09. Series 09 2011 Paye Update

09. Series 09 2011 Paye Update

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  The Active BusinessSeries 09 2011 plummerparsons ab2011-9 2011 PAYE update From April 2011, many significant code system will reduce the difference between the amount of tax payable and the amount collected at source under PAYE. changes will be made to the TAX CODE D1 operation of the PAYE system. There A completely new tax code is introduced from 6 April 2011, this is the D1 code. It means that a person must pay tax at the 50% on all their income. It are also changes from 2012 that you matches the existing D0 code that collects tax at the 40% rate. The D1 code only applies where someone has a second income that is very should be considering now. high. COMPENSATION RATE As the 50% band was introduced in 2010 without the D1 code, it is possible that some employees could find themselves paying two years’ worth of From 6 April 2011, ‘small employers’ may reclaim 103% of statutory maternity additional tax at higher rates in one year. pay. The rate had been 104.5% since 2002. A small employer is broadly one whose total national insurance payable in a year does not exceed £45,000. REAL TIME INFORMATION (RTI) Other employers may only reclaim 92%, which remains unchanged. Next year, there is a radical change being made to the PAYE system. This is NEW TAX CODE known as real time information (RTI). It means that every time you make a payment to HMRC, you must provide a full breakdown of each payment to At present, there are some circumstances where an employee can be liable each person on the payroll. for a BR tax code. These include: This system is being trialled in 2011, and will be progressively introduced • Payments made after an employment has finished and a P45 during 2012. issued, This is a radical change for which you must make plans now. We can advise • A new employee starts and cannot provide a P45 and cannot tick you on making sure that your systems and software are ready so you don’t box A or B on the P46. get caught out. From 6 April 2011, tax code 0T must be used instead, and be applied on a NATIONAL INSURANCE CHANGES week 1/month 1 basis. The thresholds at which national insurance becomes payable increase The effect is that the employee may now pay tax at the higher rates. significantly from April 2011. For 2010/11, class 1 national insurance became Previously only tax at the basic rate was collected, meaning that some payable once earnings exceed £110 a week. This rate applies for both employees could find that they still owe tax. employer and employee. Even with the new system, it is possible that the whole amount will not be From 6 April 2011, the threshold increases significantly to £139 a week for the collected as the 0T code can allow for a slice of income to be taxed at 20% employee and £136 for the employer. when that band has already been fully used elsewhere. However, the new tax The rates also increase from 11.0% for employees and 12.8% for employers by 1%, to 12.0% and 13.8% respectively. On earnings above the upper earnings limit, the employee’s rate doubles from 1% to 2%. The upper earnings limit reduces from £844 a week to £817. These changes, with the reduction in the threshold for higher rate income tax, mean that 750,000 people will become liable to pay higher rate income tax and more national insurance. We can explain the implications, and advise on any changes that can mitigate their effect. The lower earnings limit increases from £97 to £102 a week. This can mean that some low-paid and part-time workers lose their entitlements to statutory sick pay and similar, and are no longer earning entitlement to the state retirement pension. LATE NOTIFICATION Sometimes payroll departments may not know about a payment of expenses Plummer Parsons | 01323 431 200 [email protected] | www.plummer-parsons.co.uk or benefits until some time later. 18 Hyde Gardens Eastbourne East Sussex BN21 4PT Strictly speaking, the payroll for that person should be recalculated for that pay period. In practice this can be time-consuming, particularly for national The Active Business Series 2011
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  The Active BusinessSeries 09 2011 insurance. From 6 April 2011, it is acceptable to calculate tax and national PENSIONS insurance in a later period when payroll learns of the payment, provided this There are many changes being made to pension laws in the next few years. is not done deliberately for tax avoidance. The annual allowance for tax-free contributions to pension funds is reduced We can advise on whether you come within the scope of this new concession. by more than three-quarters to £50,000 a year. If more than that is contributed to a pension scheme (including the employer’s contributions), the employee TRAVELLING EXPENSES can be liable to pay an additional tax charge. We can explain the implications If an employer reimburses an employee for using their own car on business, for any high earners so affected. the employer may reimburse the employee at (usually) 45p a mile tax-free. Employers should also note that, from 6 April 2012, it will no longer be This includes an element of standing costs (insurance, maintenance, road tax