HMRC has issued updated guidance on penalties for late filing and non-filing of PAYE returns and how to avoid them. The revised guidance confirms that employers filing their full payment within three days after the due date will not have to pay a late filing penalty.
When this concession was originally announced in February 2015 it was due to expire on 5 April 2016. It is now continuing until 5 April 2017 although HMRC’s guidance states that employers persistently filing after the due date, but within three days of the date, could be contacted by HMRC or considered for imposition of a penalty.
New employers who send in their first Full Payment Submission to HMRC within 30 days of paying an employee, or where it is the first failure in the current tax year to submit a return on time, will not be required to pay a penalty.
The guidance sets out the process for making an appeal and the grounds on which an appeal may be made when a penalty is charged.
