Lodging TFN Declarations
Employers must lodge all TFN Declarations received from their employees to the ATO within 14 days of the employee starting work. The ATO recommends employers lodge TFN Declarations every 14 days to ensure they meet their reporting obligations. TFN Declarations can be lodged to the ATO electronically using the ATO's Business Portal. This is very similar to the process for lodging payment summaries electronically. To find out more, go to ATO's Business Portal.
Preparing TFN Declaration details for lodgment
To record and prepare TFN Declarations for lodgment:
Choose Masterfiles, Payroll, Employee Details, Maintain.
Select the required Employee Code and update the employee's tax details according to the signed TFN Declaration form.
On the Tax tab update the following fields:
TFN Dec Signed: enter the date the employee signed the TFN Declaration.
TFN Dec Status: select Pending. This indicates the TFN Declaration details are ready to be lodged to the ATO.
Choose Accept (F9) to save the details.
Validating TFN Declaration details
It is important that you validate the TFN Declaration details to be lodged and check for any errors. Missing or invalid data can cause the file to be rejected by the ATO. Errors that may be detected are missing address details, date of birth, Tax File Numbers and invalid postcodes.
To validate TFN Declaration details:
Choose Period End, Payroll, TFN Declaration, Validate TFN Details.
Check that the details of the employer lodging the TFN Declarations are correct. If the employer is not the supplier, then clear the check box The Employer is the Supplier and complete the employer and supplier details
Choose Print (F9).
At the completion of the validation process, a report is created detailing any errors or warning messages. Use this report to correct the data if necessary and then repeat the validation until no further errors are reported. This ensures that the file will not be rejected when it is sent to the ATO.
Creating the TFN Declaration file to lodge to the ATO
Before you create the TFN Declaration file, make sure you have validated the TFN Declaration details (see above).
To create the TFN Declaration file to lodge to the ATO:
Choose Period End, Payroll, TFN Declaration, Create TFN Declaration File.
Confirm the Tax File Number Declaration validation program has been run and all errors have been resolved.
Enter the Lodgment Period. This period indicates that declarations prior to the First Date have been lodged.
Note: These dates are not used for selecting data.Enter a Destination Path to save the TFN Declaration file. For example, C:\AttacheBI\Resources\Payroll\TFN Declarations.
Choose Transfer (F9).
Successful creation of the TFN Declaration file will create a file called TFNDEC in the specified destination path. Check the TFN Declaration File Transfer Listing to ensure the information included in the TFNDEC file is correct before uploading this file to the ATO's Business Portal.
🤓Tip: If you need to submit multiple files (for example, you may have separate companies in different directories) then rename each file from TFNDEC to TFNDEC.DO1, TFNDEC.DO2, etc.
📌Note: You must retain the Tax File Number Declaration file for at least twelve months after it has been lodged with the ATO, as the ATO may request that you recreate the file. After twelve months you can delete TFN Declaration files that are no longer required.
Amend and Re-Lodge a TFN declaration
To amend and re-lodge a TFN declaration that has previously been submitted, you will need to:
Select Masterfiles, Payroll, Employee Details, Maintain and choose the Tax tab.
Change the TFN Dec Status back to Hold, then make the required changes on the Masterfile.
Once done, follow the Validating TFN Declaration details and Creating the TFN Declaration file processes as above to lodge to the ATO procedures above to resubmit the file.