HMRC roll out a package of measures to help the micro employer with reporting ‘on or before’
9 December 2013
HMRC have published an assessment on the impact of ‘on or before’ which provides the findings of research carried out since the introduction of (RTI) reporting along with news of a package of measures aimed at providing support to the micro employer. The report Real Time Information: Assessment of impact of on or before reporting is to be found at GOV.UK and provides the survey findings and outcome of research that HMRC have carried out since the introduction of RTI, which saw the relaxation for small employers (with less than 50 employees), who were finding it difficult to adapt their pay processes to comply with the requirement to make their submissions ‘on or before’, to instead make their submission by no later than the last payday of the month or the end of the tax month (5 th ). The assessment findings suggest that there are “a significant minority of employers and agents who are struggling to adapt their processes so that they can report ‘on or before’ without incurring costs” As a result, following development work with DWP, employers, agent and payroll software representatives, HMRC have put together a package of measures aimed at helping the micro business. The package will include: “Existing employers with nine or fewer employees who need more time to adapt will be able to report PAYE information on or before the last payday in the tax month until April 2016.” This relaxation is much narrower than the current relaxation which will continue to run until the end of the current tax year. All new employers who begin to operate PAYE after 6 April 2014, as well as existing employers with 10 or more employees, will need to report each time they pay their employees from April 2014. HMRC have highlighted that this relaxation ideally shouldn’t impact on employers who are not taking advantage of the current relaxation, therefore, all employers, regardless of their size, who are already using payroll software products or HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools to report PAYE on or before the date they pay their employees should continue to do so.
The package of measures being delivered by HMRC also includes:
Improvements to the guidance Situations where employers will not have to report PAYE information 'on or before' the time they pay their employee , which will include best practice scenarios ongoing work with the software industry to harness technology to develop new ways to report PAYE information on or before the date they pay their employees - for example, by exploring use of mobile apps.
CIPP comment
The CIPP is encouraged that HMRC continues to seek and respond to feedback from customers. Whilst for many, RTI submissions are working well, some employers and their agents have had difficulty adjusting to the change, especially due to some of the financial burdens reporting on or before has brought. We are however aware that in this year of transition we are yet to fully appreciate the impact of real time information and look forward to ongoing involvement in its development.
CIPP Policy News Journal
16/04/2014, Page 347 of 519
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