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The run-up to the official launch of HMRC’s real-time information (RTI) system for PAYE continues apace, as the final stage of the long-running pilot begins this week.
Up to 250,000 more employers are expected to join the latest test phase between now and 31 March 2013. RTI will become mandatory the following day.
Firms will be required to send PAYE data electronically to the Revenue each time they pay their employees, as part of routine payroll processes, rather than issue a separate return at the end of the year.
The initiative began running as a trial in April, with ten employers taking part. The latest expansion is its third, the first two having taken place in May and July – around which time a group of MPs expressed concern that the rollout was occuring too quicky.
But the new PAYE set-up remains on track, with more than 1,800 PAYE schemes currently submitting returns in real-time according to Ruth Owen, HMRC’s director general of personal tax.
She added, “We are confident that the system will work smoothly and that our… support products give customers [sic] the help and guidance needed.
“The main thing now is those employers not in the pilot do not delay, but start to prepare for April 2013; for example, by checking their software will be updated and employee data is accurate and up to date.”
The Revenue is set to run an advertising campaign over the coming months raise awareness of RTI among employers. The department has already outline the main points of the system in a letter circulated last month.
