Late RTI returns

You must submit a Full Payment Submission (FPS) each time you make a payment to an employee. Even if you do not pay any employees in a tax month and therefore have no FPS to send to HMRC, you must notify HMRC - by sending an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) - by the 19th of the following tax month. This will make sure HMRC don't wrongly issue a penalty.

However, unless it is the year end return, you should not be fined for a late FPS for the 2013/14 tax year.

Moving forward, new late filing penalties will apply to returns due from employers for the tax year 2014-15 onwards. Late filing penalties will apply on a monthly basis for a late FPS or EPS. However, no penalty will apply for the first month in each tax year that returns are filed late. 

There is also a concession for new employers, who will not be issued with a penalty if their first FPS is received within 30 days of making their first payment to an employee.

The size of the late filing penalties depends on the number of employees within the PAYE scheme.

If you would like any assistance with your payroll affairs, please contact your local TaxAssist Accountants office who would be happy to help.

Date published 2 Mar 2014

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.