TaxAssist Accountants warns of PAYE hassle

TaxAssist Accountants has been warning its Irish customers to prepare for the impact of incoming PAYE modernisation.

The huge change to the PAYE tax system will affect all businesses across the Republic of Ireland, but Roy Finucane, owner of Limerick City’s TaxAssist branch, has been warning SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to prepare for the impact of the new rules.

The Irish Revenue is changing the way PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax is calculated, asking employers to submit real time information to Revenue at every payday, rather than once a year via the P35. Although the changes are being implemented to make each employee’s tax contribution more accurate and to reduce the number of under or overpayments being made, it’s set to cause a bit of a headache for small businesses. Effectively, each company’s payroll has to complete a task that was previously an annual requirement every single pay month.

So, Finucane has been preparing all SME’s for the changes they may have to make, particularly those who still use manual payroll systems rather than online software-based ones. He explained some of the difficulties that his clients may encounter once the new system comes into place in January 2019.

“Already faced with rising costs including wages and insurance, employers now face significant expense in terms of purchasing new software and staff retraining. This is not to mention the fact that large swathes of the country have no access to broadband which will be required to upload these returns on time or face interest and penalties from Revenue.”

He admitted that the reform to the outdated PAYE system was positive but expressed concern that the new system may cause time to be wasted on excessive admin, at the detriment of small businesses putting their energy into growth.

Founded in 1995, accountancy franchisee TaxAssist Accountants has won numerous awards for its business model, including making the finals of the prestigious BFA HSBC Franchise Awards in 2018.