​​​​​​​​​​​Termination payments generally constitute wages for payroll tax purposes. Taxable termination payments include payments made in consequence of the retirement from, or termination of, any office or employment of an employee.

This includes:

• unused annual leave and long service leave payments; 
  
• employment termination payments, within the meaning of section 82-130 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997​ (ITAA) that would be included in the assessable income of an employee under Part 2-40 of the ITAA; 
  
• transitional termination payments, within the meaning of section 82-10 of the Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 and any payment that would be an employment termination payment but for the fact that it was received more than 12 months after the termination; 
  
• amounts paid or payable by a company as a consequence of terminating the services or office of a director; 
  
• amounts paid or payable by a person taken to be an employer under the contractor provisions as a consequence of termination of the supply of services by a person taken to be an employee under those provisions.

Any component of an employment termination payment which would not be included in an employee’s assessable income Part 2-40 of the ITAA does not constitute wages for payroll tax purposes. ​

Refer to the payroll tax Termination Payments ruling.