FEATURE TOPIC
This issue, Jerome spoke to: l Maria Mason MCIPPdip , partner, national payroll team / business services and outsourcing, BDO l Samantha O’Sullivan ChMCIPPdip , CIPP policy and advisory lead l Emma Watson MCIPPdip , payroll and human resources (HR) manager, AWS Accountancy Limited.
What are your top tips to help payroll professionals prepare for tax year end? Maria Mason: Year-end processing has improved dramatically since the introduction of real time information, removing large amounts of the manual work previously required. However, with the tight time frames associated with payroll processing, it’s important that this key process is scheduled accordingly in advance to ensure it goes smoothly. It's key for payroll professionals to be in communication with their payroll software providers and IT teams (typically relevant for non-cloud payroll systems), to understand when the new tax year software upgrades are being released. Scheduling upgrades should consider both weekly and monthly pay dates to ensure the upgrade is in place and fully tested before period one runs begin. This will mitigate issues being experienced. Samantha O’Sullivan: I believe tax year end gets a bad reputation in our industry. I understand it’s the final pay period of the tax year, and some reports need certain flags ticking to signify the final reports of the tax year, but really, it’s just another payroll period end. Stay calm, stick to your processes and it will all be over sooner than you think! The main thing for the 2023/24 tax year end is to ensure directors have been switched to the cumulative method for National Insurance contributions (NICs) in the final pay period in the tax year, ensuring their class 1 NICs have considered the blended rate. Once you’ve completed year end, what do you need to think about for the start of the new tax year? MM: It’s important that full reviews of your payroll's starting position are carried out, to ensure the payroll has rolled forward accordingly and all year-to-date elements are in the correct position.
There are also several items which need to be re-checked to ensure you can continue to apply them correctly: l employment allowance – are you eligible to claim it for the new tax year? l apprenticeship levy allowance – if this has been split between multiple pay as you earn (PAYE) schemes, you need to ensure the split still works for the new tax year l childcare vouchers – if you have any legacy childcare voucher schemes, you will need to assess the earnings of each employee with vouchers to determine the amount they can claim under salary sacrifice for the new tax year l NIC deferment – if any of your employees have NIC deferment (to NI category ‘J’, for example, due to multiple employments), you would need a new deferment certificate for the new tax year to continue to apply this l Section 690 directions – if any of your employees have Section 690 directions issued by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), these only apply for specific tax years. If it’s expired and a new one hasn’t been provided, you would need to revert to ensuring all earnings are subject to UK income tax. "Stay calm, stick to your processes and it will all be over sooner than you think" SO’S: First and foremost, make sure you’ve attended one of our BeConnected events to ensure you’re up to date and informed of the changes taking place in the 2024/25 tax year. These events cover confirmation of the following: l tax l NI
l statutory payments l company cars l pensions updates l employment law updates. The events take place just before the start of the new tax year so you’re receiving the most up to date information ahead of the first pay period in April. Next, ensure your software is up to date and compliant with the changes coming into play. Testing is key here, and still down to the end user to ensure the software is working in the right way. Familiarise yourself with legislative changes taking place from the start of the new tax year. The policy team publishes this information on our News Online page on the website, so bookmark that as a favourite, and ensure you read over your News Online email, which is sent out every Wednesday afternoon. How should you ensure you’re up to date with the latest legislation and process changes, which could be relevant to year end and beyond? MM: It’s important to take time to read the great information that bodies such as the CIPP, good payroll providers and HMRC release regarding legislative changes which occur during the year. Ensure you’re up to date and prepared. At BDO, we release our Payroll on Point newsletters biannually. They contain information on the latest legislative changes taking place and highlight future proposed changes in an easy-to-read format. In addition, as we have a wealth of employment tax specialists within the firm, our clients will also receive legislative updates and budget changes, announced promptly, to enable them to prepare and manage their businesses moving forward. SO’S: Your membership with us provides you with everything you need to know. Just ensure you’re making the most out of it, so: l attend a BeConnected session l come along to our BeKnowledgeable events, which are webinars that provide a high-level overview on key topics imperative to a payroll professional’s work
"I have regular contact with our providers to ensure we’re using the most up to date software as efficiently as possible within our payroll bureau"
37
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 98 | March 2024
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker