Jan 2022
12
New Statutory Payment Rates for 2022-23
National Insurance rates and thresholds and Statutory Payment rates have been confirmed by HMRC for the 2022-23 tax year. The weekly earnings thresholds Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) will rise to £123. The first six weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Adoption ay (SAP) will remain as 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings. For week seven and the remaining weeks, the statutory weekly rate will be whichever is lower: 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings or £156.66.
For Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP) the payment will be whichever is lower: 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings or £156.66.
Please see some rate details below:
| Statutory Adoption Pay | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
| Earnings threshold | £120.00 | £123.00 |
| Standard rate | £151.97 | £156.66 |
| Statutory Maternity Pay | 2021-21 | 2022-23 |
| Earnings Threshold | £120.00 | £123.00 |
| Standard rate | £151.97 | £156.66 |
| Statutory Paternity Pay | 2021-21 | 2022-23 |
| Earnings Threshold | £120.00 | £123.00 |
| Standard rate | £151.91 | £156.66 |
| Statutory Shared Parental Pay | 2021-21 | 2022-23 |
| Earnings Threshold | £120.00 | £123.00 |
| Standard rate | £151.91 | £156.66 |
| Statutory Sick Pay |
2021-21 | 2022-23 |
| Earnings Threshold | £120.00 | £123.00 |
| Standard rate | £96.35 | £99.35 |
Related articles:
Dec 2021
14
New Advisory Fuel Rates from 1st December 2021
The Advisory Fuel Rates that will come into effect from 1st December 2021 have been announced by HMRC. Employers may use the old rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply. Employers are under no obligation to make supplementary payments to reflect the new rates but can do so if they wish. Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for this purpose for the fuel rates. For fully electric cars the Advisory Electricity Rate are 5 pence per mile. Click here to view details per HMRC.
The new rates are as below:
| Engine size | Petrol - amount per mile | LPG - amount per mile |
| 1400cc or less | 13 pence | 9 pence |
| 1401cc to 2000cc | 15 pence | 10 pence |
| Over 2000cc | 22 pence | 15 pence |
| Engine size | Diesel - amount per mile |
| 1600cc or less | 11 pence |
| 1601cc to 2000cc | 13 pence |
| Over 2000cc | 16 pence |
Related articles:
Dec 2021
10
Real Living Wage Rates Increase
The Living Wage Week took place from 15th to 21st November 2021 and the New Living Wage rates details were announced. The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate that is paid voluntarily by nearly 9,000 employers and is an hourly pay rate set independently and is updated every year. It is calculated based on the basic cost of living in the UK. Employees aged 18 years of age and older can be paid this new rate from 15th November by employers who pay the Living Wage and all employees should have this rate applied by 15th May 2022.
The new London Real Living Wage announced by the Living Wage Foundation, has increased by 20p from £10.85 to £11.05 per hour. This helps reflect the higher cost of living facing employees in London. The UK Living Wage rate has increased to £9.90 from £9.50, an increase of 40p or 4.2%. The Government's current national minimum wage for over 23s is £8.91, though it will increase to £9.50 from 1st April 2022, which is £99p less than this rate currently.
Nearly 300,000 employees will be affected by the new real living wage increase. A full-time weekly employee being paid the new Living Wage rate of £9.90 will earn £1,930 more annually than an employee on the current national minimum wage for over 23s. An employee working the same hours per week in London being paid the new Living Wage rate of £11.05 will earn £4,173 more per year compared to an employee on the National Minimum Wage for over 23s.
More than 3,000 employers have been accredited by the Living Wage Foundation since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. New companies that have signed up are Fujitsu, Aviva, Everton FC and Burberry. For information about the Living Wage Foundation and Living Wage Week visit the Living Wage Foundation website here.
