More Work Around the Corner for Employers

From this April, HMRC require almost all employers to apply their new Real Time Information system (RTI). This will mean a number of changes for many employers, and small businesses are likely to be hit hardest:

  • You must notify HMRC of payroll details BEFORE each time you pay the employees, rather than after the end of the year as at present;
  • You must tell them the HOURS each employee worked in the period at the same time.

A major impact of this is that directors will now have to be very careful to ensure that their own salary is at least at National Minimum Wage. In the past, many private companies have paid extremely modest salaries in order to maximise the benefit of NIC-free dividend payments.

Here are some things you can do to keep out of trouble and avoid financial penalties:

  • Keep track of everyone’s working hours
  • Check your accountant has RTI-compliant payroll software
  • If you do your own payroll, you’ll have to have either HRMC’s PAYE Tools software, or use a commercial payroll package – you can’t do these reports through their website. (boo!)

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/getting-started/rti.htm

It’s Not Too Late To File Online

It’s your first tax return. You’ve got your figures together, you’re ready to enter your details, everything’s ready to roll.

But you don’t have a login from HMRC. When you apply online for one, your heart sinks: it will take days to arrive by post.

We have new clients join us every year when they realise they may not get their code in time to meet the January 31st deadline for online filing of Self Assessment tax returns in the UK.

Accounting practices like us already have our own codes setup with HMRC that allow us to file online directly with HMRC, even if you haven’t received your online access codes yet.

As long as you have your UTR – your Self Assessment reference number – we can submit your return on your behalf right up to 31st January, saving you a £100 penalty and giving you extra peace of mind.

It’s always a good idea to have a professional look over your data before submitting it anyway. We’ve dealt with countless cases where innocent misunderstanding of HMRC’s complex rules have meant people owing more tax than they needed to. A quick glance is often enough for us to see where you’ve missed an allowance you could claim or you were about to put something in the wrong box.

Why not call us now on 029 20888390 or email newclients@dctaxaccounts.co.uk to see if we can make this easy and smooth for you!