Can someone please tell me what is the maximum weekly gross pay to employees to avoid PAYE Registration and therefore RTI (assuming that the employee has provided a signed P46 with box A ticked) ? I thought the limit was "Secondary Threshold" (£148 per week for 2013/14). However, reading through HMR&C's literature it may have been the Lower Earnings Threshold which is much lower (£109 per week for 2013/14) ! If latter is the correct answere, still by paying below the Secondary Threshold, there wouldn't any liabilities, so why requiring the lower limits for registration ? I am all very confused. Many thanks.
Replies (6)
Please login or register to join the discussion.
LEL
If you pay employees above the LEL then yes you are obliged to have a PAYE scheme. It is £111 per week:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/getting-started/paye-basics.htm#1
Payments about the LEL count as a qualifying year for NI purposes, presumably that is why there is the requirement to report. No doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong.
Yes
Historically you would have been required to file a P35 if paying over the LEL and now you are required to file an End of Year declaration under RTI.
There were and are penalties for failure to file either on time.
Going forward you will have RTI penalty issues if you should have a PAYE scheme, and then don't report every payment (even those under LEL) on time.
I am not sure if HMRC would actually pursue penalties under the circumstances and can't remember, without looking, whether or not the penalties are limited to the PAYE and NIC due. I think you have flat rate penalties with late P35/EOY and % based penalties with RTI in future.
Don't forget...
.. that if any employee has a second job, pension or benefits (or you do not know categorically that they do not), then PAYE may still need to be operated even if you pay them below the LEL.
Yes
.. that if any employee has a second job, pension or benefits (or you do not know categorically that they do not), then PAYE may still need to be operated even if you pay them below the LEL.
Yes - I have one of those.