Related articles:
Oct 2021
29
National Living Wage to Increase on 1st April 2022
In the Budget 2021 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced new National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) details in line with those recommended by The Low Pay Commission (LPC) and these new rates will take effect from 1st April 2022.
| Current Rates | Rates from April 2022 | |
| 23 years and over | £8.91 per hour | £9.50 per hour |
| 21 - 22 years old | £8.36 per hour | £9.18 per hour |
| 18 - 20 years old | £6.56 per hour | £6.83 per hour |
| 16-17 years old | £4.62 per hour | £4.81 per hour |
| Apprentices under 19 or 19 or over who
are in the first year of apprenticeship |
£4.30 per hour | £4.81 per hour |
The National Living Wage, the statutory minimum for workers aged 23 and over, will increase by 6.6% to £9.50 per hour. An employee's age and if they are an apprentice will determine the rate they will receive.
Related articles:
- Autumn Budget 2021 – An Employer Focus
- What to include on a hybrid working policy
- Payslips explained: Top tips to help your employees
Oct 2021
29
Autumn Budget 2021 – An Employer Focus
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, presented the Autumn Budget 2021 to Parliament on 27th October 2021. The main points to be noted by employers are:
- The personal tax allowance will remain the same, £12,570 for the tax year 2022-23.
- The Higher Rate Threshold (HRT), when higher earners start to pay 40% tax, remains at £50,270.
- The National Insurance Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) threshold will remain the same in 2022-23 and will remain frozen until 2026.
- The new National Insurance Levy of 1.25% will come into effect from April 2022 via a temporary increase to National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for Class 1 (employee and employer), Class 1A, Class 1B and Class 4 (self-employed). From April 2023 NIC will revert back to 2021/22 rates where a new Health and Social Care (H&SC) levy will be a separate deduction for this 1.25% levy. The Health and Social Care levy will also apply to employment earnings of those over State Pension Age (category letter C).
- For 2022-23 tax year company car percentages will increase from 1% to 2% for vehicles first registered before 6th April 2020 with 0kg/km rate. Vehicles first registered on or after 6th April 2020 will increase by 1%. The rates will be frozen then for the next two tax years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- The Employment Allowance remains at £4,000 for eligible employers where the Class 1 National Insurance Contributions liabilities were less than £100,000 in the previous tax year.
- The National Living Wage for workers aged 23 and over will rise to £9.50 per hour from 1st April 2022, this represents an increase of 6.6%.
- The pay freeze for some public sector workers will end and pay rises will be given over the next three years.
Related articles:
Sep 2021
16
Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme to end on 30th September 2021
The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate scheme was introduced to repay employers the current amount of Statutory Sick Pay paid to current or former employees on or after 13th March 2020 for periods of sickness related to Coronavirus. An employer can claim up to 2 weeks of COVID-related statutory sick pay for an employee that was paid, however this will end on 30th September 2021.
Employers will have up to the deadline on 31st December 2021 to reclaim back Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay on this scheme for periods before and up to the end of September 2021. HMRC’s main guidance for claims under this scheme can be accessed here.
The employer must keep records for the statutory sick payments they wish to claim from HMRC such as:
- National insurance number for each employee being claimed for
- Start and end dates for the period of sick leave the employee could not work
- The reason why the employee could not work
- Details of the qualifying dates in the period the employee could not work
Hybrid working ????? is now seen as a permanent way of working by employers and employees alike. Key to its success is ensuring you have the right tools and know-how to deliver your services as usual. Download our guide to find out more: https://t.co/VkSUkbh8sT pic.twitter.com/MOGYT6BTr6
— BrightPay UK (@BrightPayUK) September 8, 2021
Related articles:
Mar 2021
29
Informally Payrolling of Benefits Changes for 2021-22
From 2021-22 onwards the option will no longer be available for employers to informally payroll benefits by making an agreement with HMRC. Informally payrolling benefits meant the employer did not have to register for payrolling of benefits before the start of the tax year and made an agreement with HMRC. All employers that now wish to payroll benefits in the tax year 2021-22, even if they had this previous arrangement with HMRC, must register with HMRC using the online Payrolling Benefits in Kind (PBIK) service before 6th April 2021 (if you had not already registered last year).
Employers can register with HMRC using the PBIKs service. Registering with HMRC allows you to payroll tax on benefits and expenses without the need to submit a form P11D after the end of the tax year. P11D(b) returns will still have to be submitted and must include the total values of all payrolled and all non-payrolled benefits.
