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New Zealand Payday Filing

Insights and Trends

Making payday filing simple

16 January 2019

Sage is ready for payday filing go-live!

Sage has been working closely with New Zealand Inland Revenue and is ready for payday filing ahead of the 1st April 2019 start date.

The new releases of Sage MicroPay and WageEasy now include a feature that covers New Zealand payday filing requirements. Changes are currently underway to modify the software to manage the changes that the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (IRD) are putting in place.

More about the Sage release

What is payday filing?

Payday filing is an initiative of the Inland Revenue to reduce the number of steps and potential errors associated with processing and filing payroll.

From 1 April 2019, employers must send employment information to Inland Revenue every payday.

 

  • Employers will no longer be required to file an Employer Monthly Schedule (IR348) on the 20th of the month.
  • Provide new and departing employee’s address information, as well as their date of birth – if they have provided it to you.
  • File electronically (through IRD’s myIR portal) if your annual PAYE/ESCT is $50,000 or more.

Does payday filing apply to everyone?

Yes, from 1st April 2019 payday filing comes into effect and is compulsory.

And if you make PAYE/ESCT deductions of more than $50,000 a year then you must file online.

When can I start using Sage MicrOpay or Sage WageEasy for payday filing?

Payday filing comes into effect 1st April 2019. Sage will be deploying our payday functionality in March 2019.

What's changing?

Current process Payday filing
Monthly employer schedule (IR348 form)
 Every payday (within two working days of paying staff)
Information sourced directly from Sage payroll software
Timing of payroll filing: payroll reports submitted monthly to Inland Revenue
 Each time you paystaff, employment information must be sent to Inland Revenue within two working days (if you are filing electronically)
$100,000 threshold for online filing of PAYE
 $50,000 threshold for online filing of PAYE
Monthly employer schedule amendments (IR344 form)
 Replaced by updating/amending employment information in Sage
EMS to be completed monthly
 EMS not required
Setting up new employees (Tax code declaration (IR 330) and KiwiSaver deduction (KS2))
 Online, pre-filled form for new employees which combines the requirements of IR 330 and KS2 forms
Employer deduction form (IRS345) No longer needed

What can you do to get ready?

Make sure your employer details and employee details are correct and up to date in your Sage MicrOpay or Sage WageEasy software.

 

Employer Details

  • Make sure you have the correct employer IRD number setup.

Employee Details

  • Make sure you have the correct employee details, including:
  • Date of birth
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Review employee KiwiSaver details:
  • Check employees eligibility for KiwiSaver. Anyone eligible needs this reflected in their employee record.

Sage MicrOpay and Sage WageEasy

The new releases of Sage MicroPay and WageEasy now include a feature that covers New Zealand payday filing requirements.

How will the process change in my payroll system?

  • Kiwisaver export now is replaced by the New and Departing Employee file
  • ESCT calculations will be included in the Employment Information file (previously known as the EMS file), as the IR348 and IR345 have been replaced by one file
  • The payday file is to be produced after you generate payments for employees
    • New Zealand IRD give you up to 2 days from the time you pay employees to submit the file
  • The process will be similar to Australian Single Touch Payroll reporting

Will it be a file or will data automatically be generated from the process?

  • New Zealand payday filing will produce a file that will be uploaded by the user into IRD’s – myIR area.

What information is in the file?

The data that is currently output in the EMS (IR348) file will include the same information as it does now, with the addition of the following data:

  • ESCT (employer superannuation contribution tax) for each employee
    • This is currently created by running an IQ and will now be automatically calculated in this new process
  • Pay period start and end dates
  • Pay cycle, e.g. weekly, monthly
  • Pay date
  • The new and departing employee data will be output in a separate file in the same process and has additional information such as contact details and date of birth.
Read our full Payday Filing FAQ