HM Revenue and Customs introduced a set of audio podcasts this week to help employers with their annual PAYE returns and to let advisers know about various initiatives to improve their relationship with the tax department. John Stokdyk reports.
The digital campaign comes at a delicate time, as thousands of employers and agents are dealing with penalty notices arising from last year's 19 May P35 filing deadline. The four-minute PAYE podcast leads listeners step-by-step through questions concerning who needs to file an employer’s annual return, what options are available, and other sources of information.
It's a useful attempt to use every available tool to try and avoid a repetition of the mass penalty mailing that occurred at the end of March. Here are some of the key reminders from the PAYE podcast:
- All employers who take on an employee and deduct PAYE and National Insurance must submit an Employer’s Annual Return (P35 and P14s) by 19 May 2007.
- Employers must also contact their HMRC office if they do not need to send in a return.
- Employers with 50 or more employees must file their return online risk facing a penalty of up to £3000. Penalties are also issued for late and incorrect returns.
- Companies with fewer than 50 employees do not have to file their return online, but are entitled to a £150 incentive if they do so.
Those interested in the HMRC podcasts can listen to them online or download them to their PC/MP3 player for future reference.
What better use of your time while jogging or stuck in traffic than to listen to Dave Hartnett's Fresh Start podcast?
"Tax agents are the front line of compliance with huge numbers of taxpayers and we want to recognise them in that role and involve them in tax administration," says Hartnett.
See TaxZone for more information about his "fresh start".
AccountingWEB has also launched podcasts this week. The AccountingWEB Podstars series features exclusive interviews with leading accounting and finance professionals. The first is Steve Mason, finance director of Siemens Financial Services.
Download the podcast here.