A summary of HMRC’s March 2024 Employer Bulletin

HMRC recently released its latest Employer Bulletin, updating employers on the latest support available to them, upcoming events that may impact their PAYE, tax updates, and changes to guidance. Some of the highlights of the update include:

National Insurance contributions rate changes

The Spring Budget introduced further changes to National Insurance contributions effective from 6 April 2024. These changes include a cut to the main rate of Class 1 employee National Insurance contributions from 10% to 8%. It was also announced that a further cut would be made for the self-employed, reducing the main rate of Class 4 National Insurance contributions to 6%. This is a further reduction from that announced at the Autumn Statement.

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

From 1 April 2024, the National Living Wage will be extended to all those over 21, a change from the previous age of 23. The National Minimum Wage rates will see an increase in April 2024.

P11D deadline reminder

All reporting of P11D expenses and benefits in kind must be completed by 6 July 2024. These must be filed online as HMRC no longer accepts paper forms, including any amendments. It should be noted that there may still be a liability of Class 1A National Insurance contributions for employers payrolling their benefits in kind and therefore a P11D(b) may still be required.

Employers not currently payrolling benefits can now register to payroll from April 2025 by registering with HMRC. This process will become mandatory from April 2026, so employers should take the time to review how this will impact their processes in advance.

The full bulletin provides further topics and more detailed information around the above to support employers in ensuring they are working within the required guidelines.

If you have any questions or concerns about the topics covered in HMRC’s bulletin, please contact Simon Balaam.