A PAYG payment summary, now more commonly referred to as an income statement, is a document that shows the total wages you were paid by an employer during the financial year and the total amount of tax that was withheld from those wages. It is the key document you need to lodge your tax return.
How income statements work now
Until a few years ago, employers were required to provide a physical PAYG payment summary to each employee at the end of the financial year. This has been replaced by a digital system. Employers now report wages and withholding amounts directly to the ATO through their payroll software throughout the year. This information is then made available to you through your myGov account linked to the ATO.
How to access your income statement
Log in to myGov and open the ATO service. Navigate to the income statements section. You will see a summary for each employer you worked for during the financial year. The status of each statement will show as either in progress or tax ready. You should wait until all statements are marked as tax ready before lodging your return, as the figures may still be updated by your employer until that point.
If you had multiple employers, each one will appear separately. Make sure you review all of them.
What if an employer has not submitted their report
If a financial year has ended and your income statement is still showing as in progress well after lodgment season has opened, it may mean your employer has not yet finalised their payroll reporting. Contact your employer and ask them to finalise it. If they are unresponsive, you can contact the ATO for assistance.
Using your income statement to lodge
When you lodge through the myTax tool in myGov, most of the information from your income statements is pre-filled automatically. Review it carefully to make sure it matches your own records of what you were paid. If anything looks incorrect, address it before you submit your return.
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