Major changes for employers only weeks away, Roger warns!

Small business owners across Llanelli are being warned to prepare for the biggest change to the PAYE system since its introduction in 1944.

From April, HMRC will be phasing in a Real Time Information (RTI) demand on all employers, which means they must report their employees’ gross pay, tax, National Insurance contributions and other deductions when or before salaries are paid, so in most cases weekly or monthly. Currently most employers only provide that information annually.

Roger said: “This major change is only weeks away now and for many small business owners it is going to be yet another administrative burden at a time when they’re trying to focus all their resources on serving existing and winning new customers.

“Business owners who look after their own PAYE reporting or use professional advisers, need to urgently ensure that plans are in place to introduce new systems needed for collecting and updating employee information.”

The new RTI reporting rules will be phased in from April this year and become mandatory by October. From April 2014 new penalties will be introduced for non-compliance.

A joint survey* issued to small business owners by TaxAssist Accountants and the All Party Parliamentary Taxation Group last year, found that 64% of employers were not aware of the correct deadline for the PAYE changes, 73% had no idea how much it would cost and 61% did not know what it meant.

TaxAssist Accountants Llanelli is a local business, operating across Carmarthen, Llanelli and Swansea, providing tax and accountancy advice and services purely to small businesses.