This evening HMRC shared the latest information about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which included updates to guidance and the online service based on your feedback, and how to avoid common mistakes that can lead to a wrong or delayed payment.
Save and return option now added
In response to feedback from users of the service, HMRC have added a ‘save and return’ option. This means that you can now return to a partially completed claim, rather than having to do it all in one go.
Avoiding common mistakes
When you make a claim through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, you will receive the funds within six working days after you apply, provided your claim matches records that HMRC hold for your PAYE scheme. Making sure that you submit your claim correctly will reduce the chance of any delayed or wrong payments.
These steps should help keep the process as simple as possible:
- read the guidance before you apply, to find this go to GOV.UK and search for ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’, there’s a step-by-step guide to applying and a calculator
- check your employees are eligible, by looking at the guidance on GOV.UK
- check your calculations each time you submit a claim, in case any details have changed
- only submit one claim per pay period – you can’t submit another claim for overlapping periods; this means that in each claim you should include all furloughed employees paid during that period
- if you have missing National Insurance numbers for employees, do try and find them so it doesn’t delay your claim; if an employee doesn’t have a National Insurance number yet, you should contact HMRC in order to complete your claim; go to GOV.UK and search for ‘get help with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ to find out how to contact us
- double check all of the information in the claim before you submit it, including your bank details.
HMRC understand that sometimes you might make an error in your claim, and are working on a process to enable you to amend a claim. In the meantime, please don’t amend your next claim to reflect any errors that you may have made in a previous one, as this could delay payment. If we spot an error then, where possible, HMRC will contact you or your agent to correct the claim.
After you make a claim – reporting employees’ wages to HMRC
If you’ve claimed a grant through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, you should check if you need to report payments on the PAYE Real Time Information system. This will depend on whether you are using the grant to pay wages or to reimburse wages that you’ve already paid. To find guidance on this, go to GOV.UK and search for ‘report wages Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’.
A note about scams
Stay vigilant about scams, which may mimic government messages as a way of appearing authentic and unthreatening. Search ‘scams’ on GOV.UK for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact. You can also forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599