From 6 October 2014 the HMRC computer will automatically issue you with a penalty if you submit your full payment submission (FPS) under RTI "late", or don't submit it at all for a month in which you paid your employees.
So what makes the FPS "late"? HMRC say the FPS must be submitted on or before the day the employer pays the employees (the "payment date"). But is that the day the funds leave the employer's bank account or the day the employee receives the money?
In fact the "payment date" for RTI purposes is neither of these dates. It is the date contractually agreed between the employer and the employee to be the date on which the employee is to be paid. If the funds happen to be passed to the employee on an earlier or later date, perhaps due to a bank holiday, that doesn't change the "payment date". This is explained in HMRC's RTI guidance on non-banking days.
So whatever the payment date is in your employee's contract (verbal or written), that is the date that you should enter in the payroll software as the regular payment date. As long as the FPS is submitted before that regular payment date, you should be able to avoid any late filing penalty.
In fact you will be allowed one late filing per tax year without incurring a penalty. The HMRC computer will warn you that you have submitted your FPS late by sending an electronic notice sent through HMRC's PAYE online service. You may have already received some of these electronic warning messages, but at present no penalties have been issued. If you receive any more late filing warnings do let us know as the late filing penalties can be up to £400 per month for large payrolls.
Showing posts with label PAYE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PAYE. Show all posts
Friday, 5 September 2014
Monday, 7 July 2014
PAYE Reconciliations
If most of your income is taxed under PAYE (Pay As You Earn) you may soon receive a reconciliation of the income tax you have paid compared to the amount that was due to be paid for 2013/14. This calculation arrives on a form P800, which should be checked very carefully for errors and omissions. If mistakes are missed they can be carried forward for several years, resulting in escalating amounts of tax over or under-paid.
For example the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) may be due where you earn over £50,000 and your family receives child benefit. But the HICBC will not be reflected in the P800 calculation, as HMRC can't accurately match child benefit claimants with the high earners in those families. If you believe you are due to pay the HICBC to claw-back the child benefit received, you need to register for a self-assessment and complete a tax return. We can help you with that.
Other common errors on the P800 arise from the changing value of taxable benefits, varying pension contributions, and estimated amounts of other income included in your PAYE code such as rents or interest.
If you have paid the right amount of tax under PAYE for 2013/14 you won't receive a communication from HMRC. If you have overpaid tax you should receive a cheque from HMRC within two weeks of the issue of the P800. Don't respond to emails promising a tax repayment - those are scams.
If the P800 shows you owe tax, that amount will normally be collected through your PAYE code for 2015/16. We can help you challenge the calculation if you think it's wrong, but we will need to see the P800 you have received, as HMRC don't send us a copy.
For example the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) may be due where you earn over £50,000 and your family receives child benefit. But the HICBC will not be reflected in the P800 calculation, as HMRC can't accurately match child benefit claimants with the high earners in those families. If you believe you are due to pay the HICBC to claw-back the child benefit received, you need to register for a self-assessment and complete a tax return. We can help you with that.
Other common errors on the P800 arise from the changing value of taxable benefits, varying pension contributions, and estimated amounts of other income included in your PAYE code such as rents or interest.
If you have paid the right amount of tax under PAYE for 2013/14 you won't receive a communication from HMRC. If you have overpaid tax you should receive a cheque from HMRC within two weeks of the issue of the P800. Don't respond to emails promising a tax repayment - those are scams.
If the P800 shows you owe tax, that amount will normally be collected through your PAYE code for 2015/16. We can help you challenge the calculation if you think it's wrong, but we will need to see the P800 you have received, as HMRC don't send us a copy.
Monday, 2 June 2014
Real Time Information (RTI) Interest
In the past some employers would play the PAYE system, holding on to the PAYE deductions until the last payment date of the year, and then paying the balance due before interest was charged. That is no longer possible under real time information (RTI), as interest is now charged on late paid PAYE and CIS deductions on a monthly basis throughout the tax year.
The interest is applied to payments which fall due on and after 19 May 2014, which are paid late. If you check your business tax dashboard on the HMRC website, you may see interest accrued from 19th of the month. Where you pay the PAYE due electronically the payment is due by 22nd of the month. In the case of an electronic payment the interest charged from 19th to 22nd should be cancelled.
However, there is a known problem which HMRC are working to fix. If your business made no full payment submissions (FPS) for a tax month (perhaps because no wages were paid), HMRC may have estimated the PAYE due and added that estimated amount to your PAYE account. The estimated PAYE debt is called a "specified charge". Interest accrues on the specified charge as if it was real PAYE due.
The way to get rid of a specified charge is to submit a nil Employer Payment Summary (EPS) for each of the tax months for which the specified charge has been raised for. This should also remove the interest accrued on the specified charge, but currently it doesn't. HMRC say this interest will not be pursued, and it will be removed from the PAYE account when the software is fixed.
The interest is applied to payments which fall due on and after 19 May 2014, which are paid late. If you check your business tax dashboard on the HMRC website, you may see interest accrued from 19th of the month. Where you pay the PAYE due electronically the payment is due by 22nd of the month. In the case of an electronic payment the interest charged from 19th to 22nd should be cancelled.
However, there is a known problem which HMRC are working to fix. If your business made no full payment submissions (FPS) for a tax month (perhaps because no wages were paid), HMRC may have estimated the PAYE due and added that estimated amount to your PAYE account. The estimated PAYE debt is called a "specified charge". Interest accrues on the specified charge as if it was real PAYE due.
The way to get rid of a specified charge is to submit a nil Employer Payment Summary (EPS) for each of the tax months for which the specified charge has been raised for. This should also remove the interest accrued on the specified charge, but currently it doesn't. HMRC say this interest will not be pursued, and it will be removed from the PAYE account when the software is fixed.
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Salaried Members of LLPs
Do you operate your business as an LLP? If you do, you need to be aware of the change in tax treatment of certain LLP members from 6 April 2014. Members who meet all of these conditions will be taxed as employees:
A. works for the LLP as an LLP member and at least 80% of the amounts paid to him for that work are disguised salary;
B. does not have significant influence over the affairs of the whole of the LLP; and
C. is not required to contribute funds to the LLP (a capital contribution), or if he does contribute funds that contribution is less than 25% of his disguised salary for the current tax year.
