HMRC have published their Employer Bulletin for April 2017. We summarise the key content for you, with links to our detailed guidance on the topics covered.
Reporting expenses and Benefits In Kind (BIKs) for 2016-17
- The deadline for reporting expenses and BIKs to HMRC for 2016-17 is 6 July 2017.
- If you’ve payrolled any benefits you need to:
- Submit a P11D for any non-payrolled benefits.
- Submit a P11D(b) for Class 1A NICs due on all benefits (including any payrolled ones)
- Give your employees a letter telling them what you have payrolled.
- If the new exemption for paid and reimbursed expenses applies you don’t need to include any amounts on the P11D.
- HMRC’s online service no longer pre-populates the total amount liable to Class 1A NICs from the P11D figures. This is to allow employers who payroll benefits to use the service.
- To make a Class 1A payment you need to use your normal Accounts Office reference plus the numbers 1713 at the end.
- 2016-17 will be the last year you can submit P11D and P11D(b) via EDI or Magnetic Media. From 2017-18 onwards you will have to submit by XML via the Government Gateway.
Apprenticeship Levy
A reminder that this came in on 6 April 2017:
- Only employers with a pay bill over £3m will have to report and pay.
- Where it applies reports have to be made through the EPS by 14 days after the end of each tax month: the first report is due by 19 May 2017.
- See Apprenticeship Levy (employers' briefing)
Tax codes
- From 31 May HMRC will start to use real time information to make automatic adjustments to PAYE tax codes as they happen, rather than waiting until the end of the tax year.
Scottish Income Tax
- The higher rate threshold in Scotland remains frozen at £43,000 in 2017/18, instead of increasing in line with the rest of the UK.
- For the purposes of determining eligibility for childcare vouchers, the threshold for the rest of the UK (and not the lower Scottish one) applies.
- See Scottish Income Tax
Student Loans
- From 6 April 2017:
- The plan 1 threshold changed to £17,775.
- The plan 2 threshold stayed at £21,000.
- From April 2017 the Student Loans Company will set interest rates for plan 2 loans based on an individual’s income, as set out in their employer’s Full Payment Submissions (FPS).
- Where the new rules for off-payroll working in the public sector apply, fee payers are not required to report or deduct Student Loan Payments, so should ignore any prompts or notices received.
PAYE late filing penalties for 2016-17
- Q4 late filing penalty notices will be issued during week commencing 8 May 2017.
- See Penalties: RTI (Real Time Information) for PAYE
Employee expenses
- A reminder that employees can claim tax relief online (via form p87) if they have work related expenses which haven’t been reimbursed.
Salary Sacrifice
- A reminder that the tax and NI treatment of salary sacrifice and similar arrangements changed from April 2017.
- See Salary sacrifice schemes
National Minimum Wage / National Living Wage
Rates increased on 1 April 2017:
- The National Living Wage for those aged 25 and over increases from £7.20 to £7.50.
- The National Minimum Wage will also increase for other employees.
- See National living wage rates / National minimum wage rates
Paying HMRC
- The electronic payment deadline for PAYE is 22nd of the month following the end of the tax month / quarter.
- The 22nd April electronic payment deadline falls on a Saturday: funds should clear HMRC’s account by the 21st unless a Faster Payment can be arranged to clear on the deadline.
Employment intermediaries
- The quarterly return for the period to 5 April 2017 has to be filed by 5 May 2017.
- If you previously submitted returns but have supplied fewer than two workers this quarter you need to file a nil report.
- If you have ceased to be an employment intermediary you need to tell HMRC.
- See Agency Workers: employment intermediaries rules
Employer Bulletin: April 2017
The published Bulletin can be found here or accessed via HMRC's website www.gov.uk.
Our Practical Tax guides: See our version Employer's What's On April 2017
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