Revenue tests new trigger to increase the accuracy of PAYE codes

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is trialling a new trigger, which is intended to improve the accuracy of employees’ PAYE tax codes.

According to HMRC, as many as half a million tax codes being used by employers across the UK could be incorrect, leading to employees either overpaying or underpaying tax.

To address the problem, HMRC is making changes to dynamic coding, which began its rollout in July 2017.

Dynamic coding is designed to make use of the additional information HMRC is now receiving from employees and employers to recalculate pay estimates during the course of the tax year.

Now, HMRC is adding mismatches between its records and those of employers to the list of events that can trigger a recalculation.

As part of the initiative, HMRC is also placing a renewed emphasis on ensuring that employers complete new starter checklists properly and will be visiting the 100 worst offending employers when it comes to failing to complete the new starter process.

Link: HMRC trails new PAYE code trigger