possible to ‘contract out’ using money purchase or defined contribution etc) in addition to running costs (petrol). At present, the running costs are schemes. All employees in such an occupational pension scheme will pay unlikely to exceed 20p a mile, so there can be an incentive for employees to the full rates of national insurance and earn an entitlement under the State make unnecessary business journeys. Second Pension (previously called SERPS). Some employees therefore instead may pay perhaps £100 a month to an For defined benefit or final salary schemes, employees may still be contracted employee for having a private car available and then reimburse at perhaps out but the NI rebates are being reduced from 6 April 2012. The total just 20p a mile. This is quite legal. reduction is currently 5.3% but will reduce to 4.8%. And remember that the HMRC argues that the £100 is subject to tax and national insurance whereas state-backed NEST pensions start in 2012. employers have tended to regard it as tax-free to the extent that it does not The state retirement age (which is also relevant for national insurance) is exceed 45p a mile. There has been a case (Total People v HMRC Ltd [2010]) being increased to 66 by April 2020. This affects all men and women born which HMRC lost. HMRC has refused to accept the court ruling and is after 5 April 1953. appealing. If you use such a scheme, check with us that you are operating the system properly, remembering that HMRC’s guidance is still being challenged NON-RESIDENT WORKERS in the courts. The tax position for non-resident workers is set out in leaflet HMRC 6. This There is a separate advisory rate when reimbursement is made by an replaces leaflet IR20. Leaflet HMRC 6 was revised on 29 December 2010 employee for private use of a company car. These rates normally change each with effect from 6 April 2011. The changes mostly relate to employees who year on 1 June and 1 December, to reflect current fuel prices. Because of the become non-resident but continue to visit the UK. large increases since 1 December 2010, new rates have been published from 1 March 2011. If such employees wish to gain non-resident status, we can check that their plan of visits allow this under the new rules. CHILDCARE VOUCHERS NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE There is a change for employees who: From 1 January 2011, it is not possible to include travelling and subsistence • start work for you after 5 April 2011; and expenses in determining whether an employee has been paid the national • receive childcare vouchers from you. minimum wage. From 1 October 2011 the main national minimum wage increases to £6.08. For such workers you must make an estimate of the highest rate of tax they are likely to pay during the tax year. The tax-free and NI-free limit of childcare PATERNITY LEAVE vouchers depends on the highest tax rate, thus: It will be possible to claim additional paternity leave and Additional Statutory Sick Pay (ASSP) for up to 26 weeks in addition to the existing two weeks. Highest tax rate Maximum weekly This applies for children expected to be born after 2 April 2011 (even if born benefit earlier). These paternity rights may be claimed by a man or woman whose partner is claiming statutory maternity pay or statutory adoption pay for the 20% £55 same child. The new rules allow paternity leave and ASSP to be claimed for up 40% £28 to 26 weeks in a 32-week window. This is the period from 20 weeks after the 50% £22 actual birth to 52 weeks after, provided that payments of related maternity pay or adoption pay have ceased. If you pay more than this, the excess is subject to PAYE and national insurance. For existing employees, you may continue to provide vouchers up to £55 a The government has announced that this new scheme will itself be replaced week tax-free, regardless of their tax rates. in 2015. PENSION WHILE WORKING ELECTRONICS If, exceptionally, you start paying a pension directly to an employee who is From 6 April 2011, you may issue P60 end-of-year certificates electronically. still working for you, do not complete a P45. Instead you must complete form The publication Employer Bulletin and most tax tables and documents are P46(Pen). now only available by downloading from HMRC website. EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT TRUSTS STUDENT LOANS Some employers have sought to avoid PAYE and national insurance by using Employers must collect repayments of student loans through the payroll. At an employment benefit trust (EBT) or similar scheme. There have been several present, the sum collected is 9% of any amount above £15,000 a year. recent cases where HMRC has successfully challenged such schemes. The £15,000 threshold has remained unchanged since 2005. From 6 April It has also been announced that steps are being taken to deal with ‘disguised 2012, it will be uprated each year by inflation. In September 2016, it will be remuneration’ such as when payments are artificially deferred or paid by a increased to £21,000 to reflect increased tuition fees. third party. And finally... We can advise on all these changes to make sure that you continue to comply with the law, and use opportunities for legal tax planning. The Active Business Series 2011