Nov 2017
6
PAYE Modernisation - Are You Ready For January 2019?
Revenue has released an information leaflet titled “PAYE Modernisation – Are You Ready?”. This kick-starts their awareness campaign for businesses to get ready for payroll changes called PAYE Modernisation or Real Time Reporting (RTR). Revenue outlines the steps that all employers need to take in order to ensure that their current records and obligations are up-to-date and correct.
PAYE Modernisation will change how employers report payroll information for their employees to Revenue. A file will need to be submitted (electronically) to Revenue, containing all details of employee payments. The contents are similar to the annual P35, however, this file will be submitted every pay period (weekly, monthly, fortnightly, etc.).
If you are an employer who uses payroll software, then the work involved to comply with PAYE Modernisation will be minimal. However, for smaller employers who do not use payroll software, the process of complying with PAYE Modernisation will be time-consuming and stressful. Currently, these employers make one manual submission to Revenue through their annual P35. With PAYE Modernisation, these employers will be required to make an employer submission to Revenue each pay period in real time. The employer submission will contain details comparable to what currently appears on an employer’s P35 return.
With PAYE Modernisation in mind, Revenue has contacted nearly 400 employers regarding their P35L returns for 2016. These returns contained employees who were never previously registered as working with the employer. This communication reminds those employers of their obligation to comply with PAYE regulations and requests those employers to submit a P46 for the non linked employees currently in their employment, the commencement date should be input as 1st January 2017 for employees that commenced employment before the current tax year. This action will then result in a new P2C (tax credit certificate) being issued for these employees.
Related articles:
Sep 2017
27
What do you mean…. “Do I have a backup?”
One of the most common calls I get on the support line is from a distressed customer who tells me they have lost their payroll information. Reasons for the loss of this information are varied and could be anything from a laptop being stolen, a virus attacking the computer, holding files to ransom or fire or water damage to the computers in the office.
The first question I’ll ask on a call of this type will be “do you have a backup?”. Honestly, I can’t tell you the number of people that say “No” to this. People are also mistakenly under the impression that we have a copy of their payroll data. Unfortunately this is never the case, we do not have access to the employer’s payroll information so this can add to the customer's stress levels as you can imagine!
We would always stress the importance of taking a backup of your payroll information. You would have your computers and office equipment insured against anything happening so why would you not do the same for your data? Think of your backup as your information’s insurance policy, after all it is almost irreplaceable or at the very least a major inconvenience to try and rebuild your payroll.
In a lot of cases, the call to our customer support line comes too late for us to be of any real assistance and the only advice we have to give is to start over and process payroll from the beginning again.
We never think anything like this will happen to us, but take it from me, it does, so go ahead and take out that insurance policy and backup before it is too late!
The following links will guide you to taking a backup in your software or book a demo of Thesaurus Connect our latest cloud add on that offers an automated online backup feature :
BrightPay UK: https://www.brightpay.co.uk/docs/17-18/backing-up-restoring-your-payroll/
BrightPay Ireland: https://www.brightpay.ie/docs/2017/backing-up-restoring-data-files/backing-up-your-payroll-data/
Thesaurus Payroll Manager: https://www.thesaurus.ie/docs/2017/processing-payroll/backup-data-files/
Sep 2017
22
Public Holiday Pay Entitlement
There can often be some confusion surrounding an employee's entitlement to pay for a public holiday particularly where the employee may be part-time or the public holiday falls on a day that the employee does not normally work.
It is also worth noting that not every bank holiday is a public holiday though in most cases they coincide. Good Friday is a bank holiday but it is not a public holiday. The following dates are the official public holidays in Ireland.
- New Year's Day (1 January)
- St. Patrick's Day (17 March)
- Easter Monday
- First Monday in May, June, August
- Last Monday in October
- Christmas Day (25 December)
- St. Stephen's Day (26 December)
Employees who qualify for public holiday benefit will be entitled to one of the following:
- A paid day off on the public holiday
- An additional day of annual leave
- An additional day's pay
- A paid day off within a month of the public holiday
So, who is entitled to a payment?
- Part-time employees qualify for public holiday entitlement if they have worked at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks ending the day before the public holiday.
- Full time employees are not required to have worked up a minimum number of hours.
How to calculate the amount to be paid?
