On 14 August 2024, HMRC published their latest Employer Bulletin.
This is published six times a year and HMRC says that this gives ‘employers and agents the latest information on topics and issues that may affect them’. There are some important topics in the August edition and we highlight some of the issues covered:
PAYE
This section contains the following topics:
- The Earlier Year Update (EYU) is a redundant RTI submission for tax years 2021/22 and onwards. From that time, adjustments must be made using another Full Payment Submission (a ‘month 13 FPS’). Therefore, HMRC have decided that the Employer Liabilities and Payments Viewer will show the term ‘end of tax year adjustment’, though reference will be made to the EYU for tax years 2019/20 and earlier
- There is a reminder that the electronic payment date for September (the 22nd) falls on a Sunday. As the monies must be cleared funds by this date, unless the payment is made as a Faster Payment, the last banking day is 20 September 2024
- HMRC are reminding employers again about the need to enter a Student Loan start notice (SL1 / PGL1) into software, even if the employee does not earn above the threshold and will not repay. They indicate they will send a Generic Notification Service (GNS) message to employers when their systems recognise that an employee is earning above the threshold and they have sent a start notice
- There is a reminder that the P11D and P11D(b) receipt and payment deadline has passed. However, this is a prompt to say that they must be filed using commercial software or HMRC’s online service if this deadline has been missed. The article talks about registering to payroll expenses and benefits, however, as ICB has mentioned before, bookkeepers should only do this if they have advised their clients and they are able to be able to give taxable information each time the employee is paid
- HMRC confirm (again) that they are changing the way that tax repayments are made. From 31 May 2024, cheques will not be issued automatically but the employee must claim them online
Tax updates and Changes to Guidance
This section contains the following articles:
- A reminder that the threshold for the High Income Child Benefit Charge increased to £60,000, with a taper up to £80,000 from 06 April 2024. Therefore, employees that have not claimed or have previously opted not to receive Child Benefit may now be eligible to claim. See the Child Benefit eligibility checker tool
- A reminder that from tax year 2024/25, the cash basis is the default way to calculate income and expenses for self-employed people and partnerships who are completing and submitting their Income Tax Self-Assessment return. If individuals want to retain the traditional method of accounting, they need to indicate this on the self-Assessment tax return (i.e. opt-out of the default cash basis)
- There is also a reminder about Basis Period Reform (reporting on a tax year basis) and a link to a YouTube video. This article does not contain any new information but does say that HMRC have not responded to requests to provide overlap relief figures ‘as quick as we would like’
General Information and Customer Support
This section details the following:
- That the Auto-Enrolment rules still apply when employers take on seasonal temporary staff
- A reminder of the ‘Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC’ tool that can be used (to get an estimate of when HMRC will respond to a query)
- Another reminder about the importance of setting up employees correctly in the payroll to ensure that they are paying the correct tax as soon as possible and, importantly so they are registered on HMRC’s systems once
For Bookkeepers
ICB has covered all the above in communication and webinars including the monthly Wages Wednesdays. The next Wages Wednesday webinar is available to book now.
