HMRC backs down on deadline for Real Time Information implementation
HMRC report a healthy take up of RTI compliance but extends the temporary relaxation of the rules requiring reporting of payroll payments “on or before” the date they are made.
Businesses now have until April 2014 to change their payroll processes to meet the RTI (Real Time Information) regulations. This comes off the back of an announcement by HMRC that 83% of SMEs and 77% of micro employers have already complied with RTI.
Lewis Smith & Co. is pleased that HMRC has recognised the need to give employers more time to switch to the new system. It’s a sign that lobbying by industry bodies such as ACCA and AAT, to highlight the administrative impact of RTI, has got through.
Are you compliant yet?
If this news is simply making you think “glad I haven’t bothered doing anything about this” then we would suggest that you think again, though.
There is a lot of additional admin and new things to consider in order to make sure your payroll process is up to scratch. Giving HMRC all of the information using the internet is only one part of the picture. More importantly you need to get into the routine of:
- Submitting PAYE information every time you pay your employees.
- Verifying employee identity by looking at passports and birth certificates.
- Updating EPS (Employer Payment Summary) submissions to advise HMRC of your PAYE/NIC liability because of events such as; maternity leave, CIS deductions or NIC holidays.
- Making sure payments arrive on time.
- Checking employee working times (to ensure you maintain minimum wage levels).
The experience of our clients is that this all takes more time and more hassle to get right than you think.
And here’s the big thing. HMRC won’t notify if you doing something wrong, like report late or miss a payment date. But they will impose a fine at the end of the year, and if you are unlucky that will be your cumulative liability i.e. not just £100.
How Lewis Smith & Co. can help.
Whether or not you have already set up your RTI compliant payroll system, you might want to consider a way of taking away all of the pain. Lewis Smith & Co. has upgraded its own Payroll Bureau to cater for everything the tax man has to throw at it.
We can take care of all of the administrative burden for you to ensure that you meet all of HMRC’s information and payment requirements. What’s more that means that we can also advise on how to manage the wider implications of RTI on, for instance, Director remuneration, spouses payment and tax planning.
