PAYE system upgrade may lead to some delays, HMRC warns

11 June 2009

Plans by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to upgrade the IT system that is used to handle PAYE tax and national insurance details could result in temporary interruptions to the service.

The new PAYE system, which is due to be introduced in July, will create a single record of every individual employee’s tax and NIC information. At the moment, those details are spread across 12 regional databases.

It is intended the new IT system will collate all those details into just one database, irrespective of how many jobs an employee has held.

Implementing the changes, however, will entail some disruption to the PAYE service, HMRC has said.

In a statement, HMRC warned employers and taxpayers that the upgrade will lead to “a temporary period of planned service interruption from 12 June” that may “continue until the new service is available to all trained staff and outstanding records are brought up to date”.

In addition, the National Insurance Computer System will be unavailable for a short period.

HMRC said that they will still be able to provide general advice and guidance but won’t be able to answer specific questions regarding individual National Insurance records or most recent PAYE changes.

The Department for Work and Pensions’ operations will be affected as well.

HMRC insisted that they would do everything possible to deliver a normal service but added that, in a few cases, they may not be able to respond to queries or correspondence as quickly as usual.

Employers have been told to submit details as normal as HMRC will be storing both online and paper submissions until PAYE services are restored.