Jul 2015
8
HMRC 0845 phone number decommissioned – All HMRC Helpline numbers now 03
Over the last few years, HMRC has been moving away from the use of 0845 numbers to 03 numbers. 03 numbers are non-geographic but are usually charged at the same rates as 01 and 02 numbers and are free with some telephone packages.
All HMRC helplines now have 03 numbers and the majority of calls are made using those numbers. Since December 2014 taxpayers using 0845 numbers to call HMRC helplines will have heard a message letting them know that the 0845 line will be closing. This was put in place to help create a smooth transition to the new 03 numbers.
From 30 June 2015, all 0845 helpline telephone numbers will be decommissioned and taxpayers dialling those numbers will hear a dead line tone. Callers will have to redial using the correct 03 number to contact the relevant department. A list of all 03 helpline telephone number is available on the GOV.UK HMRC contact us page. It is now Government and Ofcom policy to use 03 numbers.
Income Tax - 0300 200 3300
National Insurance enquiries - 0300 200 3300
Employer General enquiries - 0300 200 3200
Jul 2015
1
CIS - Penalties and Appeals Service goes live
HMRC have announced that the Penalties and Appeals service, for The Construction Industry Scheme, has now gone live.
Details of how to access the service can be found at https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-contractor/file-your-monthly-returns under the heading, "If you disagree with a penalty".
The scale of penalties for late CIS returns is shown below.
How late the return is and associated penalty:-
1 day late £100
2 months late £200
6 months late £300 or 5% of the CIS deductions on the return, whichever is higher
12 months late £300 or 5% of the CIS deductions on the return, whichever is higher
For returns later than this, you may be given an additional penalty of up to £3,000 or 100% of the CIS deductions on the return, whichever is higher.
You must still file a return for the months when you made no payments to subcontractors (unless you request for your scheme to be made inactive). This is called a ‘nil notification’.
Jun 2015
19
What to do if you are exempt from Auto Enrolment
Automatic enrolment duties don’t apply when a company or individual are not considered an employer. You won’t have any duties if you meet one of the following criteria:
- you’re a sole director company, with no other staff
- your company has a number of directors, none of whom has an employment contract
- your company has a number of directors, only one of whom has an employment contract
- your company has ceased trading
- your company has gone into liquidation
- your company has been dissolved
Before your staging date, you can let the Pensions Regulator know that you are exempt. This will avoid you having to register with a pension scheme and submit a declaration of compliance.
If circumstances change and you no longer meet the above criteria then you need to let the Pensions Regulator know.
More information, including the link for letting the Pensions Regulator know about your exempt status, can be found here.
Jun 2015
18
HMRC penalty notices to employers with fewer than 50 employees
HMRC has now issued the first in-year penalties notices to employers with fewer than 50 employees who missed the deadline for sending PAYE information to HMRC. Please see the News story on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pay-as-you-earn-paye-late-filing-penalties for further details.
May 2015
29
Childcare subsidy to be doubled
Queen’s Speech announces doubling of Childcare subsidy from 15 to 30 hours a week.
Plans to double state-subsidised childcare for three- and four-year-olds to 30 hours a week were set out in the Queen’s Speech to the new parliament, this week.
Already, children of this age in England are entitled to 570 hours of free early education or childcare a year. This works out at 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year.
Legislation was also announced to ensure that increases to the Income Tax personal allowance would reflect changes to the national minimum wage. In future, people working 30 hours a week on the minimum wage will not pay Income Tax.
Other plans announced include ensuring there are no rises in Income Tax, VAT or National Insurance for the next five years, reform to strike laws and reducing “red tape” on small businesses.
May 2015
21
Automatic Enrolment: Employer Duties and Director Exemptions
Who is subject to the legislation?
Automatic enrolment legislation affects all individuals who are classified as workers. The legislation will affect all workers between the ages of 16 and 74 who work or ordinary work in the UK. A worker can be either under a contract of employment (an employee) or be a personal services worker who has a contract to perform work or services personally and are not providing the work or services as part of their own business.
Who is a personal service worker?
A personal services worker cannot send a substitute or sub-contract the work unless they have a legitimate reason to do so (e.g. Illness). A personal service worker will have a “contract of service” to perform services personally as opposed to a sub-contractor having a “contract for service”. Various indictors will determine whether a contract is a “contract of service” or a “contract for service” and an employer must take all relevant considerations into account and make a reasonable judgement.
Should a director be considered a worker?
A director will be classified as a worker if he or she both works under a contract of employment and there is at least one other person working for the company under a contract of employment.
Employer Duties with respect to Directors.
A sole director could not be considered a worker even if he has a contract of employment.
If an additional director was to join the company under a “contract of service” contract then the company does not need to consider whether or not they are doing this work on behalf of their own business. A director who is not an employee is always exempt. The initial director is still not classed as a worker because there is no one else working for the company under a contract of employment.
If an additional personal service worker is hired under a contract of service who is not a director, then an employer duty will arise in respect of this worker.
If a worker now joins the company under a contract of employment (as an employee), then an employer duty will arise in respect of this employee and also in respect of the director who has a contract of employment. This is because there is now another person working for the company under a contract of employment.
