.5 million less that deduction gives annual tax of approximately $47,596.15. Keep unrounded calculations in the workpaper and reconcile Revenue Online’s rounding before approval. This example supplies assumed records, not a client assessment.

Set Up Revenue Online Access

Use your own authorised RevenueWAConnect access to reach the client’s Revenue Online account. Older Office of State Revenue, OSR WA and State Revenue instructions describe the same WA employer-account task. Start with RevenueWA’s online access instructions and account authorisation guidance.

1. Locate the employer’s legal name, ABN and Client ID from its registration or assessment correspondence. Obtain the engagement authority and details of the current Account Administrator.
2. Sign in using your registered email address. Existing users entering RevenueWAConnect for the first time follow the password-reset instructions and link their authenticator. Register for Revenue Online access if required and accept the applicable terms.
3. Ask the Account Administrator to add your user access and assign the required permissions through Maintain User Roles. The administrator adds clients through Maintain Clients & Add Client. Confirm the correct employer and payroll tax account appear before preparing a return.
4. If an administrator must be replaced, submit an official enquiry with the new administrator’s details. RevenueWA requests a letter of authorisation when that person is not already a listed contact.

If the service is missing after first access, RevenueWA instructs existing users to sign out and sign in again. If the employer is missing, compare the Client ID and client permissions with the administrator. For unresolved access, use the payroll tax enquiry route. Include the account reference and error details. Keep passwords and authentication codes private, as the portal terms require.

Check Interstate Wage Allocation

Allocate wages employee by employee for each month using the work-location facts and RevenueWA’s nexus rules. Employees working wholly in one Australian jurisdiction during the month generally have wages allocated there. The WA wages guide sets out the successive tests for work across jurisdictions or overseas.

For those cases, establish the employee’s principal residence first. If that does not resolve allocation, apply the employer-address test, then where wages are paid, then where services are mainly performed. Use the detailed nexus ruling for the conditions at each step. Record residence evidence, work locations and travel records alongside the employer’s registered ABN address and payment facts.

Compare the WA schedule with every interstate workpaper before approving it. In the fictional example, moving $20,000 into WA requires removing that same amount from the other state’s allocation. A WA total of $1.5 million plus an unchanged $520,000 interstate total would duplicate those wages. Resolve the discrepancy in both schedules and retain the explanation.

Check taxable wage categories separately from location. RevenueWA’s taxable wages guidance includes superannuation and fringe benefits as well as salary. Review relevant contractor payments and other benefits under their specific rules. For national context, use the payroll tax guide.

Review the WA Return and Payment

Prepare each return from the reviewed WA wage schedule, then complete annual wage reporting under the client’s registered employer classification. RevenueWA’s return guidance requires monthly returns even when no tax is payable.

Monthly and approved quarterly returns are generally due seven days after the period ends. The final-period return and annual reconciliation information are due within 21 days after the assessment year ends. Use the official guidance for the exact calendar boundaries. Confirm the registered frequency in Client Profile and use the assessment advice for any later reconciliation payment deadline.

1. The preparer reconciles WA wages to payroll and accounts, applies exemptions and confirms interstate totals. Compare the portal deduction with the employer’s registration and wage estimates.
2. The reviewer checks the calculation, group position and unexplained changes. Resolve a zero liability through the wage calculation and lodge a nil return where required.
3. The client approves the wage figures and payment instruction. Record who can submit the return and who will make payment before lodging.
4. The authorised submitter lodges the approved return and retains its confirmation. The payment owner pays using the account’s payment instructions and checks the transaction against the liability.
5. At year-end, adjust previous returns and finalise actual Australian wages. Obtain group members’ completed wages before the DGE supplies the group total.

RevenueWA’s annual reconciliation instructions distinguish the End of Year Lodgment (EOYL) function from ordinary return functions. Interstate non-group employers and eligible DGEs use EOYL. Local non-group employers and ordinary group members use the specified return functions. Follow the registration-specific instructions for the final-period return and expected wages for the next year.

Annual reconciliation replaces an estimated deduction with the actual deduction and can produce a debit or credit. Compare the assessment advice with the reviewed annual calculation. A lodged-return reference proves lodgement. Match payment separately to Revenue Online history and the bank record.

Retain the WA Reconciliation File

Keep one file that connects the lodged wages and tax to the underlying records, client approval and payment history. Include the registration classification, group schedule and DGE nomination. Retain exemption evidence and the monthly allocation workpapers with the reviewed deduction calculation.

Save each return confirmation, payment receipt and annual assessment advice. Match the assessment balance to payments, credits and adjustments. Investigate a difference by separating a wage error, a deduction adjustment and a payment allocated to the wrong period.

RevenueWA permits changes to a lodged return’s wage details in Revenue Online while the financial year remains unreconciled. For a reconciled period, submit a written amendment request through the official payroll tax enquiry route. Include the Client ID, affected period and corrected wage calculation with supporting records. Retain the request and RevenueWA’s response until the account balance reflects the resolution.

At handover, transfer the reconciled schedules, outstanding enquiries and next return responsibilities through your practice’s secure document arrangements. The outgoing user’s portal access must be revoked when it is no longer required. Close the job when the final assessment, payment history and reviewed annual calculation agree, with any remaining difference assigned to a named staff role.