South: HMRC unveils new timetable for RTI penalties

There will be a staggered start to the introduction of Real Time Information (RTI) penalties, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.

The new automatic in-year PAYE penalties for late filing and late payment and in-year interest (charged on tax and National Insurance Contributions that are paid late during the year), were due to start from April 6, 2014.

RTI is a big change and HMRC and some employers are continuing to learn. Having listened to customer feedback, HMRC has decided to stagger the start of the new in-year late filing and payment penalties to give employers more time to adapt to reporting in real time. The new timetable will be:

• April 2014 - in-year interest on any in-year payments not made by the due date
• October 2014 - automatic in-year late filing penalties
• April 2015 - automatic in-year late payment penalties.

At the same time, HMRC is continuing to improve its systems and guidance.

HMRC has worked closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that RTI will support the operation of Universal Credit, which brings together means-tested in and out-of-work benefits.

Ruth Owen, HMRC’s director general for personal tax, said: “The introduction of RTI is going extremely well for the majority of employers but there are still some who need a bit of time to adapt fully to the changes. This additional time will give us the opportunity to ensure that improvements to our internal systems are working, to learn from them and to provide better customer support to employers who need more time to adapt.”

Real Time Information (RTI) represents the biggest change to the payroll system in over 60 years.

The RTI pilot was launched in April 2012 with just 10 employers. Now, more than 99% of PAYE records are being reported in real time.