If the public holiday falls on a day which the employee would normally work:
- Full-time employees are entitled to one of the above four options at the employer’s discretion.
- Part-time employees have the same entitlement, so where the employee’s pay is a fixed amount the normal daily rate can be used. If the pay varies, the daily rate should be calculated over the 13 weeks immediately before the public holiday in question.
If the public holiday falls on a day which the employee does not normally work:
Further information can be found at Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
Jul 2017
6
Living Wage increased by 20 cent
The 2017 Living Wage has been set at €11.70 per hour, up from €11.50 last year. The new figure represents an increase of 20 cent per hour on the previous rate. The recommended living wage rate is now nearly a third higher than the legally required minimum wage, which is set at €9.25 an hour.
The 20 cent increase in the Living Wage was arrived at upon consideration of a number of changes in the cost of living and the taxation regime in the last year. The Living Wage for the Republic of Ireland was established in 2014, and is updated in July of each year. It is part of a growing international trend to establish an evidence-based hourly income that a full-time worker needs so that they can experience a socially acceptable minimum standard of living.
Mar 2017
31
Important Information for Employers - Changes to Civil Service Travel Rates
Where employees use their own private cars or motorcycles for business purposes, reimbursement in respect of allowable motoring expenses can be effected by way of flat-rate mileage allowances.
There are two types of mileage allowance schemes which are acceptable for tax purposes if an employee bears all the motoring expenses:
- The prevailing schedule of Civil Service rates; or
- Any other schedule with rates not greater than the Civil Service rates
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has recently published circulars with new Civil Service Travel Rates, the revised rates are effective from 1st April 2017. The distance bands have increased from two to four with a lower recoupment rate for the first 1,500 kilometres.
Business travel carried out between 1st January and 31st March 2017 will not be affected by these new bands and rates, business travel to date from 1st January 2017 will count towards the cumulative business travel for the year.
Motor Travel Rates - Effective from 1st April 2017
Reduced Motor Travel Rates per kilometre
The reduced rates are payable to Civil Service employees who undertake a journey associated with their job but not solely related to the performance of their duties, such as:
- Attendance at confined promotion competitions
- Attendance at approved courses of education
- Attendance at courses or conferences
- Return visits home at weekends during a period of temporary transfer
The Motor Travel Rates for motorcycles and bicycles remain unchanged as follows:
Motorcycle:
Bicycle: 8 cent per km
Please note, there are changes to subsistence rates which are also effective from 1st April 2017.
Please click here for the circular on Motor Travel Rates, and here for the circular on Subsistence
Mar 2017
20
New Illness, Maternity and Paternity Benefits rates in effect
Almost all welfare benefits and state pensions are to be increased in 2017.
The maximum weekly Illness Benefit payment will increase by €5.00 from €188 to €193 per week from week commencing 13 March 2017.
Illness benefit is considered as income for tax purposes and thus needs to be taken into account for PAYE purposes by an employer. It remains exempt from USC & PRSI.
No payment is made for the first six days of illness and for any Sunday.
Thesaurus Payroll Manager will automatically apply the increased rate of €193 per week as soon as Week 12 is reached in the software, which users should be aware of. Further information on how to process illness benefit in Payroll Manager can be found here:
In addition, standard Maternity and Paternity payments will increase from €230 to €235 per week from 13 March 2017. These are both taxable sources of income but aren’t liable to USC or PRSI. Unlike illness benefit, however, an employer must not tax these benefits through payroll. Instead, the Revenue will tax Maternity and Paternity Benefit via the employee’s tax credit Certificate by reducing the employee's SRCOP and tax credit on receipt of information from the Department of Social Protection.
Feb 2017
14
2016 P35 Deadline
Employers – the P35 deadline is fast approaching, the deadline is February 15th. (Or 46 days after the cessation of the business) Failure to make a P35 return by this date may result in a fine.
The deadline for an employer who pays and files electronically via Revenue Online Services (ROS) is extended to the 23rd of February.
