Annual returns for payroll tax
Find out about annual payroll tax returns and how to prepare one.
The annual payroll tax return breaks down the year’s taxable wages and is used to calculate your liability for the year.
At the end of a financial year, you must:
- lodge an annual return for taxable wages paid or payable during the year
- compare your periodic return liabilities (excluding interest and penalties) with your annual liability amount
- pay any outstanding amounts (known as your annual liability) by the due date.
You cannot lodge your annual return until all your periodic returns for the financial year have been submitted.
You don’t lodge a separate return for the period ending 30 June. Include July–June wages in the annual return.
If you have paid taxable wages after lodging a final return, you still need to lodge an annual return. In this instance, your annual return won’t include the wages you’ve already declared in the final return. For example, if you lodged a final return for 1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023, your annual return would only include wages for the period 1 October 2023 to 30 June 2024.
If your status changes on 1 July, you do not need to lodge a final return—indicate your change of status on your annual return.
You must keep copies of your annual returns and all supporting documentation for at least 5 years.
If you have overpaid tax for the year, we will apply the amount to other outstanding liabilities you may have, then we will refund you any remaining amount.
Calculating your annual liability or refund
If you lodge your annual return online, your annual deductions and liability or refund will be automatically calculated.
You can use the annual liability calculator to calculate your liability or refund before lodging the return.
You’ll need certain wages information ready, depending on your employer type.
If you are not grouped, you will need your Queensland taxable wages, Queensland non-taxable wages and interstate wages for the full period of the return.
If you are part of a group, you must still lodge your own annual return. You will need the following information:
- Queensland taxable wages
- Queensland non-taxable wages
- interstate wages.
The designated group employer (DGE) receives a deduction on behalf of the group and can then nominate other members of the group to share any excess deduction after they have lodged their annual returns or when the group ceases to exist.
At the end of the financial year, you must inform the DGE of your total wages for the full period of the return. (This is required to calculate the deduction amount for the DGE.)
The DGE also reconciles the total mental health levy liability that was declared by the group for the full period of the return. You must give your DGE certain information by 7 July.
If you became a member of the group part way through the financial year, your DGE does not need wage information for the periods before you joined the group to calculate the deduction or reconcile the mental health levy.
If you are the DGE, you will need the following to reconcile your annual payroll tax liability:
- your Queensland taxable wages, Queensland non-taxable wages and interstate wages for the full period of the return
- the group’s total Queensland taxable wages and interstate wages for the full period of the return.
You also need the following to reconcile the annual mental health levy liability for the group.
- If you lodged a mental health levy final return, enter the group’s total Queensland taxable wages and interstate wages from the day after the end date of your most recent return period to 30 June. If you haven’t lodged any mental health levy final returns in the financial year, enter the group’s total Queensland taxable wages and interstate wages for the full period.
- Enter the total periodic levy liabilities for all group members for the full period of the return or since you last reconciled the group’s mental health levy. Your group members can find the periodic levy liabilities in the year-to-date tab in QRO Online.
If your status changed and you were not the DGE for the whole year, your annual return will only cover the part of the year that you were a DGE. Make sure you have submitted a final return when your status changed.
If your annual deduction is greater than your taxable wages, you can nominate other members of your group to share the excess. If you do not nominate anyone, the Commissioner of State Revenue will decide which group member will receive this amount. Group members who may be entitled to receive an excess deduction must still lodge and pay by the due date.
If a refund of payroll tax is due at the end of the financial year, we will process the refund after we review your return.
Find out about calculating deductions.
Lodging an annual return
You lodge your annual return through QRO Online. It will be available from the middle of June.
We recommend you lodge as early as possible. The last few days before the due date can be very busy and if you have difficulties and need to contact us, you may experience delays.
You can print a copy of your return before or after you’ve lodged it.
See the step-by-step instructions on how to:
Also consider…
- Register for an annual return webinar.
- Find out how to pay your tax liability.
- Learn about exemptions for payroll tax.
- Discover how we handle complaints and objections.
- Report a change of business conditions to meet your payroll tax obligations.
- Learn about grouping for payroll tax.
- Download the payroll tax user guide.