Sep 2015
28
After previous successful events, Revenue is participating in another free one-stop-shop event for SMEs, “Taking Care of Business”. If you own or manage a small business, or are thinking of starting your own business, you should visit www.takingcareofbusiness.ie to register as places are limited.
This is an initiative organized by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation.
The events have been designed to help small and start-up businesses understand and benefit from the services provided by a range of State Bodies.
Attendees will:
• Meet with representatives from a number of State Offices & Agencies
• Get information & advice on running your business
• Find out ways to save your business money
• Receive support to help you in your business
This half-day event will take place on Thursday, 8th October in the Westcourt Hotel, Drogheda, Co. Louth.
To find out more and to register, please visit www.takingcareofbusiness.ie
Sep 2015
28
It has been revealed today that the State will commence paying out two weeks’ worth of paternity benefit from June next year. The measure is a central plank of the Coalition's childcare strategy due to be announced as part of next month's Budget.
There will also be a special focus on reducing the cost of pre-school and after-school care services, especially for families who have children with special needs. The childcare package will be treated in a similar fashion in the Budget to the reform of the Universal Social Charge (USC).
Meanwhile, Children's Minister James Reilly said reducing the cost of pre-school and crèche facilities for families, especially those with children with special needs, will also be kicked started in 2016. However, he did not specify the form in which benefits will be paid to families.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Dr Reilly said the package would aim to end "poor quality childcare" that can have a "detrimental effect on children".
Specific measures aimed at reducing the burden on parents will be brought in incrementally over the life-span of the next Government. But sources say there are considerable negotiations still required before an overall package is agreed. However, agreement has been reached on the issue of paternity benefit.
Sep 2015
9
The announcement of Budget 2016 is just around the corner, on Tuesday the 13th Of October. So what can us PAYE workers expect?
Well, according to Mr Noonan we will have in the region of €1.5 billion extra to spend which will make for the first positive Irish Budget in 8 years.
The extra €1.5 billion is to be split equally between spending increases and tax cuts.
Changes to the PRSI system and reduction in the Universal Social Charge are apparently afoot. This should put at ease the minds of those low-paid workers who, with the increase in minimum wage would have actually ended up taking home less pay due to the increase in USC and PRSI.
There may also be cuts to USC and PRSI for those with higher earnings. The Government having previously promised to cut the 7% rate of USC to reduce the marginal tax rate on all those earning less than €70,000 a year to below 50%.
Vague promises on keeping the burden of taxation low and ending the unfair treatment of the small businesses and self-employed as well as improvements to Child Benefits are floating around but whether or not the Government keeps those promises remains to be seen.
Jul 2015
1
What is PAYE Anytime?
PAYE Anytime is the Revenues On-Line Service for employees. The service offers PAYE tax payers a secure way to manage their tax affairs online. PAYE Anytime is a self assessment system so employees are responsible for the information they provide.
You can register for PAYE Anytime by going to revenue.ie or by clicking on the below link.
https://www.ros.ie/selfservice/enterRegistrationDetails.faces
Fill in your personal details and a Revenue Pin will be posted to you.
What can you do on PAYE Anytime
• View your own tax records
• You can claim a wide range of tax credits
• You can use your profile to update your personal details; revenue can then use this information to suggest additional tax credits you may be entitled to
• You can claim a repayment for items such as health expenses (all receipts should be kept for a 6 year period)
• Request a P21 balancing statement (end of year review) for any of the last 4 years
• You can enter your bank account details so any refund due to you can be deposited directly to your bank account (revenue will not deduct money from your account if you have a tax liability)
• You can also declare additional income earned such as B.I.K’s and dividends
• If you are jointly accessed you can reallocate some of your tax credits or standard rate band between you and your spouse
• If you have multiple incomes you can reallocate your tax credits or standard rate band between your incomes
You don’t have to submit a paper claim when you submit transactions through PAYE Anytime. The service cannot be used by employees who submit a Form 11 or a Form 12 tax return to revenue on an annual basis.
PAYE Anytime now allows you to view your tax records from any computer or smart phone.
May 2015
22
IPASS (IRISH PAYROLL ASSOCIATION) held their annual payroll conference in Croke Park on the 21st May. Paul Byrne and Audrey Mooney from Thesaurus Software Limited attended the conference. They enjoyed meeting the other exhibitors, the delegates and listening to the guest speakers. The speakers included Lindsay Melvin the CEO of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP), John Kelly from the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), representatives from Revenue and Department of Social Protection (DSP).
It was also an opportunity to show our payroll product BrightPay which is available for Irish and UK payroll. BrightPay is a simple but powerful payroll software package that makes managing payroll quick and easy. It is designed for small to medium sized businesses, accountants and other payroll bureau providers.
BrightPay Ireland can be downloaded from www.brightpay.ie
BrightPay UK can be downloaded from www.brightpay.co.uk
BrightPay installs as a trial version, which you can use licence free for 60 days at no cost.
Thank you and congratulations to Noelle Quinn and the IPASS team for another successful and enjoyable annual conference.
May 2015
21
Currently employees working in the private sector are not entitled to build up holidays whilst on sick leave - it is up to the discretion of the employer.
