Why Are Two Income Statements Showing For The Same Employment?

Some employees may see two income statements in their ATO MyTax account for the same job, especially when preparing their tax return. One statement is often marked Tax Ready while the other remains Not Tax Ready. This situation can be confusing but is a known issue.

The ATO has identified that duplicate records can occur when an employee is reported more than once in Single Touch Payroll (STP) using different identifiers. This can happen if the employer's STP reporting includes changes to the:

• Company ABN
• Payroll Software
• PAYG Branch ID (Company Location ID)
• Employee STP ID
• Employee Name, DOB or TFN

If any of these values change within a financial year, it can make the ATO system treat the same employment as separate records, resulting in multiple income statements for one job.

Is It Safe to Use the 'Tax Ready' Statement and Ignore the Other?

Yes. In most cases, employees can proceed with their tax return using the income statement marked as Tax Ready and disregard any duplicate that is Not Tax Ready. According to ATO guidance, if the employer cannot correct the error, the duplicate can be ignored and manually removed during the return process.

Can Employers Fix the Duplicate Record?

Yes. Employers can usually correct or retract incorrect STP submissions through their payroll software. If a BMS ID or payroll ID has changed mid-year, it may be possible to update the record or submit an Update Event to align the data.

If the duplication was caused by changes such as ABN or PAYG branch ID, employers can often resolve the issue by temporarily reverting the altered value and sending a $0.00 STP Update Event dated for the last pay run processed in June of the affected financial year. This can help link the records and remove the redundant income statement.

If this is not possible, and the duplicate cannot be removed by the employer, the ATO allows employees to ignore the incorrect statement when lodging their tax return. More information is available on the ATO Community site.

What Should Employees Do If They See Two Statements?

• Use the income statement marked Tax Ready when lodging your return.
• Check with your employer if you are unsure which record is correct or if you suspect an error.
• If needed, ask your employer to submit a correction via STP.
• If the incorrect record cannot be fixed, it is safe to ignore it as per ATO guidance.