The New Employers' Guide to PAYE from January 2019

The PAYE system, first introduced in 1960, has been reformed and significant changes have been made in respect of employer reporting obligations with effect from 1 January 2019.

A new Tax and Duty Manual Part 42-04-35A ‘The Employers’ Guide to PAYE’ has been created to take account of these changes. The revised procedures, which are detailed throughout the new guide, are summarised below:

• Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN)

The RPN replaces the P2C (the employer copy of the tax credit certificate). Information regarding the RPN can be found in Chapter 7, Chapter 14 and Appendix 5. Employers must use the latest RPN when calculating employees’ statutory deductions. Prior year P2Cs should not be used.

If an RPN is not available, emergency tax should be applied. Chapter 9, section 5 contains information on new emergency tax procedures.

• Making a Payroll Submission to Revenue

Information outlining how employers notify Revenue of new employees is provided in Chapter 15 and Chapter 19 outlines how employers can make a payroll submission.

Detailed information on how to correct an error made in a payroll submission can be found in Chapter 7, section 3.

Chapter 16 details new procedures to be followed on cessation of an employment.

• Monthly Statements and Payment Methods

Monthly statements will be made available to employers based on submissions with payment dates in the relevant month. Chapter 18 provides information on the available methods to make payment to Revenue - including the introduction of Variable Direct Debit.

The new Manual will replace Part 42-04-35, which remains applicable up to and including 31 December 2018.

Key Messages for Employers

In preparation for 1 January 2019, employers must ensure that they have:

• Registered all employees with Revenue.
• The correct, up-to-date PPS number for all employees.
• Logged into ROS to ensure that their digital certificate is active and to review their ROS digital certificate permissions. Additional information is available on www.revenue.ie.
• A ROS Digital certificate on the computer they use to run their payroll;
• Familiarised themselves with the payroll reporting requirements from 1 January 2019.

Additional preparatory steps are available on www.revenue.ie.

10 December 2018