From the member's perspective the easiest of the conditions to break is C - provide capital to the LLP (aka: partner's loan). Current members of the LLP will have until 6 July 2014 to contribute the required level of capital, but they must make a firm commitment to do this by 6 April 2014. Members who join the LLP on or after 6 April 2014 will have two months in which to raise the required level of capital to break condition C.
If you are caught by these new rules and become a deemed employee of the LLP on 6 April 2014, you will cease being self-employed on 5 April 2014. Depending on the accounts year-end of the LLP, you could be taxed on up to 23 months of profit in 2013/14, subject to any overlap relief. The on-account tax payment you made on 31 January 2014 will almost certainly be incorrect. Talk to us about recalculating your tax payments for 2013/14 and 2014/15.
The LLP business that has members caught by these new rules will have to set up PAYE scheme if it doesn't already have one. We can help you with that.
A. works for the LLP as an LLP member and at least 80% of the amounts paid to him for that work are disguised salary;
B. does not have significant influence over the affairs of the whole of the LLP; and
C. is not required to contribute funds to the LLP (a capital contribution), or if he does contribute funds that contribution is less than 25% of his disguised salary for the current tax year.
From the member's perspective the easiest of the conditions to break is C - provide capital to the LLP (aka: partner's loan). Current members of the LLP will have until 6 July 2014 to contribute the required level of capital, but they must make a firm commitment to do this by 6 April 2014. Members who join the LLP on or after 6 April 2014 will have two months in which to raise the required level of capital to break condition C.
If you are caught by these new rules and become a deemed employee of the LLP on 6 April 2014, you will cease being self-employed on 5 April 2014. Depending on the accounts year-end of the LLP, you could be taxed on up to 23 months of profit in 2013/14, subject to any overlap relief. The on-account tax payment you made on 31 January 2014 will almost certainly be incorrect. Talk to us about recalculating your tax payments for 2013/14 and 2014/15.
The LLP business that has members caught by these new rules will have to set up PAYE scheme if it doesn't already have one. We can help you with that.
Thursday, 6 March 2014
Real Time Information (RTI) Penalties
HMRC has experienced significant problems in reconciling amounts of PAYE due from employers, to the amounts reported under real time information (RTI). As a result some of the automatic RTI penalties which were to apply from 6 April 2014, will now apply from:
- October 2014 for late filing of in-year RTI reports; and
- April 2015 for late payment of in-year PAYE due.
If you are late with filing your last RTI report (known as the final submission for the year) for 2013/14, a £100 penalty will apply. This penalty continues to mount-up at £100 per month, or part month, for each batch of 50 employees on the payroll, until the final submission is received by HMRC.
The full payment summary (FPS) for the last tax month will normally be your final submission for the tax year. This FPS should be submitted on or before the last pay day in the tax year, or by 5 April 2014 where you take advantage of the concession for small businesses.
You should not submit forms P35 or P14 for 2013/14 as the information on those forms is included on the final FPS or EPS submitted for the tax year.
If no employees are paid in the final tax month of the year you should submit an employer payment summary (EPS) as the final submission for the year. This EPS should reach HMRC by 19 April 2014. The EPS can also be used as the final submission if the last FPS for the year was not marked as the final submission for the year.
We can help you with the end of year payroll procedures if you are uncertain about what you need to do.
For clients who take advantage of our payroll services we will be contacting you in the next week to gather the final information we need to process your final year end submissions.
- October 2014 for late filing of in-year RTI reports; and
- April 2015 for late payment of in-year PAYE due.
If you are late with filing your last RTI report (known as the final submission for the year) for 2013/14, a £100 penalty will apply. This penalty continues to mount-up at £100 per month, or part month, for each batch of 50 employees on the payroll, until the final submission is received by HMRC.
The full payment summary (FPS) for the last tax month will normally be your final submission for the tax year. This FPS should be submitted on or before the last pay day in the tax year, or by 5 April 2014 where you take advantage of the concession for small businesses.
You should not submit forms P35 or P14 for 2013/14 as the information on those forms is included on the final FPS or EPS submitted for the tax year.
If no employees are paid in the final tax month of the year you should submit an employer payment summary (EPS) as the final submission for the year. This EPS should reach HMRC by 19 April 2014. The EPS can also be used as the final submission if the last FPS for the year was not marked as the final submission for the year.
We can help you with the end of year payroll procedures if you are uncertain about what you need to do.
For clients who take advantage of our payroll services we will be contacting you in the next week to gather the final information we need to process your final year end submissions.
Friday, 3 January 2014
New RTI Relief
Have you been struggling to send full payment summary (FPS) reports under RTI to HMRC on or before the days on which your employees are paid? This is particularly difficult when your workers receive irregular amounts of pay on varying dates. In such cases you may not know the amounts of wages and deductions to report until the workers have finished their shifts.
The concession for small employers with fewer than 50 employees has helped. This allows you to submit all the figures on one FPS report when you make your last payroll run in the month, but this must be no later than the end of the tax month. However, this concession is due to end on 5 April 2014.
The good news is that until 5 April 2016, employers with fewer than 10 workers will be able to send in the FPS covering all payments by the last pay day of the tax month. This new relaxation will only apply to existing employers. Any new PAYE scheme commencing on or after 6 April 2014, or any scheme with 10 or more employees will have to report all the wages and deductions on or before each day the employees are paid, even if that is multiple times in the month.
If you have 10 to 50 employees on your payroll, and have been using the small employer concession to cope with multiple pay dates in a month, we need to talk about how to adjust your systems from April 2014.
The concession for small employers with fewer than 50 employees has helped. This allows you to submit all the figures on one FPS report when you make your last payroll run in the month, but this must be no later than the end of the tax month. However, this concession is due to end on 5 April 2014.
The good news is that until 5 April 2016, employers with fewer than 10 workers will be able to send in the FPS covering all payments by the last pay day of the tax month. This new relaxation will only apply to existing employers. Any new PAYE scheme commencing on or after 6 April 2014, or any scheme with 10 or more employees will have to report all the wages and deductions on or before each day the employees are paid, even if that is multiple times in the month.
