Return time

If you have not sent your 2007-08 Employer Annual Return (P14s and P35) already, send it as soon as you can. Your Return is due by 19 May 2008 and you may get a penalty if we do not have it by then. If you do not need to send a Return, please tell your HMRC office by phone or in writing.

Getting ready to send your Return online

You must register for our online service if you want to send your Return online. If you still need to register, select ‘PAYE for Employers’ under ‘Do it online’ on the home page. It can take up to seven calendar days to get the Activation PIN you need to use our online services and send your Return, so register as soon as possible if you have not already. If you had 50 or more employees when we wrote to you in November 2006 you must send your 2007-08 Return online or face a penalty.

£100 tax-free!

You can get £100 tax-free if you:

  • had fewer than 50 employees when we wrote to you in November 2006, or first became an employer during 2006-07
  • have to send a 2007-08 Employer Annual Return
  • send it online

You will qualify for a tax-free payment even if a payroll agent files online for you. You will not get a tax-free payment if there were no financial entries on either the P14 or P35 and the Return was not due.

The quickest way to get your £100

The quickest and easiest way for most of you to get your tax-free payment is by deducting £100 from your next PAYE payment(s) to us for 2008-09, as soon as you send your actual Return (not a test) and get the following messages by email and through your software:

Email: The submission for reference < Employer PAYE Reference > was successfully received on ,<date>. If this was a test transmission, remember you still need to send your actual Employer Annual Return using the live transmission in order for it to be processed.’

Software: ‘9004: The EOY Return has been processed and passed full validation’

Your software provider may re-phrase this message before it appears on your software, so find out from them what message you will see. If by deducting the tax-free payment you do not have to pay anything to us for that month, you need to let us know.

If you do not pay over enough PAYE each month to 'self-serve' the tax-free payment (even over more than one month) you can ask us for a cheque.

Contractors and P35 box 23

If you are a Contractor as well as an employer, box 23 of the P35 must show the total of the figures reported on your monthly Return CIS300 for 2007-08. You cannot use this box to correct your monthly Returns. Contact the CIS Helpline on Tel 08453 667 899 if you need to adjust a monthly Return.

How to change your Return

The deadline for sending your 2007-08 PAYE Return will soon be here.

If you need to change your Return after you have sent it, you must send an amendment, not a replacement, and you must only show the +/- value of the change. For example, if the correct figure is £150 and your earlier Return showed £100, your amended Return should be for +50. You must also send an amendment where you find that you have additional P14s to send.

If you send an amendment you must:

  • only complete the P14 and P35 entries you need to amend
  • always send an amended P35 even if you only amend the P14s
  • send a letter to your HMRC office saying why your Return was not correct in the first place

You do not have to send amended information the same way as your original Return. You can make an amendment by using our free Online Return and Forms – PAYE service, from your software if it lets you or on paper.

Help with your Return

February's Employer Bulletin told you how to get your 2007-08 Return ready to send. The information on our website also has all you need to know about sending your 2007-08 Return online.

If you cease being an employer during 2008-09

If you stop being an employer during the tax year, you do not have to wait until the end of the tax year to finalise matters with us. As soon as you cease, let us know. We will ask you to send your 2008-09 Return straight away, which means we can deal with any repayment or tax-free payment claim before the year end.