An example is provided where an employer pays staff on 18 December 2020 but would ordinarily have paid them on the last working day of the month, so 31 December 2020 would be the normal pay date. The pay date recorded on the FPS should be 31 December 2020, and the FPS must be sent on or before that date.
Taking this step will ensure that employers help to protect employee eligibility for Universal Credit, as reporting an early payment date could have an impact on their entitlements.
HMRC advises that further detail will be made available in Employer Bulletin 87, which is due to be published in early December 2020.
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How HMRC intends to continue to support taxpayers and the economy 13 November 2020
HMRC has published a policy paper, which discusses how it intends to carry on supporting both taxpayers and the economy over the coming months as coronavirus continues to cause economic disruption across the country. There are a variety of different areas of focus, and detail has been provided about each one.
Support schemes and policy changes
HMRC has administered the new support schemes proposed by the Government to help businesses through the pandemic. Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), 1.2 million employers have claimed approximately £41.4 billion in relation to their furloughed staff. Additionally, roughly 2.7 million self-employed people have claimed £13.7 billion in grants. Eligible employers have also had access to reimbursements relating to the cost of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), and restaurants were refunded for customer discounts granted under the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. HMRC points out that for the CJRS and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), payments have been made within six working days of claims being submitted, and reimbursements relating to the Eat Out to Help Out scheme were made within five working days. HMRC has also had to protect the schemes from abuse and is taking tough action on deliberate fraudulent activity, but also states that where honest mistakes have happened, it wants to help claimants to put them right. The message is that they do not have to worry, and that they have 90 days from the date of receiving the grant in which to correct any mistakes. HMRC is now beginning to investigate claims in detail, and particular attention will be focused on claims under the CJRS that are out of sync with PAYE data it holds. In addition to this, nearly 15,000 calls have been made to fraud hotline services.
As well as these schemes, there have been over 60 other temporary policy changes or clarifications implemented in response to coronavirus, including measures to:
• Reduce demands placed on taxpayers – e.g. a three-month extension to appeal deadlines for customers impacted by Covid-19 • Keep goods flowing at borders – operational measures to allow businesses to carry out some customs clearances from their business premises, removing the need to present goods in other locations • Ensure that the tax system continues to operate throughout lockdown • Provide cashflow support to those who need it - allowing those in Self-Assessment to defer Income Tax payments on account due on 31 July 2020, to 31 January 2021, and allowing UK businesses to defer VAT bills due between 20 March and 30 June, to 31 March 2021. Additionally, a new scheme was introduced allowing the deferred VAT to be split out into 11 even monthly instalments
Taxpayers are reminded that they can contact HMRC through a variety of digital channels – so through their personal or business tax account, the HMRC App, or webchat.
Reforming the tax system
The outbreak of coronavirus has highlighted the fact that the tax system needs to be more adaptable, resilient and responsive. The government has confirmed it has a ten-year strategy for building a trusted, modern tax administration system.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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