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As scathing as I usually am when it comes to HMRC, this is a fair and sensible approach to dealing with compliance. The more unreasonable you are, the more folks will dig their heels in but a more pragmatic approach to the problem of compliance, the better the compliance becomes. Unreasonable fines and penalties do not work in the long run, co-operation and reasonableness does.
Just as well, as HMRC fail a myriad times everyday to operate RTI correctly themselves so fining employers would display arrogant temerity.
Case in point, my admin assistant is employed above the PA level. She has been doing a short-term stint of additional work elsewhere alongside her days with me. She correctly completed the P46 (I helped her) yet she now has had her tax code split between to two employments? Why, they have been sent no filing to say the primary employment has ceased and the P46 clearly showed this was a secondary income, which is acknowledged on the coding notice! Why not simply use BR for the second employment in accordance with procedure?
I thought P46s were a thing of the past ... https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/paye-forms
This is most certainly welcome news and suggests that HMRC recognise some of the problems inherent in RTI. But why oh why does it take HMRC so long to update their own records after the filing of the FPS? Here are their published timings for updates to their records following submission of reports or making payments:
Type of report ---- When it will show here
Payment ---- After 6 working days
FPS ---- From the 12th of the next tax month
Late FPS ---- See GOV.UK guide on payroll
EPS ---- Within 2 days
EPS sent before 11th ---- By the 14th of that month
If this truly were a Real Time Information (RTI) system, they would show up immediately. Instead, taxpayers and their agents have to operate in real time, whilst HMRC operate on a "whenever we can be bothered to get around to it" (or WWCBBTGATI) system!
Hi Rebecca
Can you remind us of the exact piece of legislation that gives them the right in the first place? Always a useful reference place should HMRC eventually try and extend their powers.
Best regards
Dave
I have a small family investment company and deal with my PAYE returns on an annual basis. I duly submitted our FPS (nil return) very early in April and was absolutely staggered to get, on 29 April, a demand for £2,401.96 for a PAYE specified charge plus interest from the Debt Management office. I hit the roof! After 2 sharp letters and 2 phone calls I eventually received a letter of apology confessing to a 'system' error.
Now I am a Chartered Accountant and well able to look after myself in such situations, but what about other small businesses who would have to look to their advisers to sort this nonsense out, presumably at cost to them?
God help us all when we get around to Osborne's fabled land of RTI quarterly reporting if this is typical of the quality of HMRC's systems.
HMRC have been quite generous up to now, hopefully those who follow the rules and are rarely late when filing RTI should be left alone unchecked, after all.....
HMRC say they want to concentrate on taxpayers who deliberately and persistently fail to meet statutory deadlines,
Although the guidance above says the three day grace period is not written into law - can anyone just remind me of the piece of law that gives them the right to apply a penalty. I know it exists for income tax returns and the like but haven't found this one specifically.
Thanks
Dave