HMRC PAYE PITA

[Stase]

I need some help! I've got a nanny who started at the beginning of this month. I want to do her PAYE myself, as it's likely to be a short term arrangement so I don't want to pay an agency to do the sums.

The Employer helpline (0300 200 3211) is constantly busy, and if I have to listen to the machine tell me they can't help with my enquiry today, I might chuck the phone out of the window!

Can any kind person send me a link to the right bit of the HMRC website? I'm sure there must be a form to submit where I just input my details and her details, and tell them how much we are paying her??!

TIA

sorry can't help but i think you're very brave! my hubby was annoyed that i didn't do the PAYE forms myself but each month when they send me the wage slip for our nanny (it's sooo complex) i am so happy that i don't have to do it lol

Are you registered as an employer? If not you need to go to

[http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/getting-started/register.htm]

I started to do that, and then decided it couldn't be right, because other than having one employee, I am not a business in any other sense... I also don't have a unique taxpayer reference, I don't think.

OK, I have registered as a business using a UTR from when I was briefly self-employed last year. I'm not sure this is right, but it's not terribly clear!

Now I am being asked for an employers PAYE reference and an Accounts Office Reference, neither of which I have, obviously... It's starting to seem worth paying the £20 a month for someone else to do this, but I am also quite stubborn!

Any more help from anyone who knows how to navigate this strange and wondrous system?

Go to hmrc.gov.uk then click on employers then on register as a new employer and it's all there. I have been doing this myself for four years and although it can be a pain at times, once you've got the hang of it it is very quick most months. The difficult time is sorting out the end of year forms which is why it is difficult to get through now as there are lots of people trying to the same. You will have to download the hmrc toolkit thing which calculates all the tax and nics for you but it should explain all that on the website.

You make it sound so simple...
Will I automatically be sent a yellow PAYE Payslip booklet now that I've registered as an employer? There doesn't seem to be any way to request one, and no way to continue with the process until I have one. Payday is fast approaching!

You need to do the RTI reporting as well - I use the HMRC downloadable software and it calculates the PAYE & NIC for me too. Am also stubbornly refusing to pay someone else although is a PITA!

Apparently the software hasn't been tested to run on my computer, which its slightly older operating system. They really don't make it easy, do they!? RTI is the Real Time Reporting thing?

You can do it with the payroll site and just pay monthly - although its worth keeping it up for the year as you need to submit end of year reports next April.

How short term will your nanny be - if its very temp it's easier for her to register as self employed.

Maybe 12pay would work for you. Not sure what you need to have from HMRC but I think you would need the PAYE reference number and the login details for RTI.

I wonder if HMRC would permit you to do first month payroll without submitting RTI. Then once you have all the things needed, you could then submit month one along with month two.
No idea if that is permitted but seems sensible given how long HMRC can take to send out the paperwork.

Are you calling the right helpline at HMRC. Should be the New Employer Helpline, not the Employer Helpline.

tel:0300 200 3211
Looks like they are open tomorrow, you never know it may be a quieter day so you get through to someone.

Have a look at BrightPay, think that is free for small employers.