Letters page

Payroll qualifications

Is there a requirement from HMRC or any other government body to have any level payroll qualification to run a payroll, that is at least a level 1 qualification to show you have a basic understanding of tax and National Insurance?

Via email

Editor

There is no requirement from HMRC for an individual to have a payroll qualification in order to run a payroll. It is entirely up to the employer who they employ and whether they consider it is necessary for them to have a payroll qualification. However HMRC do offer a range of support to help employers meet their payroll obligations:

Filing online

I employ someone to help me look after my 75 year old husband and file my Annual Return on paper. I am aware that HMRC wants me to start to file this Return online. I do not have a computer and I don’t want to pay someone to prepare this Return on my behalf or, incur penalties for not filing online.

Do the new rules apply to every employer? I would like to learn more about those who do not need to file online.

S Gray Oxford

Editor

From next year most employers have to file their Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s) online. There are however a few exceptions. These are explained in more detail in the filing online article in this Employer Bulletin. One of the exempt groups are 'care and support employers' that is employers who employ someone to provide care or support services in or from their home.

If you think you meet the conditions described and want to file your Return on paper, you must write to your HMRC office to claim exemption from online filing. Include details of your circumstances and include your employer PAYE Reference number. We recommend that you claim exemption well in advance of 19 May 2010, that is the date your Return is due to reach us.

HMRC’s free Online Return and Forms – PAYE service

Earlier this year, Prudential were looking at the options available to us to meet the electronic in-year filing requirements. One of our options, or so we thought, would be to use the HMRC free software for use on PAYE Online Services.

After I registered I was appointed a HMRC Online Services account manager. After many discussions it became apparent however that the free software was never intended to cater for large payrolls! We managed to find a system solution of our own, but without the support from HMRC’s EDI team, we would have been using the service quite happily until such time we exceeded the capacity of the free software and would be at risk of losing the data altogether.

I just thought that other large employers using the HMRC free payroll software should be aware of this and should contact their HMRC Online Services Manager for further advice and guidance.

Veronica Husband Prudential

Editor

HMRC’s PAYE Online for Employers product was intended as a free HMRC application for use by small employers, to mitigate the cost of buying commercial software. When you first use our product an advisory screen indicates that HMRC recommend the product is used by employers with fewer than 50 employees.

We are sorry that this wasn’t clear to you before speaking to your HMRC Online Services Account Manager. As a result of your letter we have updated the guidance on our website to make it clear who this product is designed for. The guidance can be viewed at Understanding and using PAYE Online for employers