HMRC P35 & P14 Deadline Fast Approaching!
Anyone running a PAYE (Pay as You Earn) scheme here in the UK will undoubtedly have been bombarded recently with requests and reminders for the annual P35 form, which is basically a summary of all your business’ PAYE activity during the previous financial year. You also have to submit a P14 for each employee that you employed during the previous year. The 19th May is the deadline for these forms to be received by the HMRC – you can send them a completed paper version, or you can file it via PAYE Online. Whichever method you choose, it needs to be there by the 19th otherwise they will fine you £100 for each month per 50 employees. How nice of them…
For the first time I tried using the PAYE Online system to complete the task (as I try and avoid using accountants wherever possible – not that I have anything against them, apart from their get-rich-quick fees). With the exception of trying to remember a ~ 20 digit random logon username generated by HMRC, the process was quite a smooth one. Once you’ve logged into the system , you just click “File Returns Online” and then select the relevant documents. Then the system prompts you for the necessary financial information, which you should copy from your paper-based records, or from the HMRC Employer CD-ROM if you’ve been using it.
Overall it took about 15 minutes to file the return, and if you’re a small business you can also get a £150 tax free payment from HMRC for filing them online, although you have to claim it yourself after the form has been processed. Anyway just remember the deadline is the 19th May to avoid any penalties.
Written by Chris Pangburn.
