How Do I Create an Additional Voluntary Tax Payment?

Lightning Payroll lets you request that more PAYG withholding be taken from an employee's pay than the standard tables require. There are two mechanisms: an Upwards Variation (the employee lodges NAT 3093 with the ATO and you record the varied amount or rate) and a Manual variation of PAYG withholding / Voluntary Agreement (used for contractors who hold an ABN; requires NAT 2772).

In the desktop app

1. Open the Employees tab and select the employee.
2. Click Tax Rates to open the employee's tax rate settings.
3. Select the Tax Settings tab.
4. To add an upwards variation, tick Upwards variation and then choose a method: a set amount per pay, a minimum withholding percentage of gross, an increase as a percentage of calculated tax, or an increase as a percentage of gross.
5. To set up a Voluntary Agreement instead, tick Manual variation of PAYG withholding / Voluntary Agreement and enter the payee's ABN.
6. Save the employee record.

In the online (web/mobile) app

1. Go to Employees and select the employee.
2. Open the Tax section, then choose Tax Settings.
3. Make sure System Generated Tax Rate? is ticked (this is the default). The Upwards Variation checkbox will then be visible.
4. Tick Upwards Variation and choose either As a set dollar amount per pay or As a percentage of tax, then enter the value.
5. To use a Voluntary Agreement instead, tick Manual variation of PAYG withholding / Voluntary Agreement, enter the withholding percentage, and provide the payee's ABN.
6. Click Save Changes.

For information on setting up a Voluntary Agreement for a contractor, see How Do I Set Up Voluntary Agreements in Lightning Payroll?