The 2017/18 payroll year ends on 5 April which means it’s almost time to process your year end, a busy time for any business running a payroll. Before that, another deadline looms: the de-commission of the Government Gateway, which goes offline on 13 February and has been replaced by the HMRC Multi Digital Tax Platform (MDTP).
If you’re a Pegasus customer with an Annual Maintenance Contract, you already have our software updates ensuring that your online submissions continue with no disruption and all you have to do, if you haven’t already, is to make sure they are installed as soon as possible. If you’re not a Pegasus customer, ensure that your software vendor has provided you with updates to your software that cater to the platform change, otherwise you’ll be unable to continue with online submissions after 13 February.
But back to payroll: The introduction of RTI back in 2013 made the process much simpler, but it can still be an understandably daunting task for some. Here at Pegasus we’re with you every step of the way to help things run smoothly, so let’s go through the key steps and dates for your diary.
You should send your final Full Payment Submission (FPS) on or before your employees’ last payday before the tax year ends on 5 April. If you don’t send your FPS by 5 April 2018 it’ll be classed as a late submission but HMRC will actually accept them until 19 April 2018. After this date they’ll no longer be accepted and you will need to send an Earlier Year Update submission (EYU) instead which highlights the difference between your last submitted report and the final figures for the 2017/18 tax year. If you need to send an Employer Payment Summary (EPS), you should send this by 19 April 2018. If you make submissions after this date you may be charged a penalty of £100 per 50 employees for each month your report is late.
A large but essential task is updating the payroll records for every employee working for you on or after 6 April 2018. You’ll need to prepare a payroll record, identify the correct tax code to use for them in the new tax year and enter it into your payroll software. The tax code increases are as follows for the 2018/19 tax year commencing 6th April 2018:
For employees who pay the Scottish rate of Income Tax, make sure they are set up as being a Scottish taxpayer.
It’s important to update your software so you’re using the new rates and thresholds for the new tax year on 6 April 2018. For Opera 3 the updated software also includes a new Employee Age List that can assist with managing the National Minimum and Living Wage by helping you identify individuals that are moving from one minimum wage band to another based on their age. If you’re using a Pegasus payroll solution it’s easy, and your fully trained Pegasus Partner can guide you on this.
A P60 outlines everything you have paid your employees throughout the tax year, along with any deductions, and should be given to every employee by 31 May 2018.
If you’ve paid employees any expenses through your payroll, you’ll need to tell HMRC about these via a P11D submission. The P11D will show HMRC how much Class 1A National Insurance you owe. This must be paid by 22 July 2018. Take a look at the Pegasus P11D Organiser for help with this.
The Student Loan Thresholds rise from 6 April 2018. Plan 1 increase £555 to £18,330 and Plan 2 rises by £4,000 to £25,000.
Workplace Pensions Reform started in October 2012. The minimum contribution rates were set at 2%, usually split equally between the employer and employee with both contributing 1% each. From 6 April 2018, the total minimum contribution must be 5%, usually with the employer contributing 2% and the employee contributing 3%.
For further advice on running your payroll year end take a look at the guidance information on the HMRC website or speak to your Pegasus Partner.
Posted On: January 02, 2019
