We have been concerned for some time that Real Time Information (RTI) would become just a little more difficult to comply with.
RTI requires an employer to submit a report to HMRC on or before the day that a payment is made to an employee. This was causing problems to a considerable number of employers so HMRC introduced two concessions:
- A penalty would not be charged if the report is received within 3 days of the payment being made; and
- An employer with nine or fewer employees on the payroll could report once a month regardless of when the employees were paid.
Unfortunately, these concessions were only temporary and came to an end on 5th April 2016. A promise was made by HMRC to review these and issue a statement about the future of these concessions before the date that they ended. However, they failed to keep that promise and it appeared, therefore, that HMRC had decided to quietly withdraw them and hope that no-one will notice.
The good news is that these concessions have recently been extended for a further 12 months until April 2017. Perhaps we should, however, take this as a warning not to expect any further extension and ensure that the appropriate systems are in place to ensure strict compliance with the RTI regulations.