Under new laws about to take effect, private sector employees on long-term sick leave WILL be entitled to accrue annual leave.
The rule relating to the holiday accrual is contained within the Workplace Relations Bill, which makes sweeping changes and reforms to Irish Employment law. The new law will mean that employees will now be entitled to accrue holiday leave while off sick. (though they will have to use the holiday days within 15 months of accruing them.)
Traditionally in Ireland, by virtue of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, employees in Ireland don’t accrue annual leave in such circumstances. However, recent key decisions in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) have meant that the Irish approach was out of sync with European requirements. Minister of State for Business and Employment, Gerald Nash opened up discussions on including these amendments in the Workplace Relations Bill.
The Workplace Relations Bill has now passed both Houses of the Oireachtas and will be signed into law by the President in the coming weeks, with a commencement date of July 1st looking likely. However the holiday provisions will be commenced immediately following the signing by the President.
May 2015
11
The Bike to Work tax break scheme is to be extended for another five years.
This allows commuters to get a bike worth up to €1,000 through their employer.
Anyone who availed of the Bike to Work scheme in 2009 is now entitled to get a second bike tax-free worth the same amount.
The bike to work is a salary sacrifice that is not liable to PAYE, PRSI or USC.
You can enter in the details of the bike to work into Thesaurus Payroll Manager using the following steps.
In Add/Amend Employee details, go to Deductions, and into the “Other allowable” section enter in the description Bike to work.
Enter in the amount to be deducted each week/month into the field and Update.
The amount entered in here, will be deducted every week or month depending on when you update your payroll.
Apr 2015
26
The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has issued a customer payments notice in light of Friday 1st May 2015 being a European Bank Holiday.
Friday 1st May 2015 is a European Bank Holiday; the Euro payments clearing and settlement system will be closed. Although Irish banks are open for business on the 1st May 2015 it is not possible to exchange payments with other banks. In addition Monday 4th May 2015 is a bank holiday in Ireland. SEPA Credit Transfer Bulk Files submitted with a debit date of Thursday 30th April 2015 or Friday 1st May 2015 may not be with the beneficiary bank until Tuesday 5th May 2015.
Employers due to pay wages on Friday 1st May 2015 may wish to submit their payments early to ensure beneficiary accounts are updated (credited) on Thursday 30th April 2015.
For further details on Euro payments processing over that weekend please check with your own bank.
Apr 2015
3
A common misunderstanding as we approach Easter is that Good Friday is a public holiday; Good Friday is a bank holiday but it is NOT a public holiday in Ireland. Banks are closed on Good Friday and many businesses also close, but as it is not a public holiday there is no entitlement to Public Holiday pay for this day. Many employees use a day’s holiday to have the day off.
There are ten Public Holidays in Ireland each year. Easter Monday, however, is one of the ten Public Holidays in Ireland each year. The 10 public holidays are:
• New Year’s Day
• First Monday in February, or 1 February if the date falls on a Friday
• St. Patrick’s Day
• Easter Monday
• The first Monday in May
• The first Monday in June
• The first Monday in August
• The last Monday in October
• Christmas Day
• Stephen’s Day
If the holiday falls on a day on which you normally work, you are entitled to either:
• A paid day off on the holiday
• A paid day off within a month
• An extra day’s pay
• An extra day’s annual leave
If the public holiday falls on a day on which you do not normally work, then you are entitled to one fifth of your normal weekly wage for that day.
If you are asked to work on the public holiday, then you are entitled to either:
• An additional day’s pay
• A paid day off within a month of the day
• An additional day of paid annual leave
Part-time employees qualify for public holiday entitlement provided they have worked at least 40 hours during the five weeks ending on the day before a public holiday.
Public Holiday entitlements are set out in the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
To keep up with the latest payroll news, check out our new Bright website. There, you'll be able to register for any of our upcoming payroll webinars and download our payroll guides.
Dec 2014
17
Are you due a week 53?
Employers are only due a week 53 if there are 53 pay dates in the calendar year. This situation will arise for employers in 2014 where their pay date falls on a Wednesday. This is due to the fact that their first pay date fell on Wednesday 1st January and their last pay date falls on Wednesday 31st December. Employers with any other pay date will not be due a week 53. The same principle applies for employers who run fortnightly payroll (they are only due a week 27 if there are 27 pay periods in the calendar year).
Week 53 PAYE Deductions
Employers should apply employee’s tax credits and standard rate cut off points on a week 1 basis. This means employees will get the benefit of more than one year’s tax credits and cut off points. Where an employee is on an emergency basis then an emergency basis should continue to apply.
Week 53 USC Deduction
Where your employees operate on a cumulative basis continue to operate on a cumulative basis for week 53. For the purposes of USC there is no additional thresholds granted. If the employee has used all their USC cut offs in week 52 they will pay USC at the higher rate in week 53. Where your payroll operates on a week 1/month 1 basis employees will pay USC at the top rate. If an employee is on an emergency basis then an emergency basis should continue to apply for week 53. If an employee is exempt from USC they will continue to be exempt in week 53.
There is no change to the way PRSI is calculated.
