Issue 70 December 2004 (Payroll News)

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Payroll News - 2004

Issue 70 December 2004

Inland Revenue launches new-look website
Due dates over the holiday period
Employing seasonal or casual workers
Holiday pay and PAYE
Need your employer monthly schedule ( EMS ) early?
Payroll News survey update

Welcome to Payroll News

In this issue we tell you about our business hours over the holiday period, employing seasonal workers, and working out PAYE on holiday pay.

If you have an employer topic you'd like to see covered in this newsletter please write to the Editor, Payroll News, PO Box 2198, Wellington or email us at payroll.news@ird.govt.nz and we'll aim to cover the topic in a future edition.

Please pass this newsletter on to the person who deals with the payroll in your business.

Inland Revenue launches new-look website

We are launching an exciting, new-look website, developed to provide you with a better online experience.

Navigating your way around has been made easier and you can now move backwards and forwards through the site without losing your place. From the homepage you can quickly access information based on your needs.

Other new features on the homepage include:

quick and easy-to-access answers to all your frequently asked questions
reminders of due dates
news and promotional items.

We have also improved our search facilities. You now have three different search options - A-Z directory, site map and top 10 searches.

Businesses can easily and quickly access information in two ways - through the main site navigation at the top of the homepage, or through the utilities area on the right of the homepage.

The main navigation provides links to information about business tax, GST, depreciation, employer deductions and other business-related subjects. The utilities area gives you direct access to all forms and guides, calculators and online services, including ir-File and Account Lookup.

You'll be able to preview the new-look site from 12 December. Next time you visit our site click on the link to the new site and let us know what you think.

Due dates over the holiday period

If you pay your deductions to us twice a month, your PAYE forms and deductions for the period 16 December to 31 December 2004 are usually due to us by 15 January 2005, instead of 5 January 2005. As this day falls on a Saturday, all schedules and payments received on or postmarked 17 January 2005 will be treated as being received in time. This means you don't have to rush to get your PAYE forms completed before the Christmas break.

If you pay your deductions to us monthly, your PAYE schedules and payments for the period 1 December to 31 December 2004 are due (as usual) on 20 January 2005.

Employing seasonal or casual workers

At this time of year, some of you may be employing seasonal workers such as fruit pickers or shearers, or casual workers such as in the entertainment and hospitality industry.

If you intend to employ seasonal or casual workers, you need to make sure all new employees complete a Tax code declaration (IR330) form. You will also need to make sure that when these employees start and finish working for you, you show the start and/or finish date for each employee on the relevant Employer monthly schedule (IR348).

Holiday pay and PAYE

Back in May this year, we advised you that changes were made to the Holidays Act 2003. We'd like to inform you that amendments have been made which took effect on 22 October 2004.

The key changes are:

no penal rates for public holidays on top of existing penal rates
no public holiday rates if an employee does not work that day
employers may request a medical certificate before three days if they have reasonable cause to suspect the sick leave is not genuine and the employer pays for the medical certificate
the time limit for solving issues relating to composite pay rates has been extended.

To find out more about these changes, please phone the Department of Labour, Employment Relations line on 0800 800 863, or visit their website from our related websites section of our site.

Calculating PAYE on holiday pay

These changes do not affect how to tax holiday pay. To remind you how much PAYE to deduct on holiday pay, follow these three simple steps.

If you are paying three weeks' holiday pay to an employee:

Divide the holiday pay amount by three to get a weekly amount.
Calculate the PAYE on this weekly amount using the Weekly and fortnightly PAYE
deduction tables (IR340).
Multiply the week's PAYE by three to get the total PAYE to deduct from the gross holiday pay.

You can also use the holiday pay calculator on our website.

Holiday pay and child support deductions

If you make child support deductions from an employee, you need to deduct it from their holiday pay as well at the usual rate.

Example

An employer normally deducts $50 child support per fortnight from an employee's wages. If the employer is paying three weeks' holiday pay in advance in December to cover the Christmas break, together with a fortnight's wages, they need to deduct a total of $125 in child support. This will be $50 from the normal fortnightly pay, plus $75 from the three weeks' holiday pay. When you fill in the child support portion on your Employer monthly schedule (IR348) please complete the child support code box with an "A" to show that it is a deduction in advance.

In the above example, the child support deductions for January will be less than the amount expected (based on the deduction notice applying). You need to use the code "D" to show that the shortfall has been deducted in the previous month.

To find out more about calculating PAYE on holiday pay, read page 12 of your 2005 tax tables or phone us on 0800 377 772. If you have any questions about child support and holiday pay, please phone us on 0800 220 222.

Need your employer monthly schedule ( EMS ) early?

Are you going to be away on holiday or will your business be closed for the holidays when your next Employer monthly schedule (IR348) is due to arrive and be sent back?

Generally, we will get these forms to you around the 4th of the month in which the payment and forms are due. But if you require the forms before this date you can either get a blank Employer monthly schedule (IR348) form from our website or call our automated phone service INFOexpress on 0800 257 773 to request one.

Paying early

If you're away around the time that PAYE payments are due, you may make your payments early. You could do this online through internet banking. Most banks have the facility to let you set your payment dates in the future. You could also send us a postdated cheque. Please highlight the date so that our attention is drawn to it. This minimises the risk of a postdated cheque being processed early.

Payroll News survey update

We would like to thank those who took part in our survey. The results are now all in and we're currently in the process of collating and analysing all the data. We will update you with the results early next year.

Business hours over Christmas and New Year

Our business hours for phone enquiries over the Christmas and New Year break are:

Friday 24 December	8am - 8pm
Saturday 25 December	Closed
Monday 27 December	Closed
Tuesday 28 December	Closed
Wednesday 29 December	8.30am - 5pm
Thursday 30 December	8.30am - 5pm
Friday 31 December	8.30am - 5pm
Saturday 1 January	Closed
Monday 3 January	Closed
Tuesday 4 January	Closed