The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
Have you furloughed some staff and anticipate applying for the CJRS grant? You need to ensure that you have online access for your PAYE scheme, or utilise your authorised tax filing agent (referred to as a 64-8 authorised agent who will also be regulated for Anti-Money Laundering).
Setup of your online account now. This can take sometime so arrange this NOW?
Many payroll organisations are e-filer agents and not authorised to make grant application or provide tax advice.
Jim Harra, First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive – HMRC has issued the following information to payroll processors:
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Chancellor announced a series of measures to support businesses and their employees. One of those measures is the CJRS, that allows employers to claim 80% of the wages of staff (up to a maximum of £2,500 per employee) that they have furloughed (been put on temporary leave).
HMRC is working at pace to deliver the service that will allow businesses to make a claim. Businesses, and agents that are authorised to act on behalf of clients for PAYE matters, will be able to claim. However, file only agents, including Payroll Bureaus, will not be able access the service due to data protection reasons.
File only agents
If you are a file only agent, we still need your support. You will need to help your clients, as you might hold information that they need to make their claim. Businesses will need the following information on each of their furloughed employees:
- National Insurance number
- salary, National Insurance and pension contribution information that allows business to calculate the claim amount.
Service launch
We are ready to launch on 20 April. This will be made public shortly, at which point we will be contacting businesses to advise them what they need to do….
We are expecting phone demand to be beyond our capacity to offer a normal service. Therefore, the service is designed to be self-serve with guidance in place. Again, your support in helping us achieve this is called on.
We would like to thank you for your help to businesses at this time of national need. HMRC is working day and night, prioritising the need to get the financial support out to those who need it.
PAYadvice.UK 8/4/2020
