News

April 13, 2012

PAYE year end deadlines loom

Employers must meet their 2011-12 tax deadlines through April and May or risk fines, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has warned, writes Georgina Harris.

Following the end of the tax year on 5 April, small firms with staff have been reminded to complete their PAYE (Pay As You Earn) end-of-year paperwork. With most employers now required to file their forms online, the key document to complete is the Employer Annual Return (forms P35 and P14), which must be submitted by 19 May. Even if you are exempt from filing online, your paper form must also reach the taxman by the same date.

The Employer Annual Return includes a P14 for each employee and a P35 summary sheet. If you are new to filing online, you need to register for the PAYE online service. Completing the registration process can take up to seven days, and there are penalties if you file your annual return late.

Employers with fewer than ten employees can use HMRC’s Basic PAYE tools package to file their returns.

Other deadlines include passing your staff’s payments of tax and National Insurance (NICs) to HMRC. Paying online gives you slightly more time — your payments of outstanding PAYE tax and Class 1 NICs must be cleared by 22 April. Postal payments, such as cheques, must reach your local HMRC Accounts office by 19 April.

However, HMRC said: “As 22 April is a Sunday, the payment will need to clear into the HMRC account by Friday 20 April unless you are able to arrange a Faster Payment to clear on or by 22. You should check with your bank in good time to see if you are able to use Faster Payments.”

Once you have completed the tax requirements, employers have a final legal requirement to fulfill; each employee must be given a completed form P60 by 19 May.

• Check the PAYE page of the HMRC website for details on Employer Annual Returns