Using the online service, you can:
- Choose which benefits and expenses you want to include in the payroll for the following tax year.
- Add or remove benefits and expenses.
- Exclude employees who receive benefits or expenses but don’t want them payrolled. For these employees you must continue to report the benefit or expense on a P11D (you can exclude an employee at any time in a tax year but once you’ve done this you can’t reverse the decision, in year).
The benefits you wont be able to payroll are:
- Employer provided living accommodation
- Interest free and low interest (beneficial) loans
Tax is collected on benefits and expenses by adding the benefit or expense to the employee’s taxable pay in payroll. Tax is then deducted or repaid as usual as per the employee’s tax code and the details reported on the Full Payment Submission to HMRC. Payrolling of benefits and expenses can be processed for employees in BrightPay 2021-22 and a PBIK form can be produced for employees.
Related articles:
Mar 2021
3
Budget 2021 – An Employer Focus
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak presented Budget 2021 to Parliament today 3rd March 2021.
The main points to be noted by employers are:
- The personal tax allowance will increase from £12,500 to £12,570 for the new tax year 2021-22 and the plan is to keep it at this level until 2026.
- The higher rate income tax threshold will increase by £270 to £50,270 from 6th April 2021 and will be frozen until April 2026.
- The NIC primary threshold will increase by £68, from £9,500 to £9,568 for 2021-22.
- The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is to be extended until the end of September 2021 with the government to continue paying 80% of employees' wages for hours they cannot work. Employers will be asked to contribute 10% for July and 20% for August and September.
- The grant for new apprenticeships made available by employers in England to be extended to September 2021 and the amount increased to £3,000.
- Traineeships to get a £126 million boost to fund 40,000 more places.
- The Employment Allowance remains at £4,000 and will apply to eligible employers whose Secondary Class 1 National Insurance Contributions liability is under £100,000 a year.
- From 1st April 2021, the National Living Wage of £8.91 per hour will now be paid to employees aged 23 years and over instead of the previous age threshold of 25 years and older.
- The Vat rate for the hospitality sector will remain at 5% until 30th September 2021. This will increase to 12.5% until 31st March 2022, with the 20% rate resuming from April 2022.
- £5 billion in new Restart Grants for businesses announced – £6,000 for non-essential outlets that are due to re-open in April and for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, gym and personal care businesses, a one-off cash grant of up to £18,000.
Related Articles:
- Getting ready for the new tax year, with BrightPay
- No fines for accidental IR35 errors for the first year
- Payroll in 2021: How your practice can thrive in a post-Covid world
Mar 2021
3
New Advisory Fuel Rates from 1st March 2021
The latest Advisory Fuel Rates that will come into effect from 1st March 2021 for company cars has been advised by HMRC. Employers may use the old rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply. Employers are under no obligation to make supplementary payments to reflect the new rates but can do so if they wish. Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for this purpose for the fuel rates. For fully electric cars, the Advisory Electricity Rate is 4 pence per mile. However, electricity is not a fuel for car fuel benefit purposes. Click here to see all details per HMRC.
| Engine size | Petrol - amount per mile | LPG - amount per mile |
| 1400cc or less | 10 pence | 7 pence |
| 1401cc to 2000cc | 12 pence | 8 pence |
| Over 2000cc | 18 pence | 12 pence |
| Engine size | Diesel - amount per mile |
| 1600cc or less | 9 pence |
| 1601cc to 2000cc | 11 pence |
| Over 2000cc | 12 pence |
Related Articles:
Mar 2021
1
Year End - Frequently Asked Questions
To assist users in completing the 2020-21 tax year and transitioning to tax year 2021-22, we have compiled a list of frequently asked questions below.
1. What steps do I need to complete to finalise the 2020-21 tax year?
Please click here to access our simple step-by-step guide for completing the 2020-21 year end process in BrightPay.
2. How do I issue P60s to employees?
The P60 option is located within the 'Employees' menu. Select an employee who is in active employment as at 5th April from the left-hand listing. Click 'P60' on the menu bar and simply select the P60 option you require.
