September Newsletter 2023
Morning/afternoon
According to the meteorological season Autumn starts on 1 September whereas from an astronomical viewpoint it is 23 September – whichever date you choose to accept Summer is over we hope you had an enjoyable one.
On 16 September we will be wishing our very own Paul Parsons the best of luck as he takes on the 20km MS London Walk. Please feel free to check out his Just Giving page to hear his story and support him.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paulparsons2023
Time to Pay for VAT customers — self-serve
HMRC is providing a new service to help make it easier for VAT customers to pay what they owe.
Where customers are unable to pay their VAT in full, they may be able to set up a Time to Pay arrangement. This is where a customer pays what they owe in affordable monthly instalments.
From 30 May 2023 customers who meet certain eligibility criteria have been able to set up a Time to Pay for VAT online, without needing to call HMRC.
The eligibility criteria for this service:
· be a VAT customer
· have VAT debt which is less than 28 days old from the payment due date
· have VAT debt which is less than £20,000 in value
· not have any other debts or Time to Pay payment plans
· be up to date with all tax returns
· be authorised to set up a direct debit mandate
HMRC see that serving customers through their digital channels reduces calls to the helpline, therefore helping them to support more customers who need it.
The Help to Save scheme — extended to April 2025
The Help to Save government savings scheme for low-income earners has been extended to April 2025.
Savers can deposit between £1 and £50 a month into their account and will receive a government bonus, even if money has been withdrawn.
Savers will earn a 50 pence bonus for every £1 saved and the bonus payments are paid in the second and fourth years. This means that someone saving £2,400, the maximum amount they could deposit over four years, would receive a £1,200 bonus from the government paid directly into their bank account.
Find out how individuals are eligible to apply for the Help to Save scheme by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/get-help-savings-low-income
Helping your new employees get paid correctly
When you have new employees starting work, we know how time consuming gathering their information can be. To make this as quick and easy as possible, we have highlighted some simple guidance that can help you collect the correct information and make sure they get paid the right amount.
This will help your employees to pay the right tax and National Insurance contributions and protect their entitlement to the state benefits they will need later in life.
Here are our top 3 tips to follow when taking on a new employee:
1. What action to take if an employee does not have a P45
If your new employee does not have a P45, use the starter checklist to find their starter declaration code and the appropriate tax code.
2. What tax code to use with starter declaration code C
If the starter checklist determines that the employee should be on starter declaration code C, use tax code BR. If you cannot complete the starter checklist, and your employee does not have a P45, put your new employee on starter declaration code C and use tax code 0T.
3. What PAYE details you will need from a new employee
You will need all the information in the starter checklist, including their name, date of birth and National Insurance number. Check these are correct by looking at their official documents.
Getting this right will save you time and resources by avoiding having to update payroll and answer your employees’ questions about their pay.
If you have any queries with any matter then please do get in touch.
Many thanks
The AMR Team
