Small firms unaware of major changes to PAYE

A quarter of small firms are not aware that major changes on payroll reporting to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are coming into force in just six months time.

According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) a snap poll of 1,700 small firms found that only 16% were fully aware of the “Real Time Information” (RTI) programme they will need to use from 2013, as Universal Credit goes live.

Shockingly, a quarter of respondents had never heard of RTI and almost two thirds claimed they had not received any communication from HMRC about the changes.

But a third of respondents reckoned that learning new processes in the way they report payroll data to HMRC will pose a challenge to their business.

FSB national chairman, John Walker, comments: “This system is linked to the Government’s flagship Universal Credit scheme and we’re concerned that it could flop if Government does not step up its game in communicating the changes.”

He adds: “There are a number of steps that a business must complete before they can provide Real Time Information to HMRC so it is critical that those affected know about it.”