If you have 10 to 50 employees on your payroll, and have been using the small employer concession to cope with multiple pay dates in a month, we need to talk about how to adjust your systems from April 2014.
Disguised Employment
The Government is cracking down on situations in which workers are treated as self-employed for tax purposes, and hence pay low amounts of NICs, but from the outside they appear to act as employees. The following changes in the tax law are proposed to block the use of 'self-employed' workers working through LLPs or who are hired-out through employment agencies.
LLPs
All individual members of LLPs are currently taxed as self-employed persons, even if they receive a regular 'salary'. This is the default position of the law and nothing is being 'fiddled' to put workers in this position. However, HMRC believe this rule is being abused, and the workers involved may not realise that they are technically self-employed.
From 6 April 2014 salaried members of LLPs will be treated as employees of the LLP if all of the following conditions are met:
- the member works for LLP and at least 80% of the pay he receives from the LLP is 'disguised salary';
- where the member has contributed any capital to the LLP, that capital amounts to less than 25% of the member's 'disguised salary' for the year; and
- the member is not involved significantly in the management of the LLP.
The Government has not yet defined term 'disguised salary'. If you have salaried members in your LLP we need to talk about these tax changes.
Employment Agencies
From 6 April 2014 if a worker supplied by an offshore employment agency personally carries out the work, or is involved in the provision of the services, the payment from the engager to the worker will have to be taxed under PAYE with class 1 NICs deducted. Any apparent right of substitution in the worker's contract will not prevent PAYE and NICs being due at the employed rates. The agency at the end of the chain must be an off-shore agency for the new rules to apply, but there may be UK based agencies in between and it may not be obvious to the worker or the engager of that worker, that an off-shore agency is in the chain
If you have any doubts about the contracts you are using either as a worker or an employer, our tax experts can help check the tax implications for you.
LLPs
All individual members of LLPs are currently taxed as self-employed persons, even if they receive a regular 'salary'. This is the default position of the law and nothing is being 'fiddled' to put workers in this position. However, HMRC believe this rule is being abused, and the workers involved may not realise that they are technically self-employed.
From 6 April 2014 salaried members of LLPs will be treated as employees of the LLP if all of the following conditions are met:
- the member works for LLP and at least 80% of the pay he receives from the LLP is 'disguised salary';
- where the member has contributed any capital to the LLP, that capital amounts to less than 25% of the member's 'disguised salary' for the year; and
- the member is not involved significantly in the management of the LLP.
The Government has not yet defined term 'disguised salary'. If you have salaried members in your LLP we need to talk about these tax changes.
Employment Agencies
From 6 April 2014 if a worker supplied by an offshore employment agency personally carries out the work, or is involved in the provision of the services, the payment from the engager to the worker will have to be taxed under PAYE with class 1 NICs deducted. Any apparent right of substitution in the worker's contract will not prevent PAYE and NICs being due at the employed rates. The agency at the end of the chain must be an off-shore agency for the new rules to apply, but there may be UK based agencies in between and it may not be obvious to the worker or the engager of that worker, that an off-shore agency is in the chain
If you have any doubts about the contracts you are using either as a worker or an employer, our tax experts can help check the tax implications for you.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
RTI Penalties Around The Corner
This tax year (2013/14) is the first year in which the majority of employers have submitted their PAYE data using real time information (RTI). HMRC has not yet imposed penalties for late RTI submissions made within the tax year, but that is about to change.
From 6 April 2014 penalties will start to accrue after the first failure in each of these situations:
- filing a full payment submission (FPS) after the date of payment stated in that report;
- failure to file an employer payment summary (EPS) showing a nil payment when required; and
- failure to pay the PAYE due in full, and on time for a particular tax month.
Note that currently there is a concession for employers with fewer than 50 employees. If all the conditions apply they can file just one FPS by the end of the tax month, irrespective of the number of times they have paid employees in that month. This concession is due to end on 5 April 2014.
The penalties for late submissions will vary according to the number of employees on the payroll. The smallest payroll with up to 9 employees will suffer a £100 penalty for every month for which the FPS is filed late. Larger payrolls will be charged £200, £300 or £400 per month for the same failure, for up to 11 months per tax year. If the employees are paid more frequently than monthly, only one fixed penalty will be applied per month.
Where no payment has been made to employees in the month HMRC expect to receive an EPS reporting a nil payment, unless the PAYE scheme has been registered as 'annual'. If no nil EPS is received this will give rise to a penalty.
Penalties for late paid PAYE already apply, but such penalties have not been imposed so far. Late payment penalties are charged at 1% to 4% of the amount that is paid late for the tax month, with the penalty percentage increasing as the number of months of late payment mounts up in the tax year.
You will be informed that a penalty is potentially due by an automatic electronic message from HMRC. These messages are already being sent for late FPS, but they are just warnings at this stage. Other types of warning messages will commence in the next few weeks. Where a penalty is due for a tax month it will be imposed at the end of the tax quarter.
Please talk to us if you get any warning messages from HMRC, as we need to sort out why there is an apparent fault in submitting RTI reports or paying the right amount of PAYE.
From 6 April 2014 penalties will start to accrue after the first failure in each of these situations:
- filing a full payment submission (FPS) after the date of payment stated in that report;
- failure to file an employer payment summary (EPS) showing a nil payment when required; and
- failure to pay the PAYE due in full, and on time for a particular tax month.
Note that currently there is a concession for employers with fewer than 50 employees. If all the conditions apply they can file just one FPS by the end of the tax month, irrespective of the number of times they have paid employees in that month. This concession is due to end on 5 April 2014.
The penalties for late submissions will vary according to the number of employees on the payroll. The smallest payroll with up to 9 employees will suffer a £100 penalty for every month for which the FPS is filed late. Larger payrolls will be charged £200, £300 or £400 per month for the same failure, for up to 11 months per tax year. If the employees are paid more frequently than monthly, only one fixed penalty will be applied per month.
Where no payment has been made to employees in the month HMRC expect to receive an EPS reporting a nil payment, unless the PAYE scheme has been registered as 'annual'. If no nil EPS is received this will give rise to a penalty.
