COMPLIANCE
B y the time you read this, we may already know when the general election will be. Whether the pundits claiming we’ll see a May election are right or not, I propose that this year’s motto should be ‘be prepared’. As in other years, the new tax rates and thresholds have already been published following the autumn statement and the Scottish budget, but there are a few points worth mentioning which aren’t covered in some of the other articles included in this issue. One change we’ve already seen relates to the rate of employee’s National Insurance (NI) The surprise announcements in the chancellor’s autumn statement were that the main rate of NI for employees would be reduced by 2%, class 4 NI for the self-employed would be reduced by 1% and that mandatory class 2 NI for self- employed workers would be abolished. Usually, rate changes apply from the new tax year on 6 April, but in another surprise move, Jeremy Hunt brought the reduction in the employee’s main rate forward to apply from 6 January 2024. Changes to class 4 and class 2 NI will apply from 6 April 2024. Hopefully, your payroll software was updated in time to process at the new rate. If not, and you must correct payroll for 2023/24, it may be easier to do this before closing the tax year down. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has provided guidance on how to correct an employee’s NI deductions, whether this is in the current tax year or in an earlier tax year. See here for further information: https://ow.ly/pR5a50QtZxt. What about off payroll working? From 6 April 2024, HMRC will have the power to offset tax and NI already paid by a worker and their intermediary against any subsequent tax and NI liabilities which arise, when there’s been an error in operating the off payroll working rules in respect of deemed direct payments made from 6 April 2017. HMRC has invited deemed employers to pause settlement of any open off payroll working compliance checks due to
"And once everything has been closed down, you’ll just about have time for a cup of tea before the fun starts again" the new rules. Some key information will need to be retained relating to the worker and the personal service company (PSC) to benefit from the offset. Issue 115 of HMRC’s Agent Update (https://ow.ly/ osT750QtZEK) advises keeping a record of the: l PSC name l company registration number l worker’s full name or NI number. Changes to CIS rules Also from 6 April 2024, there will be changes to the CIS rules to: l tighten checks on subcontractors who have gross payment status (GPS) l remove most payments from landlords to tenants from the scope of CIS l end telephone applications to register for CIS, apart from for those who are digitally exempt. When a subcontractor in the CIS applies to HMRC to be paid without the usual 20% tax deduction, HMRC carries out various checks, including ensuring the subcontractor has been compliant with all personal tax, corporation tax, pay as you earn (PAYE) and CIS tax obligations. From 6 April 2024, the tests will also include ensuring compliance with value added tax (VAT) obligations. Once GPS has been granted, there are periodic reviews of tax compliance and failures can lead to GPS being withdrawn. The first review of a GPS holder’s compliance history will now be six months after the application, instead of the usual 12 months. In other changes to CIS, there will be a simplification to the scheme, which removes most payments from landlords to tenants from the scope of CIS. New regulations will be written to come into effect from the new tax year.
Also, as part of HMRC’s ambition to reduce telephone traffic, from April 2024, subcontractors and contractors will have to register for CIS either online or by writing to HMRC. A further article in this issue of the magazine covers the changes to CIS in full, so you can ensure you’re fully up to speed. PSTAX’s tips for closing down tax year 2023/24 The end of the tax year is always frantically busy, especially in payroll, so this is our list of a few things you may find useful to
consider before closing 2023/24: l check NI table letters for each
employee not on table letter A, especially for apprentices and employees under 21 years old, to ensure they’re still applicable l carry out a year end check on employees’ NI calculations where payroll software hasn’t aggregated NI and make any corrections needed, so the correct NI shows on the employee’s P60 l check employees in salary sacrifice arrangements are being paid at least the national living wage (NLW) / national minimum wage (NMW) after the salary sacrifice deduction has been taken and that this will still be the case once the new NLW / NMW rates apply for pay reference periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024 l for some employers, there may be an extra pay run at the end of 2023/24. Where this happens, the payroll software may allocate another period of personal allowance on a non-cumulative basis to the employee. This can result in an underpayment of tax for the year, which is subsequently collected by an adjustment to the employee’s tax code. If an employee queries the underpayment, confirm that no errors have been made and this is just one of the quirks of the PAYE system. And once everything has been closed down, you’ll just about have time for a cup of tea before the fun starts again! n
"I propose that this year’s motto should be ‘be prepared’"
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 98 | March 2024
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