Other current NI issues

• If your trade is one where it is customary for employees to receive tips, check that you are adopting the latest guidance following another change of view by HMRC a few months ago. If you have paid a settlement to HMRC relating to tips in the last couple of years, you may be due a refund.
  
  
• Do not be mislead by this year’s HMRC guidance about payment dates. Some of this contradicts other pieces of HMRC guidance. If you are a large employer (250 or more employees in a single PAYE scheme) compelled to make your monthly PAYE/NI remittances by electronic means you should note that there is actually no similar compulsion regarding the payment of Class 1A NI on benefits in kind. You can still pay Class 1A by post, if you prefer, provided the payment arrives by 19 July. Whatever the size of your PAYE scheme you can pay electronically if you wish, meaning that you have extra days to pay. As this year 22 July is on a Saturday, cleared funds need to be received by HMRC by Friday 21 July.
  
  
• HMRC continue to contend that school fees paid by the employer are always liable to Class 1 NI. However sometimes the liability may be liable to Class 1A only. This is especially important if you currently have an ongoing dispute regarding 1999/00 and earlier years, as the Class 1A liability would be nil at that time.