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HMRC gives SMEs 6 months' grace with RTI penalties

RTI specialist Julie Braithwaite (left) with head of payroll Chloe Hughes, and partners Neil South and Doug Perry.

In a piece of good news for smaller employers, HMRC has announced that it will delay automated penalties for late real-time PAYE returns, with businesses employing 50 or fewer staff not being affected until March 2015.

Larger businesses will however face automated RTI penalties from 6 October 2014; if you employ 50 or more staff you should receive a letter from HMRC during September to remind you of the need to file in real-time, and giving you some practical information on how avoid the penalties.

Chloe Hughes, head of payroll services with Clayton & Brewill in Nottingham commented:

“This is obviously good news for smaller employers as it gives them an extra few months to ready for real-time PAYE reporting.

“We would however encourage businesses to get into good habits as early as possible and to use this six-month window to get used to filing on time.

“HMRC have indicated they will be operating a 'one strike and out' approach to penalties so we would urge employers and payroll managers to make sure they have the processes and systems in place to ensure that they can file their PAYE real-time returns on time.”

For friendly help and advice on any aspect of payroll, RTI or pension auto-enrolment, contact Clayton & Brewill’s specialist team on 0115 950 3044 or by email.