Payroll news
RTI data requirements HMRC HAS released details of the changes to real time information (RTI) reporting requirements for the 2017–18 tax year. New data items 175–186 are for reporting details of company car and fuel benefits in the full payment submission (FPS); and 187–189 are for reporting details of the apprenticeship levy in the employer payment summary (https://goo.gl/i3UvNQ). ● transforming the Gangmasters Licensing Authority into the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, with a broader remit and stronger powers to deal with labour exploitation. Personal tax account EMPLOYEES CAN access their personal tax account (PTA) to view information about their tax affairs and tell HMRC online about changes that may affect the tax they pay. Amongst other things, they can check their tax code and inform HMRC of changes to their company car and address. Employees who have not yet used their account can register at https://goo. gl/1ORp2p. They will need their national insurance number and P60 certificate. Later this year employees will be able to use their account to: view a tax calculation for the previous year(s); make payments online; check their employment history. And briefly… ● Expat starter checklist – An updated version of the expat starter checklist for employees seconded to work in the UK by an overseas employer has been published, including a printable version (https://goo.gl/cvS7Kz). ● Prefix ‘KC’ NINOs – Although national insurance numbers (NINOs) prefixed ‘KC’ are valid, HMRC’s systems are currently rejecting any RTI FPS record that has a NINO with this prefix. Where this prefix would otherwise be present in a FPS the NINO field is to be left blank and the employee address field completed until further notice. Immigration Act 2016 CERTAIN PROVISIONS of this Act, which received Royal Assent in May, came into force on 12 July. Sections 1–35 provide for: ● new sanctions on illegal workers and rogue employers ● appointment of the post of director of labour market enforcement to set the strategic priorities for labour market enforcement ● data sharing ● a new undertaking and enforcement order regime, with an associated criminal offence to tackle serious breaches of the law by employers
NAO criticises HMRC’s customer service
THE NATIONAL Audit Office (NAO) recently published a report (https://goo.gl/NeSpMi) criticising HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for periods of poor customer service. The NAO comments that the quality of service experienced by taxpayers may have an impact on compliance. The NAO found that the quality of service provided by HMRC for personal taxpayers collapsed in 2014–15 and the first seven months of 2015–16. Services have subsequently improved following the recruitment of additional staff but whether this performance is sustainable depends on HMRC achieving successful outcomes from its programme to make tax digital. The quality of service deteriorated in 2014–15 when the full extent of HMRC staff reductions took effect. Call attempts handled fell to 71% overall, with HMRC meeting its target in only ten weeks of the year to handle 80% of call attempts. HMRC’s performance deteriorated further over the first seven months of 2015–16. Average waiting times tripled compared to 2014–15 levels, peaking at 47 minutes for self-assessment callers during the deadline week for paper returns in October 2015. HMRC recruited 2,400 staff to the taxes helpline in the autumn of 2015. Performance has since recovered: call waiting times improved to an average of five minutes for self-assessment callers during the deadline week for online returns in January 2016. By moving more staff to its call centres to help sustain service levels in 2014–15, HMRC had to defer essential work to maintain pay as you earn (PAYE) records. The stock of outstanding discrepancies in tax records requiring investigation almost doubled in twelve months from 2.4 million (March 2014) to 4.6 million (March 2015). Of these items, 3.2 million were high priority cases, carrying a risk that employees will have paid the wrong amount of tax. HMRC’s recruitment of extra staff helped reduce the total number of unresolved items. By December 2015, HMRC had reduced the stock of unresolved PAYE items to below three million.
Diary dates Automatic enrolment staging date for employers with fewer than thirty employees with the last two characters in their PAYE reference number: N1–N9 or NA–NZ
1 September
5 September 6 September
Last day of tax month 5 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 Automatic enrolment staging date for employers with fewer than thirty employees with the last two characters in their PAYE reference number: 38–46, 7A–7Z, O1–O9 or OA–OZ
19 September
22 September
1 October
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | September 2016 | Issue 23 26
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