Having to reconcile differences between employers’ records and HMRC’s liabilities and payments records on its payments enterprise tax management platform (ETMP) wastes time for HMRC, employers and payroll agents. This potentially costs the UK economy millions of pounds.  

ICAEW’s Tax Faculty believes that the differences are widespread, affecting all sizes of employer and that HMRC needs to take action to resolve this issue. The faculty asks that employers provide data so it can establish the extent of the problem to inform its discussions with HMRC, and if necessary, government ministers. 

Employers are asked to provide the following information: 

• The total number of your employees.
• For each PAYE scheme where HMRC’s liabilities and payments records do not reconcile with your records:
• The total number of employees on that PAYE scheme.
• The earliest tax year where HMRC’s figures do not reconcile with yours.

• If you are due a refund that is proving impossible to recover from HMRC or which you are unable to offset against current PAYE liabilities, please tell us the following (answer for each amount separately if practical, otherwise just reply on a total basis):
• How much is the overpayment?
• How long has the refund been due?
• Are you able to offset the overpayment by off-setting against current liabilities?
• Has the refund been “locked” by HMRC? 

If you would like to provide additional information about the problems that you are having with reconciling HMRC’s liabilities and payments records to your records, please do not hesitate to do so. 

Please send this data on a confidential basis to Adelle Greenwood@icaew.com by 20 November.