Changing the ABN

Thanks Earl

Hi Earl_HD​ 

I've happened to see your response and was wondering if you could help as we're changing ABN as well

Our entity is restructuring and a new ABN will be used starting 31/10/2025, I want to keep using the same company file, so I imagine the period from 01/07/25- 31/10/2025, payroll will be under the old ABN, and from 1/11/2025 payroll will be under the new ABN.

My concern is: I was told that a company file has its own software ID# linked with its ABN to report to the ATO. So if we change the ABN to a new ABN on the same company file, would I be able to report payroll from 1/11/2025 under the new ABN  with the same software ID#? would I be able to register for STP under the new ABN using the same company file and ID#?

Thanks,

Le

Hi Le_Trinh,

Happy to help with your ABN change and how this affects STP. Yes, you can continue using the same company file and ID across the changeover, you’ll just need to finalise STP under the old ABN and then set up STP for the new ABN before you resume reporting from 1/11/2025. This avoids duplicate year‑to‑date totals at the ATO and keeps your mid‑year payroll clean. 

Cheers,

Princess

Hi Princess_R​ ,

Thanks so much for your reply, this is a big relief for me. I've also found guides to finalise STP under the ABN and set up the new ABN on the MYOB Community Hub but this post was 3 years ago, could you please help check if this step-by-step guide still relevant to use:

Summary:

The current payroll figures will need to be finalized under the old ABN and the future payroll amounts will be reported under the new ABN. 

At EOFY, the ATO will have two Year-to-date amounts for the employees 

- the amounts for payroll that were paid under the old ABN 

- the amounts for payroll that were paid under the new ABN 

The first step is finalizing employees under the old ABN

(Let the ATO know you won’t be paying your employees under this ABN anymore) 

1)Payroll>Payroll Reporting>Payroll Reporting Centre>EOFY Finalisation> tick all employees >Set as Final and declare the report

2) Take a backup of file(Applies only for AR) with old ABN still inside; 

3) Change the ABN inside the file in these two places: 

-Setup>Company Information, and 

-Payroll>Payroll Reporting>Company Information 

 The next part involves the Year-to-date (YTD)figures being removed from the file, as they have already been reported to the ATO. 

4) Go into each Employee Card: Card File>Cards List>Employee tab> Open Employee Card 

- Select the Payroll Details tab 

- Then on the left, Pay History 

- Change the Show Pay History dropdown to Year-to-date 

- In the Activity column, change all figures on all categories to $0.00 

- Press OK to save changes 

This is important as the ATO will already have the current information under the old ABN, it will stop the client from sending duplicated/incorrect information to the ATO 

5) The client will then need to change it to New ABN details for STP.

6) Re-register the new ABN and they start reporting

So in my case, with the new ABN starts from 01/11/2205 , will I need to make sure I will have finalised the payroll for all employees for 01/07/2025- 31/10/2025 before the the 1st payrun in Nov 2025?

Hi Le_Trinh,

Glad that took some pressure off! The checklist you found is still the right workflow for changing your ABN in STP. And yes, the cleanest way to avoid duplicate YTD totals is to finalise payroll for everyone under the old ABN before the next pay run. That’s what I’d recommend to keep everything neat and tidy.

Cheers,

Princess

Thanks Princess_R​ 

Just one more question if you don't mind: Our last payrun for Oct will be on 23/10/2025, the ABN will be changed on 31/10/2025, would it be ok to finalse payroll for employees under the old ABN and send the finalisation to the ATO on 31/10/2025 before changing the ABN to the new ABN also happening on 31/10/2025?

Hi Le_Trinh,

Yep, all good! That’ll work. Just make sure the next pay run dated 31/10/2025 is under the new ABN. Finalise payroll under the old ABN, then switch to the new one and create the 31/10/2025 pay run there to keep things neat and tidy with the ATO. If you need further help processing that, you can reach out to our team via our virtual assistant MOCA or pop a support ticket through My Account. We’ll guide you through it.

Cheers,

Shella

Thanks Shella_A​,

I actually lodged a support request last Friday through My Account, they came back to me that I would need to open a company file due to a software ID is linked to a ABN only.

Do you have a email address where I can send my steps-to-do to process finalisation for the old ABN and re-register STP for the new ABN?

One step when changing to the new ABN is that all YTD figures need on Pay History for each employee need to be change ( in my case 1/11/2025: change all figures on YTD on Pay History to  Zero ). Will this affect total entitlement balances for each employees on the Entitlement Balance reports and the Entitlement window in each employee's card?

Hi Le_Trinh,

Thanks for sharing the details. The best way to share your “steps-to-do” is to reply to your existing support request thread from My Account. It's also best to follow the steps provided above on finalisation. And also, Yes, zeroing the Year-to-date (YTD) figures in Pay History can affect leave/entitlement balances if you also change the entitlement categories there. Those changes flow into the Entitlement Balance reports and the employee’s entitlement balances.

Regards,
Earl