Penalties for late paid PAYE already apply, but such penalties have not been imposed so far. Late payment penalties are charged at 1% to 4% of the amount that is paid late for the tax month, with the penalty percentage increasing as the number of months of late payment mounts up in the tax year.
You will be informed that a penalty is potentially due by an automatic electronic message from HMRC. These messages are already being sent for late FPS, but they are just warnings at this stage. Other types of warning messages will commence in the next few weeks. Where a penalty is due for a tax month it will be imposed at the end of the tax quarter.
Please talk to us if you get any warning messages from HMRC, as we need to sort out why there is an apparent fault in submitting RTI reports or paying the right amount of PAYE.
Monday, 4 November 2013
New RTI Messages
Real time information (RTI) is all about one-way communications with HMRC. Your payroll software sends reports (called FPS or EPS) to HMRC about the deductions made from your employees' pay, and normally you hear nothing back.
That is starting to change. HMRC is now sending electronic messages to employers to inform them that not all is well with their RTI reports. The first messages concern late submitted FPS reports, but in future there will be messages about late paid PAYE and missing RTI reports.
It is important to get the FPS in on time as then HMRC know that the amount of PAYE paid for the month agrees with the deductions you have reported on the FPS. HMRC will not impose penalties for any late FPS submitted within 2013/14, although the final FPS for 2013/14 (which closes the tax year), can carry a penalty if that is significantly late. The messages about late FPS reports are thus just a warning from HMRC in this tax year, but may indicate there is something wrong with your systems.
From 6 April 2014 there will be automatic penalties for filing a FPS late within the tax year. 'Late' means it arrives with HMRC after the date on which the employees were paid. There will also be penalties for paying PAYE late.
In order to pick up these electronic messages from HMRC you need to use your payroll software, or log on to HMRC's PAYE online services, then look for notifications. The messages are also available using the HMRC's PAYE desktop viewer (PDV) software package. However, the PDV has just been updated so you may need to download the latest version first.
These electronic messages about FPS will be the first of many important messages concerning RTI, so you need to get used to looking for them.
That is starting to change. HMRC is now sending electronic messages to employers to inform them that not all is well with their RTI reports. The first messages concern late submitted FPS reports, but in future there will be messages about late paid PAYE and missing RTI reports.
It is important to get the FPS in on time as then HMRC know that the amount of PAYE paid for the month agrees with the deductions you have reported on the FPS. HMRC will not impose penalties for any late FPS submitted within 2013/14, although the final FPS for 2013/14 (which closes the tax year), can carry a penalty if that is significantly late. The messages about late FPS reports are thus just a warning from HMRC in this tax year, but may indicate there is something wrong with your systems.
From 6 April 2014 there will be automatic penalties for filing a FPS late within the tax year. 'Late' means it arrives with HMRC after the date on which the employees were paid. There will also be penalties for paying PAYE late.
In order to pick up these electronic messages from HMRC you need to use your payroll software, or log on to HMRC's PAYE online services, then look for notifications. The messages are also available using the HMRC's PAYE desktop viewer (PDV) software package. However, the PDV has just been updated so you may need to download the latest version first.
These electronic messages about FPS will be the first of many important messages concerning RTI, so you need to get used to looking for them.
Monday, 1 July 2013
Expenses and Benefits Reporting
The deadline for submitting the annual returns of expenses and benefits (forms P11D and P9D) to HMRC is 6 July 2013.
The form P11D (P9D for those paid less than £8,500), is used to report the provision of benefits such as company cars or health cover to your employees, and to you where you are a director of your own company. Other benefits which may have to be reported include loans from the company to the employee/director, or the loan of assets such as a motorbike, boat or accommodation.
In theory all expenses paid to employees also need to be reported on the forms P11D. To avoid being taxed on those expense payments as income, the employee (or you on their behalf) has to make a claim for the amount paid to be treated as a valid tax deduction using a form P28 or P810, or by letter. This paper-chase can be avoided by applying for a dispensation from HMRC. We can help you with that.
Even if a dispensation is in place, any benefits provided such as; cars, fuel or health cover must be reported on the form P11D. Also class 1A NI must be paid by the employer at the rate of 13.8% on the value of the benefits provided, and reported on form P11D(b).
All of these forms can now be submitted online using an online service on the HMRC website. If you previously used the HMRC software: PAYE Basic Tools to submit forms P11D you now need to use this new online method, as PAYE Basic Tools does not include the P11D forms for 2012/13 or later years.
If you want to submit paper forms P11D and P9D you need to send them to:
HMRC (NIC&EO) Room BP2101
Lindisfarne House
Benton Park View
Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ
If you need and help or advice please contact us.
The form P11D (P9D for those paid less than £8,500), is used to report the provision of benefits such as company cars or health cover to your employees, and to you where you are a director of your own company. Other benefits which may have to be reported include loans from the company to the employee/director, or the loan of assets such as a motorbike, boat or accommodation.
In theory all expenses paid to employees also need to be reported on the forms P11D. To avoid being taxed on those expense payments as income, the employee (or you on their behalf) has to make a claim for the amount paid to be treated as a valid tax deduction using a form P28 or P810, or by letter. This paper-chase can be avoided by applying for a dispensation from HMRC. We can help you with that.
Even if a dispensation is in place, any benefits provided such as; cars, fuel or health cover must be reported on the form P11D. Also class 1A NI must be paid by the employer at the rate of 13.8% on the value of the benefits provided, and reported on form P11D(b).
All of these forms can now be submitted online using an online service on the HMRC website. If you previously used the HMRC software: PAYE Basic Tools to submit forms P11D you now need to use this new online method, as PAYE Basic Tools does not include the P11D forms for 2012/13 or later years.
If you want to submit paper forms P11D and P9D you need to send them to:
HMRC (NIC&EO) Room BP2101
Lindisfarne House
Benton Park View
Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ
If you need and help or advice please contact us.
Friday, 31 May 2013
RTI Growing Pains
The Taxman is also causing RTI pains for employers and employees by issuing duff data.
Incorrect NI numbers
When you submit a FPS or NI number verification request (NVR), the Taxman should reply with any missing or corrected NI numbers. However, in some cases the NI numbers the Taxman has returned to employers have no suffix letter (A, B, C or D).
