New in-year penalties for late PAYE

Too many employers do not pay over their deductions on time to HMRC. There have been surcharges for ‘large’ employers for several years, so the problem is with the SME population. From the start of this tax year, a new surcharge regime applies to all employers (the old one has been repealed) to encourage prompt payment. Until now, for most SMEs, there has been no real sanction for borrowing from the Treasury by not paying over some or all of the PAYE due, as penalties and interest only applied after 19 April following the end of the tax year. No longer.