If your company has received a letter from the pensions regular informing you of your staging date and you believe automatic enrolment duties do not apply to you because a director exemption applies then can contact them by emailing customersupport@autoenrol.tpr.gov.uk . Visit this page to find a pre-populated email www.tpr.gov.uk/employers/what-if-i-dont-have-any-staff.aspx. This pre-populated email will prompt you to inform them of what type of director exemption applies, what the letter code for the company is, the PAYE reference and the companies house number.
May 2015
15
BrightPay causes a stir at Accountex
BrightPay attended Accountex this week. Accountex is the UK's national accountancy exhibition and conference.
There was huge interest in our payroll software, mainly due to 2 key selling points:
- Its competitive price point (£199 plus VAT per annum which includes support) and
- Its ability to deal with all aspects of automatic enrolment seamlessly and elegantly.
The one question I kept getting asked was "how can you do it at that price?".
We have been in the payroll software business for 22 years and this has been our business model. We offer affordable payroll software that is intuitive and self explanatory, thereby cutting down on the support requirement. Where support is needed, this is available over the phone, by email or through the many instructional videos and online support channels that we employ. We currently have 12 dedicated support staff catering for 65,000 employers. We constantly review our staffing requirements and take on and train more staff, as and when required.
Try it out for yourself and you will understand. Payroll software does not have to cost an arm and a leg :)
May 2015
2
HMRC address change for employers
HMRC have changed their address for PAYE Penalties and Statutory Sick Pay (Form SP32 to manually calculate your employee’s Statutory Sick Payments).
If you are late reporting payroll information to HMRC and receive a penalty from 27th April 2015 all written appeals need to be sent to the address below. Similarly SP32 forms should be sent to the same address.
National Insurance Contributions & Employers Office,
HM Revenue and Customs,
BX9 1BX
Apr 2015
26
HMRC updates its Starter Checklist for new employees without a P45
On 8 April 2015, HMRC updated its Starter Checklist.
An employer can use this Starter Checklist to gather the information they need to operate PAYE for a new employee. The checklist will help an employer to complete the necessary information related to a starter that must be shown on the first Full Payment Submission submitted covering a starter’s first payment of wages.
Where a starter does not have a form P45 issued by a previous employer to give their new employer before their first payday, the starter’s information given in the Starter Checklist will inform the new employer what PAYE tax code they should use for the starter’s first payday. The Starter Checklist replaces form P46 (no longer in use) which a starter was obliged to complete in the absence of a P45 from a previous employer.
The starter checklist can be completed online and then the finished form can be downloaded, saved, and printed out. Alternatively, a black and white copy of the Starter Checklist can be printed from the online Checklist. This could then be given the starter to fill out.
Do not send a printed copy of the starter checklist to HMRC; it’s for the employer’s internal use only. Where a Starter Checklist is completed, employers are advised to keep the form for the current and previous three tax years.
Important note: Employers are supposed to verify the information provided on a P45 or Starter Checklist. A birth certificate, photo driving license, passport, and utility bills, can all be used as part of verifying an employee’s name, date of birth, current gender, address, NI number, etc.
Apr 2015
24
Complete list of April tax changes
A complete list of all tax changes that took place on April 6 has been published on the gov.uk website.
Acting as a useful checklist, the following tax changes came into effect on Monday 6 April 2015:
- Individuals over the age of 55 have flexible access to their defined contribution pension savings
- The Income Tax Personal Allowance increases to £10,600
- The higher rate income tax threshold increases to £42,385
- The new Marriage Allowance comes into effect
- The starting rate of savings income tax reduces from 10% to 0% for savings up to £5,000
- The cash ISA limit increases to £15,240
- Child Trust Funds can now be transferred into Junior ISAs
- Spouses can now inherit their deceased partner’s ISAbenefits
- If an individual dies before the age of 75, they can now pass on their unused defined contribution pension savings free of income tax
- Beneficiaries of individuals who die under the age of 75 with a joint life or guaranteed term annuity can now receive any future payments from such policies free of income tax
- Employers will no longer have to pay employer NICs for employees under the age of 21
- Class 2 NICs for the self-employed can now be collected through Self-Assessment
- The Employment Allowance extends to include people employing care and support workers to look after themselves or family members
- A new annual remittance basis charge of £90,000 is introduced for non-domiciled individuals who have been resident in the UK in at least 17 of the last 20 years, and the charge paid by non-domiciled individuals who have been resident in the UK in at least 12 of the last 14 years has increased from £50,000 to £60,000
- Non-UK resident individuals, trusts, personal representatives and narrowly controlled companies are now subject to Capital Gains Tax on gains accruing on the disposal of UK residential property
- Capital Gains Tax annual exemption amount has increased to £11,100
- The Capital Gains Tax charge on disposals of properties liable to ATED extends to cover residential properties worth £1 million – £2 million
- The requirement that 70% of Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme money must be spent before EIS or VCT funding can be raised is removed
- The Fuel Benefit Charge multiplier for both cars and vans increases by RPI
- The Van Benefit Charge increases by RPI – in 2015-16 the Van Benefit Charge rate paid by zero emission vans is 20% of the rate paid by conventionally fuelled vans
- Tax Credit payments are stopped in-year where, due to a change in circumstances, a claimant has already received their full annual entitlement
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tax-changes-coming-into-effect-6-april-2015