To view our online documentation for preparing and submitting your P35 to ROS via Thesaurus Payroll Manager or BrightPay please click on the links below:
Thesaurus Payroll Manager:
https://www.thesaurus.ie/docs/2016/year-end/preparing-the-ros-p35-file/
https://www.thesaurus.ie/docs/2016/year-end/submitting-the-ros-p35/
BrightPay:
https://www.brightpay.ie/docs/2016/year-end/preparing-a-p35-ros-file/
https://www.brightpay.ie/docs/2016/year-end/submitting-a-p35-to-ros/
Oct 2016
20
JobBridge scheme coming to an end
The controversial JobBridge scheme, brought in in 2011 as an initiative to help the unemployed get work experience, will be wound down from this Friday, Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar has announced.
The minister said that those on the scheme currently would be able to finish their internship but that a new scheme will take place of the scheme going forward. The new employment scheme will be introduced for jobseekers in late 2017.
The new scheme will likely have employers making some form of contribution for being included in the scheme which will reduce the possibility of exploitation of the scheme and the new scheme will see jobseekers earning at least the minimum wage.
Some jobseekers on the JobBridge scheme were felt to have been exploited by some companies and that along with the small top-up payment of just €52 per week, led to heavy criticism from the beginning by certain groups and political parties.
A report launched by Indecon International Research Economists found that the scheme had been successful in helping people return to the job market. Over 10,500 interns who had gone through the JobBridge scheme took part in a survey for the report. In total, 64.2% of people who had gone through the scheme were now employed. In terms of intern satisfaction, the responses varied under different aspects. However, over half of those surveyed were dissatisfied with the value of the JobBridge top up payment, and three out of 10 didn’t believe the scheme met their expectations.
Oct 2016
20
New Childcare Subsidy Scheme
As part of Budget 2017, a new €35m Single Affordable Child Care Subsidy Scheme will be introduced in September 2017. It is designed to provide parental means-tested subsidies, towards the cost of childcare for children aged six months to 15 years and universal subsidies of up to €80 a month or €900 a year for all children aged between six months and three years. This scheme will replace the existing subsidy schemes – including the Community Childcare Subvention Programme, After-School Child Care Scheme and the Childcare Education and Training Support Programme. As a result, all families, no matter what their income levels, will be entitled to as much as €900 a year, if the child is in 40 hours per week of childcare. The payment will apply on a pro-rata basis of a State subsidy of 50 cent an hour of childcare and will be paid directly to the childcare provider. International research confirms that access to high quality and affordable childcare is particularly important and beneficial for children from lower income families.
In addition to the childcare package, €86m extra has been provided in respect of the full year costs of the extended Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme (ECCE), the free pre-school scheme, and the roll out of the Access and Inclusion Model, or AIM, to enable children with disabilities to participate in pre-school education.
Oct 2016
12
Budget 2017 Overview (for payroll)
No changes have been made to SRCOPs, tax credits or PRSI classes. Emergency basis will also remain unchanged.
USC (Universal Social Charge: No changes were made to the USC exemption threshold of €13,000. The 1%, 3% and 5.5% rates have been reduced by 0.5% to 0.5%, 2.5% and 5% respectively. There has been no change to the 8% rate of USC. In addition the Rate 2 COP has been increased from €18,668 to €18,772.
Medical card holders and individuals aged 70 years and over whose aggregate income does not exceed €60,000 will pay a maximum rate of 2.5%. The rate of 8% USC will continue to apply under the Emergency Basis.
Minimum Wage:
The National Minimum Wage will increase from €9.15 gross per working hour to €9.25 gross per working hour.
• Workers under age 18 will be entitled to €6.48 (currently €6.41) per working hour.
• Workers in the first year of employment over the age of 18 will be entitled to €7.40 (currently €7.32) per working hour. Workers in the second year of employment over the age of 18 will be entitled to €8.33 (currently €8.24) per working hour.
Minimum wage for trainees:
Employee aged over 18, in structured training during working hours:
• 1st one third of course will increase to €6.94 (currently €6.86),
• 2nd third of course will increase to €7.40 (currently €7.32) 3rd part of course €8.33 (currently €8.24).
PRD (Pension Related Deduction)
Budget 2017 did not make any change to the rates and thresholds for PRD.
However, the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2015 provides for the following changes:
• From 1st January 2017, the exemption threshold will increase from €26,083 to €28,750. 10% PRD will apply to earnings between €28,750 and €60,000, and 10.5% PRD will apply to any earnings in excess of €60,000.
PRSI
There were no changes to PRSI.
