How PayFit Helps with the End of the Tax Year

Ever wondered if there’s a better way to manage all those year-end payroll tasks?

The end of the tax year can be a hectic period. There’s a lot to process before clearing the decks to make way for a brand-new year. On top of that, there are, typically, a number of legislation changes to implement before the first pay period after the 5th of April. 

If you’re not a payroll expert, then things can get a little daunting. Unfortunately, this is also prime time for errors to slip through the net on payslips and submission forms, given that much payroll work is traditionally very manual, repetitive and time-consuming.

If you want to have the best year-end experience possible while avoiding fines or administrative nightmares (think pulling your hair out at midnight), investing in automated payroll software is one of the best decisions you can make. 

PayFit is one such software that can make the end of the tax year a breeze while setting you up in the best possible way for the new one. Here’s everything we do to help with end of tax year submissions.

Wrapping things up - the end of the tax year

It’s all in the automation, baby! The beauty of PayFit is that nearly all year-end payroll tasks are automated, meaning they’re taken care of for you. 

Let’s face it: it’s a busy time of year. Most of the tasks we need to perform to stay on the right side of payroll compliance tend to creep up on us. A mad, last-minute dash or panic to try and make all those submission deadlines is usually the norm. But it doesn’t have to be. 

With PayFit, you can rest easy knowing the following actions are automated for you:

• Applying any tax code changes from HMRC - Tax codes can change from year-to-year (or even month-to-month!), which makes having a payroll software that can keep track of and implement these a no-brainer.

• Submitting your final FPS - In fact, all FPSs are submitted automatically throughout the year on a monthly basis, so you never have to worry about forgetting to submit your FPS ever again.

• Submitting your final EPS - This is sent to HMRC on or before the 19th of April to notify them no other submissions are due for the old tax year. Given all the other end-of-year tasks you need to stay on top of, it makes sense for this to be automated.

Issuing P60s to employees - As long as an employee has been hired by you on or before the 5th April and paid in March, a P60 will be automatically sent their way, well before the official P60 deadline (31st May).

A better way of payrolling benefits 

Payrolling benefits can get a little tricky, especially considering you still have to make sure HMRC gets your P11D(b) (so they can calculate your Class 1A National Insurance). But like many other aspects of payroll, PayFit renders this process a smooth one. 

If you payroll benefits, our platform automatically generates your P11D(b) during your next payroll run. So, all you need to do is confirm in your account that you entered all your benefits and expenses for the old tax year, and we'll sort out the rest. 

If necessary, PayFit also ensures your P11Ds are submitted to HMRC along with your P11D(b) on or before the 6th of July of the new tax year. Again, this happens once you’ve indicated you’re happy with the benefits and expenses you’ve recorded.

Making P11Ds a breeze

If you report your benefits and expenses via P11Ds, then PayFit can help with this too. It’s simple: once you’ve added all your benefits and expenses to our platform, PayFit automatically creates and issues P11Ds and then sends these straight to your employees for you. As long as all benefits and expenses are added in by the end of May, PayFit does the rest. 

A note on PSAs: While PayFit doesn’t submit these for you, you have until the 22nd of October to submit these to HMRC and pay your PAYE and Class 1B NI liability. Those paying by cheque have until the 19th of October to pay.

Turning a fresh page - the start of the new tax year

There’s nothing quite like new beginnings, and that includes the start of a new tax year. And with PayFit, you can get off to an even brighter start. 

How?

All new legislation changes are automatically applied to your PayFit account. So there's no need to tinker about with applying new rates or chasing your outsourced provider to implement them correctly. Once the clock ticks over on the 6th of April, all new rates are applied to each pay cycle. That includes:

• Increases to statutory parental pay rates (from the first statutory week of the tax year)

• Increases to statutory sick pay rates

• Any updates to National Insurance thresholds

• Updates to Class 1 and Class 1A National Insurance rates

• Adjustments to tax rates and thresholds for Scotland, Wales and the rest of the UK (rUK)

• Amendments to student loan plan thresholds

• Changes to non-cumulative tax codes

• Applying P9 notices

If preparing for a new tax year right after wrapping up the old one feels like more extra work, you can rest easier knowing most major tasks will be taken off your plate. That way, you can focus on other things that matter - like longer-term forecasting or working on a new strategic plan for your business.

Taking it further - what else can PayFit do?

While it all starts with simplifying payroll, there are additional ways PayFit can support your organisation.. 

For one, our market-leading integrations mean you can plug PayFit right into all your favourite finance and accounting tools for more joined-up processes. And best-in-class reporting tools mean you can access people and their pay data right at your fingertips. 

Indeed, PayFit can transform HR and Finance life at your organisation in many ways. And we cover all of this during our comprehensive and in-depth product demos. During one of these, you’ll get answers to all of your questions while seeing exactly what PayFit can do for your business.