Relax, don’t do it
Real time information (RTI) is proving to be a bit of a nightmare in some quarters. All employers in RTI are supposed to send a full payment submission (FPS) report online to the tax office every time they pay employees, even for weekly or daily cash payments.
To make RTI manageable for small employers, HMRC has agreed that they can send the FPS report just once a month when they run the normal payroll on the computer. ‘Small’ in this case means there are fewer than 50 employees.
This relaxation is only supposed to apply where workers are paid weekly or more frequently, and the payroll is only processed monthly. However, HMRC is unlikely to penalise employers who pay monthly or fortnightly but ask their accountant to process the payroll figures at the end of the month.
The payroll must also be run before the end of the tax month, for example by 5 August where employees are paid in the period 6 July to 5 August.
This is only a temporary relaxation of the RTI conditions. From 6 October 2013 all employers will be expected to send in FPS reports on or before payment dates for all employees. We can help you get ready for this onerous new requirement.