The Taxman says you should use the NI number he has sent to you in your payroll software, but to leave the last digit blank by typing a space using the space bar. This may not be a workable solution, because most payroll software will reject any NI number with less than nine characters. We're hoping for an HMRC update on this issue!
Sometimes a long standing NI number has been replaced, but the old NI number is quoted on official notices. This indicates a possible data corruption problem within the HMRC machine. You should exercise caution when amending any NI numbers notified by HMRC since 6 April 2013, and talk to us if in doubt.
Incorrect PAYE codes
Where you have submitted an FPS or employer alignment submission (EAS), which did not include all the employees normally on your payroll, without indicating that the EAS was a part submission, the Taxman has assumed that any missing employees have left your employment.
Subsequently when you submit a FPS including one of those missing employees, that employee is treated as a new starter, with a new employment record. Any details of benefits in the PAYE code belonging to that employee haven't been carried over to his new employment record. Thus his new PAYE code may be wrong.
The Taxman has advised employers in this position to use the old PAYE code for the employee. However, under the PAYE regulations employers are not permitted to take a view on which PAYE codes to apply and which to ignore. Many payroll software packages download the PAYE codes directly from HMRC and apply them automatically, with no human intervention.
The employer helpline will not discuss employee's tax codes with an employer, so the only way to straighten out the mess is to get the employee to contact the Taxman directly.
Incorrect NI numbers
When you submit a FPS or NI number verification request (NVR), the Taxman should reply with any missing or corrected NI numbers. However, in some cases the NI numbers the Taxman has returned to employers have no suffix letter (A, B, C or D).
The Taxman says you should use the NI number he has sent to you in your payroll software, but to leave the last digit blank by typing a space using the space bar. This may not be a workable solution, because most payroll software will reject any NI number with less than nine characters. We're hoping for an HMRC update on this issue!
Sometimes a long standing NI number has been replaced, but the old NI number is quoted on official notices. This indicates a possible data corruption problem within the HMRC machine. You should exercise caution when amending any NI numbers notified by HMRC since 6 April 2013, and talk to us if in doubt.
Incorrect PAYE codes
Where you have submitted an FPS or employer alignment submission (EAS), which did not include all the employees normally on your payroll, without indicating that the EAS was a part submission, the Taxman has assumed that any missing employees have left your employment.
Subsequently when you submit a FPS including one of those missing employees, that employee is treated as a new starter, with a new employment record. Any details of benefits in the PAYE code belonging to that employee haven't been carried over to his new employment record. Thus his new PAYE code may be wrong.
The Taxman has advised employers in this position to use the old PAYE code for the employee. However, under the PAYE regulations employers are not permitted to take a view on which PAYE codes to apply and which to ignore. Many payroll software packages download the PAYE codes directly from HMRC and apply them automatically, with no human intervention.
The employer helpline will not discuss employee's tax codes with an employer, so the only way to straighten out the mess is to get the employee to contact the Taxman directly.
No RTI Reports Made?
Employers were told that they had to use real time information (RTI) to report PAYE deductions from the first pay day on or after 6 April 2013. But what if there has been no pay day since 6 April, because no one has been paid? In that case RTI does apply from 6 April 2013 onwards. You need to make an RTI report for every tax month, unless your PAYE scheme has been registered as an annual scheme. Annual PAYE schemes can make just one RTI report for the month in which the salary is paid.
If you are within RTI you can't use the link on the HMRC website to report that no PAYE is due. You have to submit an employer payment summary (EPS) after the end of the tax month (5th) and before the payment date of the 19th.
Even if you pay your PAYE over to HMRC on a quarterly basis, you still have to submit an EPS or a full payment submission (FPS) for every tax month.
If in earlier tax years you had a history of paying PAYE to HMRC for every month or quarter, and you haven't submitted any RTI reports so far, HMRC may well send you an estimated PAYE demand called a specified charge. The only way to get out of paying a specified charge is to submit an EPS or FPS under RTI for the missing periods in 2013/14.
If you are within RTI you can't use the link on the HMRC website to report that no PAYE is due. You have to submit an employer payment summary (EPS) after the end of the tax month (5th) and before the payment date of the 19th.
Even if you pay your PAYE over to HMRC on a quarterly basis, you still have to submit an EPS or a full payment submission (FPS) for every tax month.
If in earlier tax years you had a history of paying PAYE to HMRC for every month or quarter, and you haven't submitted any RTI reports so far, HMRC may well send you an estimated PAYE demand called a specified charge. The only way to get out of paying a specified charge is to submit an EPS or FPS under RTI for the missing periods in 2013/14.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Annual Payroll and RTI
Under real time information (RTI) PAYE reporting, a Full Payment Submission (FPS) report is required to be made to HMRC every time an employee is paid, not just once after the end of the tax year as is currently the case. RTI will be compulsory for most employers from the first pay date following 6 April 2013.
Many one-person companies may wish to pay the director just once a year and avoid monthly RTI reporting. If you want to do this, you must first check that your payroll software will cope with an annual payroll, as many main-stream payroll software packages do not.
The second stage is to understand what reports HMRC will require under RTI. An annual payroll must be registered with HMRC. The current advice on the HMRC website says: "If all payments on which tax and NICs are due are paid to your employees annually in a single tax month, you can ask HMRC to be treated as an 'annual payer'. You must use the same month every year, so if this changes or you start paying your employees more frequently, you will need to tell HMRC."
There should be more guidance on the HMRC website about annual payrolls soon. If you do not register the payroll as being annual you will need to submit an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) to HMRC every month, which shows nil payments made to the employee.
Where an employee is paid irregularly, i.e. less often than once a month, it is essential that the irregular payment marker is made in the payroll software against that employee, as otherwise the HMRC computer system may delete that person from the payroll.
If you want to pay yourself a regular amount every month, and minimise the RTI reporting hassle, your payroll software may allow you to prepare all the FPS returns for the entire year in advance. However, you must check whether your particular payroll software will do this. You won't be able to prepare monthly FPS returns for the entire year in arrears, those FPS reports must be done in advance or at the time of payment.