3. How do I notify HMRC that the last RTI submission is my final submission for the tax year?
Within the 'RTI' menu in BrightPay 2020-21, select 'RTI > New > Employer Payment Summary'. Where you have recoverable amounts, tick this box and select 'tax month 12' or 'tax quarter 4'. Tick the 'Final Submission' indicator and click OK to generate the EPS and submit to HMRC.
4. Do I have a week 53 in the 2020-21 tax year?
Only if an employer pays employees on a Monday and the last pay date of the 2020-21 tax year is Monday 5th April 2021.
5. When will BrightPay 21-22 be available?
BrightPay 21-22 is scheduled for release week commencing 22nd March 2021.
6. Is it ok to import my data into BrightPay 2021-22 before my payroll is finished for the 2020-21 tax year?
We advise waiting until your payroll is fully completed for the current tax year before importing into the new tax year version. This will ensure the most accurate and up-to-date information is being imported from the previous tax year.
7. Why is BrightPay 2021-22 downloading as a 60-day free trial - I have already purchased a licence?
BrightPay will initially download as a 60-day free trial (with full functionality). On purchasing a 2021-22 licence, you will have received a licence key on the invoice that was emailed to you. Simply select 'Upgrade Licence' on the 'Open Company' screen of your BrightPay 2021-22 software and enter and activate your licence key here. Your software will no longer show as a free trial and instead will indicate your purchased licence type.
8. How do I install BrightPay 21-22 for the new tax year?
Every tax year we release brand new software in line with the new budgetary requirements. Thus, to move your payroll on to a new tax year, simply download the new tax year version of BrightPay that is available on our website here.
Once downloaded, this will install separately to your previous year’s software and you will see a new BrightPay icon appear on your desktop. You can still access the information for the previous tax year in BrightPay 2020-21.
9. How do I import my data from BrightPay 2020-21 into BrightPay 2021-22 for the new tax year?
First, check the location of where your 2020-21 employer data file is saved - you can do this by hovering your mouse over the employer name on your 'Open Employer' screen in BrightPay 2020-21 and making a note of the location that will appear.
Next, on the 'Open Company' screen in BrightPay 2021-22, select 'Import Employer(s) > Import BrightPay 2020-21 file(s)'. Browse to the location of your 2020-21 employer data file and double click on the file name to commence the import. Your employer and employee details will now be imported into BrightPay 2021-22 and your employer name will be added to your 2021-22 Open Company screen.
Please note: If the employer file is password protected, the password will be the same as the previous year.
10. Will tax codes L, M and N be automatically uplifted when I import my data from BrightPay 20-21 into BrightPay 2021-22?
Tax codes for L, M and N will be automatically uplifted for the new tax year in BrightPay 2021-22 when your employer file is imported from BrightPay 2020-21. Tax code L will be uplifted by 7, tax code M will be uplifted by 8 and tax code N will be uplifted by 6 in BrightPay 2021-22.
11. Do I need to send a new Employer Payment Summary to HMRC to claim the Employment Allowance?
Yes. Since 6th April 2020, Employment Allowance does not auto-renew for an employer as it did in previous tax years.
An employer now has to submit an 'Employer Payment Summary' to HMRC every tax year to notify HMRC that they will be claiming the Employment Allowance. Once this EPS is sent to HMRC, the employer can then 'enable' the Employment Allowance in the first tax period within the 'HMRC Payments' utility in BrightPay.
Please note: HMRC must also be notified via an Employer Payment Summary if you are no longer eligible for the Employment Allowance. Further guidance on operating the Employment Allowance in BrightPay is available here.
12. How do I sign into BrightPay Connect for the new tax year?
Please select the 'Connect' tab on your BrightPay 2021-22 'Open Company' screen and sign in to your BrightPay Connect account using your Connect username and password.
13. Why do I receive HMRC error 6010 when I try to submit a P11D(b) for the 2020-21 tax year?
HMRC will only accept a P11D(b) for the 2020-21 tax year from 6th April 2021. If trying to submit before this date, error number 6010 will be returned from HMRC into BrightPay. HMRC are currently accepting a P11D(b) for the tax year 2019-20 up until 5th April 2021.
