Reminding You of RTI

Thousands of employers to receive RTI reminders

In excess of 1.6 million employer PAYE schemes, covering over 40 million individual records, are already reporting under the real time information (RTI) system since it became a requirement to do so in April of this year. However, HMRC have identified thousands of employers that it is now urging to join RTI.

This month around 167,000 employers who have missed one or more deadlines for reporting PAYE will receive a letter from HMRC. If you are one of those then you need to act now and start reporting in real time. If employers have not reported because they don’t pay anyone, the PAYE scheme has been closed or has become redundant, they still need to tell HMRC by contacting the employer helpline on 0300 200 3200.

HMRC believes that many schemes can be shut down because they don’t have any employees linked to them. Employers who are required to operate a scheme for expenses and benefits should submit a nil employer payment summary (EPS) each month or contact the Revenue to change the scheme to annual and then file a nil EPS once a year.

If you have registered your PAYE scheme as an annual scheme then you will not be one of those receiving a letter.

HMRC’s Director General for Personal Tax, Ruth Owen, said, “Over 85%  of employers are now reporting PAYE in real time but our records show that 167,000 employers have yet to send us a PAYE submission. Reporting PAYE in real time makes it easier for employers to pay HMRC the right amount and avoid late payments and penalties.

If agents have set up, on behalf of their clients, PAYE schemes that have never been used – or their clients’ PAYE schemes have now ceased – they should call HMRC to close the scheme.”