It has recently been reported by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) that employers and agents who have submitted forms P11D and P11D (b) on time have been receiving penalty warning letters from HMRC.
HMRC offered the following explanations to the ICAEW:
For online filings: processing delays could include, processing delays where information submitted does not match HMRC’s existing records, for example the PAYE reference or company name is different.
For paper filings: HMRC are between six to eight weeks behind their usual schedule as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As front line staff have been seconded to other roles, for example the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
HMRC set out reassurances that where forms P11D and P11D(b) were filed by the due date, online or paper, employers do not need to do anything else and should ignore the penalty warning letter.
HMRC will now carry out further checks to determine whether to issues penalties. If P11D and P11D(b) forms were submitted on time and a late filing penalty is issued, employers or agents should appeal immediately.