If you need any advice about RTI please contact us.
Many one-person companies may wish to pay the director just once a year and avoid monthly RTI reporting. If you want to do this, you must first check that your payroll software will cope with an annual payroll, as many main-stream payroll software packages do not.
The second stage is to understand what reports HMRC will require under RTI. An annual payroll must be registered with HMRC. The current advice on the HMRC website says: "If all payments on which tax and NICs are due are paid to your employees annually in a single tax month, you can ask HMRC to be treated as an 'annual payer'. You must use the same month every year, so if this changes or you start paying your employees more frequently, you will need to tell HMRC."
There should be more guidance on the HMRC website about annual payrolls soon. If you do not register the payroll as being annual you will need to submit an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) to HMRC every month, which shows nil payments made to the employee.
Where an employee is paid irregularly, i.e. less often than once a month, it is essential that the irregular payment marker is made in the payroll software against that employee, as otherwise the HMRC computer system may delete that person from the payroll.
If you want to pay yourself a regular amount every month, and minimise the RTI reporting hassle, your payroll software may allow you to prepare all the FPS returns for the entire year in advance. However, you must check whether your particular payroll software will do this. You won't be able to prepare monthly FPS returns for the entire year in arrears, those FPS reports must be done in advance or at the time of payment.
If you need any advice about RTI please contact us.
Friday, 30 November 2012
Planning for RTI
If you are an employer you should have received information from the Taxman about operating PAYE under Real Time Information (RTI).
Employers with fewer than 5001 employees will have to operate RTI from 6 April 2013, and that includes one-man companies. Some employers have already started to use RTI under the pilot program. Individuals who employ carers in their own home may be able to defer migrating to RTI until April 2014.
Defacto's online portal will be RTI compliant for 2013 however if you use another 3rd party software you need to check whether your payroll software will be RTI-ready from April 2013. Don't assume it will be. Some software providers have taken this time to discontinue legacy packages and force you to move to more expensive offerings. Even HMRC is cutting back on the free payroll software it provides. The HMRC PAYE Basic tools will work under RTI, but only for up to nine employees, and it does not handle net pay arrangements for employer pension contributions.
If you use an external provider to run your payroll, you must talk to them about how much it will cost to run your payroll from April 2013. RTI requires more data to be submitted to the Tax Office than currently required (see below). Also the RTI reports must be sent on or before the day on which employees are paid, which could be daily or weekly. Currently the Taxman requires an annual report of what has been paid and deducted under PAYE.
The 'on or before' requirement has been relaxed in limited circumstances where employees are paid in cash on the day they work, and the amount of payment cannot be known in advance. This may apply to bar staff and crop-pickers. However, the RTI report must still be made within seven days of the day of payment, or when the next payroll is run, whichever comes next.
As the purpose of RTI is to provide accurate information to the DWP on claimants' earnings, employers are required to provide the weekly hours worked by each employee, as they fall into the following bands:
A. Up to 15.99 hours
B. 16 to 24.99 hours
C. 30 hours or more
D. Other
You don't have to record the exact hours worked, only the normal hours the employee is expected to work.
From April 2014 the Taxman will charge penalties where RTI reports are submitted late, or containing inaccurate information. Please talk to us about how your business can meet the RTI challenge and how we can help. You have just four months to get ready.
Employers with fewer than 5001 employees will have to operate RTI from 6 April 2013, and that includes one-man companies. Some employers have already started to use RTI under the pilot program. Individuals who employ carers in their own home may be able to defer migrating to RTI until April 2014.
Defacto's online portal will be RTI compliant for 2013 however if you use another 3rd party software you need to check whether your payroll software will be RTI-ready from April 2013. Don't assume it will be. Some software providers have taken this time to discontinue legacy packages and force you to move to more expensive offerings. Even HMRC is cutting back on the free payroll software it provides. The HMRC PAYE Basic tools will work under RTI, but only for up to nine employees, and it does not handle net pay arrangements for employer pension contributions.
If you use an external provider to run your payroll, you must talk to them about how much it will cost to run your payroll from April 2013. RTI requires more data to be submitted to the Tax Office than currently required (see below). Also the RTI reports must be sent on or before the day on which employees are paid, which could be daily or weekly. Currently the Taxman requires an annual report of what has been paid and deducted under PAYE.
The 'on or before' requirement has been relaxed in limited circumstances where employees are paid in cash on the day they work, and the amount of payment cannot be known in advance. This may apply to bar staff and crop-pickers. However, the RTI report must still be made within seven days of the day of payment, or when the next payroll is run, whichever comes next.
As the purpose of RTI is to provide accurate information to the DWP on claimants' earnings, employers are required to provide the weekly hours worked by each employee, as they fall into the following bands:
A. Up to 15.99 hours
B. 16 to 24.99 hours
C. 30 hours or more
D. Other
You don't have to record the exact hours worked, only the normal hours the employee is expected to work.
From April 2014 the Taxman will charge penalties where RTI reports are submitted late, or containing inaccurate information. Please talk to us about how your business can meet the RTI challenge and how we can help. You have just four months to get ready.
Thursday, 1 November 2012
NIC Refunds for Vocational Training
Does your business engage self-employed teachers, lecturers or vocational instructors, or are you such a self-employed teacher or instructor? The NI contribution regulations were changed from 6 April 2012 to make it clear that such teachers/instructors should not be treated as employed and subject to class 1 NICs, where they were engaged on self-employed contracts.
However, for years prior to 6 April 2012 the Taxman demanded payment of Class I NICs from organisations who engaged self-employed vocational instructors whose self-employed status was not in dispute. Now the Taxman has admitted the NIC regulations in place before April 2012 did not apply to those who provided vocational or recreational training (as opposed to more formal education).
Consequently Class 1 NICs were paid by the engagers and trainers prior to 6 April 2012 when those contributions were not due. The type of instructors affected include: first-aid trainers, vocational and recreational trainers. These individuals and the organisations which engaged them, can now claim a refund of the class I NICs which have been paid in error.
The refund of Class I NICs can only apply to educators who were engaged on a self-employed basis. Also the Taxman will only refund contributions made for the last two tax years (2010/11 and 2011/12), or for years where the Taxman's decision was requested or challenged, and that decision has not been determined. We can help you draw-up the refund claim.
