payroll pickle

sullyc

I have my own 1 man, part time company with just myself as director and this financial year I started paying myself a basic salary below the NI threshold. I'm using the Basic PAYE tools to manage this. Badly, as it turns out, as logging into the HMRC portal I was unhappy to see I owed them money and I worked out this was because I made my first payroll payment of the financial year late (18/05/21 for April) so it was allocated to the tax period number 2, along with the pay for May (31/05/21), hence exceeding said thresholds.

I haven't been brave enough yet to face the inevitable long HRMC support line wait but my my question is: can I somehow get this mistimed payment (aware this is a thing but is it this thing?) reallocated correctly to tax period 1 (idiots guide welcome if I can do it through Basic PAYE tools) or do I just have to accept I've made a mistake, cough up and try and remember not to make the same mistake in the future.

Thanks in advance. Also if there are better places to ask this question please let me know.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

As you are the employer and employee in this situation I think you need to clarify a little bit.

When you refer to your first payroll payment do you mean the pay details reported to HMRC under RTI or are you referring to a payment you have made?

Marcon

sullyc said:

I have my own 1 man, part time company with just myself as director and this financial year I started paying myself a basic salary below the NI threshold. I'm using the Basic PAYE tools to manage this. Badly, as it turns out, as logging into the HMRC portal I was unhappy to see I owed them money and I worked out this was because I made my first payroll payment of the financial year late (18/05/21 for April) so it was allocated to the tax period number 2, along with the pay for May (31/05/21), hence exceeding said thresholds.

I haven't been brave enough yet to face the inevitable long HRMC support line wait but my my question is: can I somehow get this mistimed payment (aware this is a thing but is it this thing?) reallocated correctly to tax period 1 (idiots guide welcome if I can do it through Basic PAYE tools) or do I just have to accept I've made a mistake, cough up and try and remember not to make the same mistake in the future.

Thanks in advance. Also if there are better places to ask this question please let me know.

BPT throws up a warning if you try and make two payments in the same pay period. Are you sure that's the reason? There shouldn't be a problem, provided you have ensured you've ticked the box to confirm you are a director. The tax position should work itself out as the tax year progresses, and NI for directors is cumulative for the year, so even if you exceed the NI threshold in a particular month, it shouldn't matter. (Note repeated use of the word 'should'!) See https://www.gov.uk/employee-directors

If you go to the main BPT menu, click on:

Manage employees
and then
Add employee payment 

Enter the amount for April and then look to your right/towards the bottom and you'll see the words 'Add mistimed employee payment'. Click on that and the next page gives you the way to correct it.

sullyc

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

As you are the employer and employee in this situation I think you need to clarify a little bit.

When you refer to your first payroll payment do you mean the pay details reported to HMRC under RTI or are you referring to a payment you have made?

Both as they are supposed to be one and the same?

sullyc

Marcon said:

sullyc said:

I have my own 1 man, part time company with just myself as director and this financial year I started paying myself a basic salary below the NI threshold. I'm using the Basic PAYE tools to manage this. Badly, as it turns out, as logging into the HMRC portal I was unhappy to see I owed them money and I worked out this was because I made my first payroll payment of the financial year late (18/05/21 for April) so it was allocated to the tax period number 2, along with the pay for May (31/05/21), hence exceeding said thresholds.

I haven't been brave enough yet to face the inevitable long HRMC support line wait but my my question is: can I somehow get this mistimed payment (aware this is a thing but is it this thing?) reallocated correctly to tax period 1 (idiots guide welcome if I can do it through Basic PAYE tools) or do I just have to accept I've made a mistake, cough up and try and remember not to make the same mistake in the future.

Thanks in advance. Also if there are better places to ask this question please let me know.

BPT throws up a warning if you try and make two payments in the same pay period. Are you sure that's the reason? There shouldn't be a problem, provided you have ensured you've ticked the box to confirm you are a director. The tax position should work itself out as the tax year progresses, and NI for directors is cumulative for the year, so even if you exceed the NI threshold in a particular month, it shouldn't matter. (Note repeated use of the word 'should'!) See https://www.gov.uk/employee-directors

If you go to the main BPT menu, click on:

Manage employees
and then
Add employee payment 

Enter the amount for April and then look to your right/towards the bottom and you'll see the words 'Add mistimed employee payment'. Click on that and the next page gives you the way to correct it.

Yeah, I didn't tick any box to say I was a Director. I learnt about this option later and apparently you can't change this with the Basic PAYE tool.

But would be good if mistimed payment is the way to correct this. I just added the actual date the payment was made as the guidance indicates you should.