NEWS

From 1 April 2019 employers must be set up to begin payday filing. This means that, for every payday after 1 April 2019, you will:

• * File employment information every payday instead of filing an employer monthly schedule (“EMS” or IR348) on the 20^th of each month;
• * Provide new and departing employees' address information, as well as their date of birth - if they have provided it to you; and
• * File electronically (from payday compatible software or through myIR) if your annual PAYE/ESCT is $50,000 or more.

 

Payday filing will become a part of your normal payroll process.

The due date for actual payment of PAYE is still the 20^th of the month. However, you will no longer need to file an Employer deductions form (IR345).

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What employment information will I be filing?

You’ll be filing the same information you used to provide with the EMS (your IR348) as well as:

How do I file the information?

Most employers will file online, either through their payroll software or through the myIR system.

If you choose to file with myIR, opt in through your myIR account. Once you've opted in, a Payroll returns account will show in your My business section. This is where you'll file your employment information and employee details. You can file through your Payroll returns account by file upload (if you have compatible software) or by entering the data onscreen.

Some employers have the choice of filing on paper. Note that paper filing is only available from April 2019. If you opt in to payday filing earlier than April 2019 you must file electronically.

Once you've opted in to payday filing, the allowable time you have to file varies, depending on your circumstances.

Can’t I keep filing on paper?

It is possible to seek an exemption so that you can continue to file on paper if

Inland Revenue can set a time limit on an exemption like this or cancel it with six months’ notice.

What about the ir-File service?

The ir-File service is not available for payday filing. If someone else currently files your Employer monthly schedule (IR348) using ir-File, make sure you reset their access so they can file through the Payroll returns account. You can only do this if you're the account owner.

What do I do about new employees?

Before any new employees' first payday, you need to provide their employee details:

Don’t forget to let your employees know that this information will now be provided to IRD.

Penalties and interest

If you file your employment information late, IRD will initially send you a warning letter (if you filed all your other returns for the past year on time). However, you file late again within a 12 month period, IRD will charge you a $250 late filing penalty.

If you're a payday filer you probably have more than one due date each month to file employer returns. If you file late, you’ll only be charged one late filing penalty even if you miss more than one due date in a month. The penalty is due 30 days after the end of the month in which the return was due. IRD will also charge late payment penalties and interest on late filing penalties not paid by the due date.

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If you are currently using payroll software please check with your provider to ensure that it is compatible with payday filing.

If you are still calculating your payroll manually, we strongly recommend that you consider using payroll software.This will save you a lot of time and will made Payday filing much easier. There are many types of payroll software available and it can be quite daunting trying to find the best one to suit your needs.We use and recommend the following:

SmartPayroll

They will set up your payroll and will train you in all key features.

Auto Pay is their super-fast online payroll functionality that allows you to pay your staff in less than a minute, do all the calculations, make the payments and lodge PAYE with the IRD.

Please see their website for more information www.smartpayroll.co.nz, call them at 0800 10 10 38 or contact your Client Manager.

Xero Payroll

If you wish to manage your payroll yourself then Xero Payroll is a great option.Paying employees is done by simply uploading a file to your online banking account and returns can be filed to IRD with just a few clicks.

Xero currently have an amazing offer in place for those clients currently using Xero Cashbook. Please contact us for further information.

Please see their website for more information www.xero.com/nz/ or contact your Client Manager.

Both SmartPayroll and Xero Payroll allow you to access your payroll from anywhere and on any device.They offer a secure employee mobile application so your staff can access their own payroll details and view payslips, leave balances, etc.

 

Disclaimer

This information is intended to provide general advice only.  We recommend you discuss your specific situation with your Accountant.