Payroll news
Payroll news
Advisory fuel rates THE ADVISORY fuel rates changed with effect 1 June 2019 and apply, until further notice, to all journeys made on or after this date. For one month from the date of change, employers could choose to use either the previous or revised rates. Employers may therefore make or require supplementary payments if they so wish but are under no obligation to do either.
Improving the PAYE system THE OFFICE of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published observations and recommendations following a review focusing on ways to simplify the everyday experience of businesses dealing with tax, particularly for smaller businesses with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover of less than £2 million. The review’s report (http://bit.ly/2MECIBg) – which covers events such as starting up in business, registering for and paying tax, taking on a first employee and dealing with more complex tax matters as the business grows notes – notes problems within HMRC’s systems (e.g. there are around 350,000 duplicate employment records). Recommendations by OTS include: ● a strategic focus on the pay as you earn (PAYE) system should be a priority to ensure effective implementation of improvements and system changes ● a fresh review be carried out of areas where the PAYE/RTI (real time information) system should be improved. The OTS also considers that there would be merit in exploring an optional PAYE-like experience for self- employed people. despite the engagement we had with employers, some have not applied codes correctly. In some cases, individuals have had the wrong amount of tax deducted. I understand that this was due to issues with the payroll software used by some employers and that employers affected in this way are correcting their systems and explaining the error to their employees.” Correction In the ‘Workplace pensions statistics’ piece in the June issue’s Payroll news, the percentage of public sector workers in the second bullet should read ‘90%’ not ‘0%’. The Editor apologises for this typo error. Tax codes for payers of Welsh income tax IN RESPONSE to claims that HMRC erroneously issued ‘S’ prefix tax codes for some Welsh taxpayers, HMRC’s second permanent secretary, Jim Harra, wrote in May to the Welsh Finance Committee saying the department is confident it sent correct ‘C’ prefix codes to employers for Welsh taxpayers but that some employers had not correctly applied the ‘C’ codes HMRC provided. HMRC planned mitigation activity including running a scan in early June to test how well employers apply the ‘C’ codes issued to them. Where there is a discrepancy between the code issued by HMRC and that applied by the employer, HMRC will re-issue the ‘C’ code to the employer. Harra comments that “It is disappointing that
Engine size
Petrol
Diesel
LPG
Up to 1400cc
12p
10p
8p
1401cc to 1600cc
10p
15p
9p
1601cc to 2000cc
12p
Over 2000cc
22p
14p
14p
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will accept that if the employer pays up to 4 pence per mile when reimbursing their employees for business travel in a fully electric company car there is no taxable profit and no class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) to pay. The advisory electricity rate will be published alongside advisory fuel rates and kept under review. Employers can, however, use their own rate which better reflects circumstances if, for example, the cars are more efficient, or if the cost of business travel is higher than the guideline rate. And briefly… ● SSP reform – The secretary of state for work and pensions, Amber Rudd, announced in early June that the government will shortly consult on reforming statutory sick pay “… in order to better support employers to retain staff who experience health problems”. ● NMW breaches – Government ministers have confirmed that pending the outcome of a review, the naming and shaming of employers breaching national minimum wage (NMW) law is suspended.
Diary dates
5 July
Last day of tax month 3 (tax quarter 1)
First day of tax month 4 (tax quarter 2)
6 June
Last date for submitting P11D and P11D(b) returns to HMRC
Last day for submitting a real time information employer payment summary to apply to tax month 3 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 July
22 July
5 August
Last day of tax month 4
6 August
First day of tax month 5
Last day for submitting a real time information employer payment summary to apply to tax month 4 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 August
22 August
23
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 52 | July/August 2019
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