If you are an administrator of a company payroll and you don’t
know what RTI (Real Time Information) means by now, you should be sacked or
resign immediately. This is not a requirement that will magically disappear if
you bury your head in the sand.
From April this year a company needs to report Payroll
information to the HMRC monthly, a major change from existing procedure and
while the HMRC may be understanding for companies not complying with the new
legislation for now, this tolerance will not continue indefinitely.
The following information from the HMRC will give you an
idea of when the big stick might fall for those of us that think this doesn’t
apply to my company.
HM Revenue &
Customs (HMRC) have now published guidance on late and inaccurate returns for
2012-13 and 2013-14.The guidance sets out, following consultation, the
following for employers operating PAYE in real time.
Penalties for late
returns 2012-13 and 2013-14
There will be no change to the penalties for late filing of
returns for the tax years 2012-13 and 2013-14. The current penalty regime will
continue to apply at the tax year end. There will be no penalties if in-year
Full Payment Submissions (FPSs) are submitted late.
Employers and pension providers must submit an FPS 'on or
before' they pay an employee or pensioner. If they still have information to
send after 5 April, they can send this on an FPS until 19 April, then on an
Earlier Year Update after that. To avoid a late filing penalty for 2012-13 and
2013-14, they must report the final payment made to an employee or pensioner by
19 May following the end of the relevant tax year.
Penalties for
inaccurate returns 2012-13 and 2013-14
2012-13: For the
tax year 2012-13, HMRC will not charge penalties for inaccuracies identified on
in-year FPS. But penalties may be charged after the end of the tax year, based
on the final FPS for the year.
2013-14:
Penalties for inaccuracies may apply to in-year returns from the 2013-14 tax
year. HMRC will use the same considerations which apply now under Schedule 24,
Finance Act 2007 and continue to use a risk-based approach to identify
employers who may be submitting incorrect returns.
54yWhat happens if
you don’t report payroll information on time
Real Time information
and late payment
Reporting in real time does not change an employer or
pension provider's legal obligation to pay HMRC in full - at the right time -
the amounts they deduct from their employees or pensioners as they go through
the tax year.
Underpayments 2012-13
From Monday 19 November 2012 HMRC started contacting
employers with apparent underpayments to help them get up-to-date and on the
right lines with their payments.
Late payment
penalties 2012-13 and 2013-14
For the tax years 2012-13 and 2013-14, HMRC will continue to
use a risk-based approach to identify employers who are not complying with
their payment obligations and who therefore might be liable to late payment
penalties. Where employers who are not complying with their obligations are
identified, late payment penalties may be charged.
HMRC will notify employers who may have defaulted on either
a filing or payment obligation as soon as possible to enable them to get back
to compliance quickly and avoid any further penalties for future failures.
For further information on payment of PAYE,
please read 'PAYE/National Insurance payments and deadlines'.
For reporting in real time
PAYE/National Insurance payments and deadlines
For current PAYE
PAYE/National Insurance payments and deadlines
Guidance is published
in the guide 'What happens if you don't report payroll information on time'.