Payment Summary or Income Statement — What's the Difference?

If your employer uses Single Touch Payroll (STP), you won't receive a paper payment summary. Instead, the ATO receives your income and tax data directly from your employer, and you access your income statement through myGov linked to the ATO. The information is essentially the same as the old paper PAYG payment summary — the format has just moved online.

Some employers still issue paper or PDF payment summaries for specific payment types. Either way, understanding what each field means is essential for accurately completing your tax return.

Key Fields Explained

Gross Payments (Total Income)

This is the total amount your employer paid you before any tax was withheld. It includes your regular salary or wages, bonuses, allowances, and any other payments from your employer. This figure should match what you see on your payslips for the year.

Total Tax Withheld

This is the total amount of income tax your employer deducted from your pay during the financial year and sent to the ATO. When you lodge your tax return, the ATO compares this amount against your actual tax liability. If more was withheld than you owe, you receive a refund. If less was withheld, you will have a tax debt to pay.

Reportable Fringe Benefits Amount (RFBA)

If your employer provides you with non-cash benefits — such as a company car, health insurance, or salary-packaged items — the reportable fringe benefits amount shows the grossed-up value of those benefits exceeding $2,000. This figure is used to calculate your eligibility for certain government entitlements (like family tax benefits) and does not increase your income tax directly.

Reportable Employer Super Contributions (RESC)

This figure shows any super contributions your employer made above the compulsory superannuation guarantee (SG) rate — for example, contributions made under a salary sacrifice arrangement. Like RFBA, this amount affects means-tested benefits and tax offset calculations but is not added to your taxable income for basic tax purposes.

Lump Sum Payments (A, B, D, E)

If you received any special lump sum payments, they are broken out separately:

  • Lump Sum A — Unused annual leave or long service leave paid on termination (taxed at a concessional rate)
  • Lump Sum B — Long service leave accrued before 16 August 1978
  • Lump Sum D — Tax-free genuine redundancy or early retirement scheme payments
  • Lump Sum E — Payments for back-pay relating to earlier income years

Allowances

Some allowances — such as car, travel, or tool allowances — are separately itemised. Whether you need to declare these in your tax return depends on whether they exceed ATO reasonable amounts and whether you're claiming related deductions.

HELP / VSL / STSL Debt

If you have a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) or similar study debt, you'll see the amount withheld for that debt listed separately. These repayments are based on your income and are handled through the tax system.

Where to Find Your Income Statement

  1. Log in to myGov (my.gov.au) and select the ATO service.
  2. Navigate to Employment > Income statements.
  3. Check that your employer has marked the statement as "Tax ready" before lodging your return — usually after 14 July.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Lodging your return before your income statement is marked "Tax ready"
  • Forgetting to include income from multiple employers or jobs
  • Confusing RFBA with taxable income
  • Overlooking allowances that need to be declared