Practitioners concerned over RTI, poll finds
In an Accountancy Age poll, readers register their concern for clients over the upcoming real-time PAYE requirements
PRACTITIONERS ARE WORRIED over their clients’ readiness for real-time PAYE an Accountancy Age poll has found.
Of the 50 readers who voted, 84% said not enough information had been provided for clients to prepare, while only 14% felt the switchover is going “smoothly”.
The remaining 2% said there had been some issues, but their clients on the whole are ready.
Real-time PAYE will be adopted nationally from April and will see PAYE reported on or before the date payment is made, while changes will be reported as and when they occur, rather than at the end of the financial year.
Changes in circumstances – such as a pay rise, promotion or departure from job – will be reported as they happen.
This month, it was announced HM Revenue & Customs has temporarily eased the new real-time PAYE requirements for small businesses after institutes warned the smallest businesses would struggle to meet the requirements.
The ‘easement’ means businesses employing fewer than 50 people struggling with increased frequency of PAYE filings to HMRC will be permitted to continue to file their payrolls monthly until 5 October.
HMRC said it will “continue to work with employer representatives during the summer to assess and understand the impact of RTI on the smallest businesses” and “consider whether they can make improvements to real time reporting which will address their concerns without compromising the benefits of RTI”.
Currently, the system processes the payroll details of four million individuals, whose employers joined the pilot which has been running since April 2012.
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