Employers with five or fewer employees will not be penalised this year if they send in a paper PAYE return, HMRC have said, even though from this month, all firms are required to file employer annual returns online.
The Revenue said:
‘For this year only, if an employer with five or fewer employees sends their return to us on paper, rather than send them a penalty notice we will instead write to them to remind them of their obligations and explain where they can find further help and guidance. From 2010/11 all employers who send their return on paper when it should have been sent online will be charged a penalty.’