Auto enrolment and BrightPay

You have probably heard about automatic enrolment by now. If you don't yet know what it is, or if you need a quick reminder, there is a very helpful guide to automatic enrolment at The Pensions Regulator website.

What is my Staging Date for Automatic Enrolment?

The staging date is when you must automatically enrol your employees into a qualifying pension scheme.

You can find out your staging date at the Pensions Regulator website link given above. If you have less than fifty employees, your staging date will be no earlier than 1st August 2015 (subject to very few exceptions).

If need be, you can postpone your obligations for a further three months from your staging date.

Will BrightPay support Automatic Enrolment?

The Pensions Regulator Automatic Enrolment guide suggests that supporting software should:

• enable you to assess your workforce (existing and new employees), monitor eligibility criteria, and enrol staff into a qualifying pension scheme 
• allow the postponement of auto enrolment for relevant employees 
• calculate pension contribution amounts 
• handle opt-ins and joining 
• handle opt-outs and refunds 
• support you in generating and issuing communications to your staff 
• keep records and provide reports 
• interoperate with some or all pension scheme provider systems for information/payment submissions 

BrightPay 2014/15 will support all of these requirements. We plan to initially provide interoperability with NEST, and will be working with other providers as time goes on.

If automatic enrolment is not relevant for you in 2014/15, the only changes you will notice in BrightPay are that you may be asked to enter your staging date, and that the completion of the date of birth field will be mandatory for all employees.

Will there be an additional charge for Automatic Enrolment functionality in BrightPay 2014/15?

No. We will continue to offer the same simple pricing model, including free support.

Please keep an eye on our blog for further updates on automatic enrolment and how it works in BrightPay.

If you have any more questions, please call or email us. We are confident that automatic enrolment will be easy with BrightPay.

Posted byPaul ByrneinAuto EnrolmentPayroll Software

HMRC January 31st Deadline - odd excuses!

If you miss the 31st January tax deadline…consider your excuse to HMRC

31 January deadline for online tax returns
You must send, and pay your tax liability, your online Self Assessment tax return for 2012-13 by Friday 31st January 2014. If your online tax return is late, you will have to pay a penalty.

Exception – Reasonable excuse for missing the deadline
If you miss the 31st January deadline you may not have to pay a penalty if you have a reasonable excuse. For example, there may have been an unexpected or unusual event, beyond your control, which meant you couldn’t send your return on time.

HMRC recently reflect on top 10 oddest excuses
HMRC recently revealed the 10 oddest excuses they received for submitting late tax returns, assume these are considered unreasonable….

The following bizarre, exotic and flimsy excuses have all been used by tardy taxpayers:
1. My pet goldfish died (self-employed builder)
2. I had a run-in with a cow (Midlands farmer)
3. After seeing a volcanic eruption on the news, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else (London woman)
4. My wife won’t give me my mail (self-employed trader)
5. My husband told me the deadline was 31 March, and I believed him (Leicester hairdresser)
6. I’ve been far too busy touring the country with my one-man play (Coventry writer)
7. My bad back means I can’t go upstairs. That’s where my tax return is (a working taxi driver)
8. I’ve been cruising round the world in my yacht, and only picking up post when I’m on dry land (South East man)
9. Our business doesn’t really do anything (Kent financial services firm)
10. I’ve been too busy submitting my clients’ tax returns (London accountant)

All of these people and businesses received a £100 penalty from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for filing late. They appealed against the decision using these excuses, but were unsuccessful.

Read more at www.gov.uk >

Posted byKaren McDarbyinHMRCPayroll

Changes to UK Employer Payment booklets and letters

This message is to advise employers, agents and payroll providers of a significant change to Employer Payment booklets and letters.

The changes will affect the following documents:

• Employer Payment Booklet (P30BC) - when making a PAYE payment using a pay slip through the post or over a bank or post office counter
• Paying PAYE electronically (P30B) - letters issued to customers about paying electronically
• Paying PAYE (P30B Annual) - letters sent to customers who pay us only once a year using a pay slip

These documents will no longer carry the name, address or phone details of the issuing office. This will apply for:

• the remaining months of the 2013 to 2014 tax year
• the whole of the 2014 to 2015 tax year
• all future years

Each individual document gives guidance on making payments.

The pay slips within the booklet or attached to the P30B Annual letter contain addressed reply envelopes for sending the payment in the post.

The Paying PAYE electronically letter explains how to pay by electronic methods and carries the necessary details and information for making payment.

Posted byAnn TigheinPayroll Software