COMPLIANCE
Important update: the reporting of salary advances
The CIPP’s policy and research team loves sharing good news with payroll professionals (particularly at Christmas time). Read on to find out about a simplification to the reporting of salary advances proposed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in a recent consultation
I n September, HMRC released draft regulations regarding the treatment of salary advances. Within them, it proposed that payments made outside of the usual pay day should be reported along with normal pay. For those who aren’t aware, under current rules, advanced salary payments should be reported via a separate real time information (RTI) submission. This creates additional administration, subsequently costing employers money and creating more opportunities for error, either on their end or on HMRC’s. The proposals mean that employers will only need to submit the one RTI
submission per pay period for each worker. If you weren’t aware of the current rules, then worry not. HMRC announced an easement in the February issue of the Employer Bulletin (https://ow.ly/ t2Rk50Q5TQn), which allows employers to just send the one RTI submission anyway. It recognised the additional burden the current rules caused and the likelihood that non-compliance was already high, subsequently making the decision to officially allow the practice. Our research backs this up. In a quick poll conducted on our News Online page, 90% of respondents advised they currently process advances in this way. A
note for those of you who don’t, you may be processing more submissions than you need to. An overwhelming majority are already doing the easy option, which HMRC seems happy with. HMRC is basically just codifying a currently common (but non-compliant) practice to reduce administrative burden. It seems that most are happy with this option, which the CIPP policy team stated in our consultation response. You can view this here: https://ow.ly/WPSj50Q6jj0. The CIPP believes this change represents a logical and reasonable step in tax simplification, as small as it may seem, and supports HMRC in these proposals. n
New year, new challenge?
A s we head into 2024, do you fancy setting yourself a new challenge, and something exciting to work towards? Have you considered applying for fellow membership of the CIPP? Fellow members of the CIPP are highly regarded payroll, pensions and reward professionals. They have demonstrated their commitment, skills and understanding of the profession and have enhanced career opportunities and
professional standing within the industry. They are often those individuals who want to give something back to the payroll community. There are criteria to be met, either from an experience or an education perspective. There’s also an application process, at the end of which, the CIPP will decide if the applicant has been successful or not. We have had two recent successful
applications, and we are delighted to confirm that the following people are now fellow members of the CIPP: Julie Aghanti-Akinremi MBA BSc FCIPPdip FCMI MGPA MInstLM AFHEA (pictured left) Rachel Akister ChFCIPPdip (pictured right). n
You can find out further information about fellow membership and all the other membership grades on offer here: https://ow.ly/c5gc50Q7ops.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | December 2023 - January 2024 | Issue 96 20
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