More employers needed to test Real Time Information PAYE

HMRC has called for more employers to sign up to the pilot of its Real Time Information PAYE pilot.

Real Time Information (RTI), is due to come into force from October 2013, and will require employers and pension providers to send information about tax, NICs and other deductions when or before payments are made, as opposed to after the end of each tax year.

According to HMRC, RTI will make the PAYE process less burdensome for employers, reduce costs for HMRC, make PAYE more accurate for individuals, and reduce the number of bills and repayments sent after the end of the tax year.

HMRC currently has 300 volunteer employers lined up for the pilot, which is due to start in April 2012, but is calling for an additional 1,300 employers to join the testing from July 2012.

Commenting, Stephen Banyard, acting director general for personal tax said: "Expanding the pilot from the original 300 employers will help ensure the smooth implementation of RTI. It is an ambitious but achievable target as we know that RTI is on track. We have considered all the technical and practical issues and are confident that we have the capacity to increase the pilot by over 300 per cent in July next year."

Depending on the findings of the initial pilot, a further 250,000 volunteer employers will be invited to join RTI from November 2012.