Payroll news
Payroll news
Income tax – Wales FROM APRIL 2019 the Welsh government will be able to vary the rates of income tax paid by taxpayers who live in Wales (‘Welsh taxpayers’). However, responsibility for many aspects of income tax will remain with the UK government, and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will continue to collect the tax. The UK government will reduce by 10p each of the three rates of income tax – basic, higher and additional rate – payable by Welsh taxpayers. The Welsh government will announce in its Budget later this year the three Welsh rates of income tax, which will be added to the reduced UK rates to arrive at the overall rate of income tax payable by Welsh taxpayers. Welsh taxpayers employed or in receipt of a taxable pension will have the letter ‘C’ as a prefix to their tax code which will affect technical specifications (e.g. the full payment submission, and P6 and P9 coding notices). HMRC plan to issue payroll guidance in January 2019. And briefly… ● Overtime guidance – ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, has published new guidance on overtime: https:// bit.ly/1mum6o8. ● Workplace dress codes – The Government Equalities Office has published new guidance explaining the law on workplace dress codes: https://bit.ly/2x8C33r. NMW/NLW errors FIGURES RELEASED in early July show that 239 employers have been found not paying the national minimum/living wage (NMW/NLW) to 22,400 employees who are due back pay of £1.44m. The employers have been fined £1.97m and their names published (see https://bit.ly/2zLWsN1). Employers underpaid workers by: taking deductions from wages for uniforms; underpaying apprentices; misusing the accommodation offset; using the wrong time periods for calculating pay; and failing to pay travel time.
Unused apprenticeship levy EMPLOYERS PAYING the levy and have unused funds in their apprenticeship account will be able to transfer some of those funds to one other employer that does not have to be a levy paying employer. The intention is that over time the number of employers an employer can transfer funds to will increase. The Education and Skills Funding Agency has published a seven-point list to help employers prepare for transfers on the apprenticeship service, which can be found at: https://bit.ly/2NYLKWi. Modernising UK payments THE BANK of England has launched a consultation paper on a common credit message across payment systems (https://bit.ly/2mlKIal). The consultation document marks the first step in the transition of CHAPS, faster payments and Bacs to the common global messaging standard ISO 20022, and proposes a format for a new, common messaging standard. Currently CHAPS, faster payments and Bacs each use a different ‘language’ (or messaging standard) to send information. The new messaging standard has also been designed to be consistent with the emerging consensus for similar messages in other countries, marking a major step forward in harmonisation not just domestically but also for cross-border payments. Preparing payments systems for the future will require material changes, not just by payment providers, but by many others across the payments chain, including some end-user companies and individuals. The consultation paper sets no definite dates for implementation. Reporting diesel cars FROM APRIL 2018 the diesel supplement on company car benefits increased from 3% to 4%, but an exemption became available for diesel cars that are compliant with the Euro 6d emissions standard, also known as the Real Driving Emissions 2 standard (RDE2). For 2018/19 the processing of any exemptions is being facilitated through guidance. To implement the exemption fully from April 2019 when reporting company car tax information employers will need to be able to indicate that a diesel vehicle meets the standard and is therefore exempt from the diesel supplement. This indication will be achieved by introducing letter F in respect of the fuel type data item, so that from the 2019–20 tax year the fuel type data values available will be F, D and A. The appropriate percentages for key letter ‘F’ will be the same as those for ‘A’ in 2019–20. These changes will be effective from April 2019 in relation to the payrolling of benefits via real time information and the reporting of new cars via the P46car return, and from April 2020 in respect of the reporting of benefits via the P11D process.
Diary dates
5 September
Last day of tax month 5
6 September
First day of tax month 6
Last day for submitting a real time information employer payment summary to apply to tax month 5 Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs etc to HMRC’s Accounts Office by non-electronic method Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs etc to HMRC’s Accounts Office by electronic method
19 September
22 September
23
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 43 | September 2018
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