RTi was introduced over five years ago, but the automatic penalty system for late filing has still not been turned on. The latest Employer Bulletin (issue 79) confirms that HMRC will continue to risk-assess each significant case of late filing or late payment.
HMRC do not charge a penalty if the FPS is filed within three days of the payment date, and only issue a penalty when the late filing is persistent. Late paid PAYE will attract interest.
Don’t forget to check for electronic warning messages through your payroll software, or by logging into PAYE online and access the Notice Summary section. The penalties due for 2019/20 so far will be issued in September 2019.
Incidentally the “payment date” referred to in the Employer Bulletin is not necessarily the date on which the employees are paid, but it is the date on which the employees are contractually due to be paid. Say the employees are normally paid on 26th of each month, but this month they are paid on 23rd August because of the bank holiday, the payment date should not be changed on the FPS, but should remain 26 August.
Written by the Tax Advice Network