However, for years prior to 6 April 2012 the Taxman demanded payment of Class I NICs from organisations who engaged self-employed vocational instructors whose self-employed status was not in dispute. Now the Taxman has admitted the NIC regulations in place before April 2012 did not apply to those who provided vocational or recreational training (as opposed to more formal education).
Consequently Class 1 NICs were paid by the engagers and trainers prior to 6 April 2012 when those contributions were not due. The type of instructors affected include: first-aid trainers, vocational and recreational trainers. These individuals and the organisations which engaged them, can now claim a refund of the class I NICs which have been paid in error.
The refund of Class I NICs can only apply to educators who were engaged on a self-employed basis. Also the Taxman will only refund contributions made for the last two tax years (2010/11 and 2011/12), or for years where the Taxman's decision was requested or challenged, and that decision has not been determined. We can help you draw-up the refund claim.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Whose Fault is Underpaid Tax?
Have you received a tax calculation (on form P800) which shows you owe tax that you thought had been collected under PAYE? Every year the Tax Office undertakes a 'PAYE reconciliation' to check whether the tax collected from pensions and salary under PAYE was the correct amount. Where a taxpayer has a number of jobs or several pensions in a year, the PAYE system can get it wrong, leaving tax underpaid.
We can help you check any form P800 you receive, but we need to see the PAYE codes issued to you for the tax year, and payslips from your employer or pension provider to check what PAYE codes they have used. Where the employer/pension provider has not used the correct PAYE code and this causes any tax not to be collected, it remains their responsibility, not yours.
Unfortunately the Taxman is ignoring this piece of law and is demanding payment of the underpaid tax from employees and pensioners, where the error lies with the employer/pension provider. We can help you challenge the Taxman on this point.
Sometimes the fault lies with the Taxman who has ignored information you or your employer have provided on more than one occasion. The Tax Office may also have let tax arrears build up over two or more years without telling you. If either of these situations apply, you can ask the Taxman to write-off the tax owing under Extra Statutory Concession A19. The Taxman is very reluctant to use this concession, but we can help argue your case.
We can help you check any form P800 you receive, but we need to see the PAYE codes issued to you for the tax year, and payslips from your employer or pension provider to check what PAYE codes they have used. Where the employer/pension provider has not used the correct PAYE code and this causes any tax not to be collected, it remains their responsibility, not yours.
Unfortunately the Taxman is ignoring this piece of law and is demanding payment of the underpaid tax from employees and pensioners, where the error lies with the employer/pension provider. We can help you challenge the Taxman on this point.
Sometimes the fault lies with the Taxman who has ignored information you or your employer have provided on more than one occasion. The Tax Office may also have let tax arrears build up over two or more years without telling you. If either of these situations apply, you can ask the Taxman to write-off the tax owing under Extra Statutory Concession A19. The Taxman is very reluctant to use this concession, but we can help argue your case.
Monday, 13 August 2012
Are You a Shadow?
When a company fails to pay over the PAYE and NIC which should have been deducted from salaries paid to the employees and directors, HMRC can issue the directors and shadow directors of the company with personal demands for the tax due.
A shadow director is not registered as a director of the company with Companies House, but he or she will effectively control the company by giving instructions to the named directors, and to other staff who are accustomed to act on those instructions. Majority shareholders may be deemed to be shadow directors if they effectively run the company.
Liquidators can take action against shadow directors just as they can against the named directors for debts owing, including tax.
There have been a number of cases recently where HMRC has gone after the shadow director of the company to collect the unpaid PAYE. In those cases the individuals may have assumed they could avoid any responsibility for the company's debts by not appointing themselves as a director of their company. However, HMRC questioned the staff involved to find out who issued the instructions to pay salary and not pay over the PAYE due, concluding that certain persons were shadow directors.
A shadow director is not registered as a director of the company with Companies House, but he or she will effectively control the company by giving instructions to the named directors, and to other staff who are accustomed to act on those instructions. Majority shareholders may be deemed to be shadow directors if they effectively run the company.
Liquidators can take action against shadow directors just as they can against the named directors for debts owing, including tax.
There have been a number of cases recently where HMRC has gone after the shadow director of the company to collect the unpaid PAYE. In those cases the individuals may have assumed they could avoid any responsibility for the company's debts by not appointing themselves as a director of their company. However, HMRC questioned the staff involved to find out who issued the instructions to pay salary and not pay over the PAYE due, concluding that certain persons were shadow directors.
Friday, 1 June 2012
PAYE Reconciliations Starting
Between now and October 2012 around 5.1 million taxpayers will receive notice of a tax under or over-payment, arising from the PAYE reconciliation exercise for 2011/12. These PAYE adjustments are the natural result of calculating whether each taxpayer has paid the right amount of tax through PAYE or not.
The PAYE system does not cope well when a person has several employments or pensions running concurrently, or changes the benefits in kind (such as a car or medical payments) part way through the tax year. As result the amount of tax deducted from salary or pension is not perfect, although more problems are being overcome every year.
When the HMRC computer calculates that you have under or over-paid tax for the year it will send you a tax calculation on form P800. We will not get a copy of the P800 as your tax agent, so if you want us to check the figures for you please send us a copy.
If you are going to check the tax calculation yourself, start with the forms P60 or P45 you have received from your pension provider or employer for the tax year. First ensure you are comparing documents for the same tax year, the latest P800 form should be for 2011/12, but you may be sent calculations for earlier tax years. Is all the tax deducted as reported on the forms P60 also shown on the P800? There have been cases of HMRC mixing up the PAYE records of two taxpayers, so watch for any discrepancies in your taxed income figures.
You also need to check that your full personal allowance has been included, and the amounts for benefits or other income are accurate. These figures are often estimated at the beginning of the tax year, and may not have been amended to reflect the true amounts.
If you need any assistance please contact us.
The PAYE system does not cope well when a person has several employments or pensions running concurrently, or changes the benefits in kind (such as a car or medical payments) part way through the tax year. As result the amount of tax deducted from salary or pension is not perfect, although more problems are being overcome every year.
