Year-end forms and deadlines Employers with 50 or more employees at 30 October 2005 in their PAYE scheme must submit their 2006/07 end-of-year returns, forms P14 and P35 electronically. PAYE Online for employers offers two options to file returns online, by Internet or Electronic Data Interchange. An employer should make one full and complete return per PAYE scheme reference, consisting of the P14s and one P35 in a complete submission or in parts, where the software allows this. Forms P35 and P14 have to be filed by 19 May following the end of the tax year. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), by concession, have for tax year ending 5 April 2007, extended the statutory filing date to midnight on Monday 28 May to allow for postal delays with paper returns and online problems with Internet connections. Penalties are charged automatically for returns received after this date. The late filing penalty charge is based on a maximum of 12 times the statutory monthly amount, currently £100, for each group of 50 employees, or part thereof. A penalty up to £3,000 per PAYE scheme (using a sliding scale based on the number of employees due for inclusion on the return) is payable where an employer fails to make a mandatory electronic return. This penalty provision does not depend upon the return being made by a specific time. The employer should ensure that the six questions have been answered on the form P35 checklist, all relevant boxes have been ticked on the declaration and certificate and that the totals on the summary of payments section add up. The employer's representative should sign form P35 as being a true and accurate record. (There is no requirement to send a paper form, if the employer has already filed online). Supplementary return form P38A for reporting details of casual workers for whom a form P14 or student form P38 (S) has not been completed must also be submitted. The 'test in live' facility allows employers to check if the data on their return will pass the HMRC Quality Standard (visit http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ebu/qual_stand.htm) before sending their return for 'real'. HMRC has published a list of common errors made previously by employers in filing year-end returns, visit http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/2006online/common-error.htm. Sending returns outside of office hours or at weekends avoids the busiest transmission times. The online message: '9004: The EOY Return has been processed and passed full validation' indicates that HMRC has accepted the return. When sending P14 data in parts, each part must show a unique identifier. Employers can replace a part provided the replacement shows the same unique identifier as the original submission. HMRC recommends that form P35 is the last item submitted when sending a return in parts, as the P35 must indicate how many P14 batches have been sent. Once HMRC have sent an online filing acceptance message for the whole return (including Form P35) changes can only be made by submission of an amended return, showing only the amount of any amendment not the revised totals. Paul Tew, Pay Magazine Snowdrop provides a range of Payroll solutions that are fast, flexible and easy-to-use, to suit the many and varied needs of each organisation. To find out more about the software and services that we provide, please click here >>