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Avoid a late filing penalty for your 2009-10 Employer Annual Return

Posted by: edwinsmith on May 24th, 2010

The deadline for filing your 2009-10 Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14’s) online has now passed. If you still haven’t filed your return, you must do so as soon as possible to avoid being charged a late-filing penalty.

If you haven’t filed online and received confirmation that your return has been accepted by 11:59pm on Wednesday 26 May you will be charged a late filing penalty.

For those employers who are exempt from filing online and have chosen to file on paper, the Employer Annual Return must be with HMRC when post is opened on Thursday 27 May.

There are only a few days left to stay penalty free so post or file your return now.

Employers who don’t need to make year-end returns (form P35) must advise HMRC using the email notification facility.

If you need assistance with filing online or would like advice on completing your Employer Annual Return then please contact us.

Filed under: PAYE

Tax Health Plan Disclosure & Payment Required By 30 June 2010

Posted by: edwinsmith on May 21st, 2010

Further to our news article, Tax Health Plan (THP) - Tax Amnesty for Doctors and Dentists, the deadline of 30 June 2010 is approaching for disclosing and paying any tax, interest and penalties due.

Previously, notification of the intention to disclose should have been made by 31 March 2010.

Accountants are able to disclose on behalf of their clients.

HMRC will not calculate your tax, interest or penalties so you or your accountant will need to calculate this. The penalty, to include with your disclosure, is 10% of the underpaid taxes/duties and Class 4 National Insurance unless the unpaid liability is less than £1,000 where there will be no penalty. Interest will be calculated from the date the tax was due to the date of payment using HMRC’s interest rates.

HMRC have confirmed that if a disclosure made within the terms of the disclosure opportunity is incomplete, or there is a failure to disclose amounts liable to tax or duty, they will consider the instigation of a criminal investigation, in line with their criminal investigation policy.  They also stated that they will “pursue those with undeclared tax liabilities who decide not to make a disclosure. In these cases the penalties could be up to 100% of the tax due and in exceptional circumstances criminal investigation may be considered”.

More information regarding the THP disclosure is available on the HMRC website. Alternatively, please contact us and we can assist you.

Filed under: HMRC campaigns, Tax

Emergency Budget 2010 – 22 June

Posted by: edwinsmith on May 17th, 2010

Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that an emergency Budget will be held on Tuesday 22 June 2010.

Filed under: Budget Report

Online HMRC Dispensation Application

Posted by: edwinsmith on May 13th, 2010

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) now provide the facility to file a dispensation application online in addition to sending the application by post.

If HMRC grant your business a dispensation, it removes the requirement to report those expenses and benefits to them at the end of the year on forms P11D or P9D. There is also no tax or National Insurance to pay on items covered by a dispensation. Granted dispensations last indefinitely but HMRC reviews them regularly (usually at intervals of five years or less) to make sure that the conditions under which they were issued still apply.

You can apply to HMRC for a dispensation to cover expenses or benefits for which your employee will get a full tax deduction. This includes many routine business expenses and benefits. To find out whether an individual item can or can’t be included in a dispensation, see the expenses and benefits A to Z.  If there is no reference to dispensations in the item’s A to Z entry, it means the item can’t be included in a dispensation.

The main expenses routinely covered by a dispensation are:

•           travel, including subsistence costs associated with business travel

•           fuel for company cars

•           hire car costs

•           telephones

•           business entertainment expenses

•           credit cards used for business

•           fees and subscriptions

You must have an independent system in place for checking and authorising expenses claims. At a minimum, this means having someone, other than the employee claiming the expenses, to check that:

•           the amount claimed isn’t excessive

•           the claim doesn’t include disallowable items

If it is not possible for you to operate an independent system for checking and authorising expenses claims - for example, because you are the sole director of your company and you have no other employees - you will only be able to obtain a dispensation if you:

•           ensure all expenses claims are supported by receipts for the expenditure

•           demonstrate that the claim relates to expenditure that can be covered by a dispensation – your receipts may be sufficient for this purpose, but if not you must retain additional information. Alternatively, we can authorise the expenses claims for you.

Please contact us or review the HMRC dispensation guidance to find out more.

Filed under: PAYE

Reminder regarding penalties for late PAYE payment

Posted by: edwinsmith on May 7th, 2010

As stated in a previous article, penalties for late PAYE payments have now been introduced.

It is important that payments are made to HMRC on time or if no payment is due that a nil payslip is submitted to HMRC by the due date by either post or online.

A summary of the original post is below.

From 5 May 2010, the end of the first month in the 2010/2011 tax year, all employers and contractors will be subject to a penalty regime for late payments. Penalties will be charged for late monthly, quarterly or annual payments of:

  • tax
  • National Insurance Contributions
  • Construction Industry Scheme deductions
  • Student Loan deductions.

In year payments and the Class 1A National Insurance payment relating to P11D benefits (for 2010/11) will need to be made on time and in full. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have confirmed though that one late payment in the tax year will not result in a penalty as long as it is not more than six months late.

PAYE penalties will be worked out on a proportion basis of the amount that is late.  The later the payment the bigger the percentage will be.

Making a PAYE payment to HMRC can be made in various ways and the due date for payment can vary depending on your payment method as making a payment electronically provides additional time.

If no amounts are due for a particular month or quarter a nil payslip should be sent by the payment due date, either by post or by sending a notification of a nil payslip online, to avoid any unnecessary penalties. To do this online you will need your accounts office reference number. To send by post you will need the yellow Employers Payslip Booklet.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more please either contact us or review the PAYE penalties information on the HMRC website.

Filed under: PAYE