When the HMRC computer calculates that you have under or over-paid tax for the year it will send you a tax calculation on form P800. We will not get a copy of the P800 as your tax agent, so if you want us to check the figures for you please send us a copy.
If you are going to check the tax calculation yourself, start with the forms P60 or P45 you have received from your pension provider or employer for the tax year. First ensure you are comparing documents for the same tax year, the latest P800 form should be for 2011/12, but you may be sent calculations for earlier tax years. Is all the tax deducted as reported on the forms P60 also shown on the P800? There have been cases of HMRC mixing up the PAYE records of two taxpayers, so watch for any discrepancies in your taxed income figures.
You also need to check that your full personal allowance has been included, and the amounts for benefits or other income are accurate. These figures are often estimated at the beginning of the tax year, and may not have been amended to reflect the true amounts.
If you need any assistance please contact us.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
New Tax Dashboard
If you have recently logged-on to the HMRC online service for PAYE for employers, or corporation tax, you will have seen a request to sign-up for the tax dashboard. This is a new facility that will provide a single view of all your business tax liabilities arising from corporation tax or income tax (for company or individual), VAT and PAYE.
The tax dashboard will show the following for each tax:
- Amount owed
- Repayments due from HMRC
- Payments already made
- Interest due on any late payments
- Penalties incurred, and
- Direct debit payment plans
You will not be able to reallocate payments between taxes, or even between periods for the same tax. The dashboard is merely a viewing facility.
Before you can use the tax dashboard you must be registered with the HMRC online service for corporation tax or self-assessment. You may already be registered and have separate online logins for the PAYE, VAT and corporation tax or self-assessment online services. If this is the case you need to move all online services to one login, in order to see all taxes on your tax dashboard. There are instructions on the HMRC page for the tax dashboard on how to move online services to one login.
Tax agents cannot use the tax dashboard to view their clients' tax liabilities, which would be really useful. This facility may be provided in the future, but we are not holding our breath!
The tax dashboard will show the following for each tax:
- Amount owed
- Repayments due from HMRC
- Payments already made
- Interest due on any late payments
- Penalties incurred, and
- Direct debit payment plans
You will not be able to reallocate payments between taxes, or even between periods for the same tax. The dashboard is merely a viewing facility.
Before you can use the tax dashboard you must be registered with the HMRC online service for corporation tax or self-assessment. You may already be registered and have separate online logins for the PAYE, VAT and corporation tax or self-assessment online services. If this is the case you need to move all online services to one login, in order to see all taxes on your tax dashboard. There are instructions on the HMRC page for the tax dashboard on how to move online services to one login.
Tax agents cannot use the tax dashboard to view their clients' tax liabilities, which would be really useful. This facility may be provided in the future, but we are not holding our breath!
Employer or Personal Pension Funding?
Who should pay contributions into your pension fund: you or your employer? If you control the company you work for, the most tax efficient solution is almost certainly for the company to pay as your employer.
The company can set a reasonable level of pension contributions against its profits subject to corporation tax (at 20%, 24% or 25%), and it pays no employers' NI charges on those pension contributions. A 'reasonable level' is where the salary plus benefits, including pension contributions, form a commercially reasonable remuneration package for the work done. As long as the total package is set at a commercial level or below, the company can receive tax relief for the remuneration payments.
If you pay pension contributions as an employee, you need to extract the funds from your company. If you do this by a salary, this creates an income tax charge in your hands. The company receives tax relief on salary payments but it must pay employers' NICs at 13.8%, with no upper limit. You are also subject to NICs on your salary at 12%, which then reduces to 2% on salary over £42,475 per year. So unlike pension contributions paid directly by the company, salary payments carry NICs of up to 25.8%.
If you take dividends from the company to pay your pension contributions, there are no NICs payable by you or the company. But the company does not receive tax relief on the payment of dividends. So the only tax relief due on the pension contributions is due at your marginal tax rate, on up to 100% of your earned income, capped by your annual allowance (see below). Dividends are not earned income, so if you only take dividends and no salary or other employment benefits from your company, the tax relief on your pension contributions is limited to £3,600 per year, which is the maximum for a person with no earned income.
Your annual allowance caps the amount of your pension contributions which attract tax relief. If this allowance is exceeded by pension contributions paid by you or your employer, you will pay a tax charge at your marginal rate. The annual allowance is now £50,000 per year, but this is extended by unused allowances brought forward from the previous three tax years. Thus the exact amount of annual allowance will be different for each individual, depending on his or her pattern of pension contributions.
We can help advise you on this for your own specific circumstances.
The company can set a reasonable level of pension contributions against its profits subject to corporation tax (at 20%, 24% or 25%), and it pays no employers' NI charges on those pension contributions. A 'reasonable level' is where the salary plus benefits, including pension contributions, form a commercially reasonable remuneration package for the work done. As long as the total package is set at a commercial level or below, the company can receive tax relief for the remuneration payments.
If you pay pension contributions as an employee, you need to extract the funds from your company. If you do this by a salary, this creates an income tax charge in your hands. The company receives tax relief on salary payments but it must pay employers' NICs at 13.8%, with no upper limit. You are also subject to NICs on your salary at 12%, which then reduces to 2% on salary over £42,475 per year. So unlike pension contributions paid directly by the company, salary payments carry NICs of up to 25.8%.
If you take dividends from the company to pay your pension contributions, there are no NICs payable by you or the company. But the company does not receive tax relief on the payment of dividends. So the only tax relief due on the pension contributions is due at your marginal tax rate, on up to 100% of your earned income, capped by your annual allowance (see below). Dividends are not earned income, so if you only take dividends and no salary or other employment benefits from your company, the tax relief on your pension contributions is limited to £3,600 per year, which is the maximum for a person with no earned income.
Your annual allowance caps the amount of your pension contributions which attract tax relief. If this allowance is exceeded by pension contributions paid by you or your employer, you will pay a tax charge at your marginal rate. The annual allowance is now £50,000 per year, but this is extended by unused allowances brought forward from the previous three tax years. Thus the exact amount of annual allowance will be different for each individual, depending on his or her pattern of pension contributions.
We can help advise you on this for your own specific circumstances.
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