When must I correct HMRC liability outside of Sage 50 Payroll?
Description

If you submit a Full Payment Submission (FPS) with incorrect data to HMRC, there are some scenarios where you must contact HMRC to correct them.

To help you resolve these issues, we've explained them below.


Scenarios

You may be able to ask HMRC to use the year to date values from your most recent FPS to resolve some of these situations.

In other cases, you may be able to resolve using HMRC's basic tools software, although you should check this with HMRC before you take this approach. 

Click a scenario below for further information.

▼ You need to submit an amendment for the 19/20 tax year or prior

This isn't possible using Sage 50 Payroll. To submit an adjustment for this period, contact HMRC for advice on using their Basic Tools software.

▼ You've submitted a duplicate FPS

If you've sent more than one FPS for a particular pay period, the liability on HMRC's system is doubled for that period, for each employee submitted.

An example of when this could occur is if a period is processed and submitted, then a backup including RTI files is restored to before the FPS was sent. A second FPS could then incorrectly be sent from Sage 50 Payroll.

An FPS adjustment isn't possible in this situation. When you send this submission your software compares the values processed to the last FPS sent. They'd already match in this scenario, so there's no adjustment to send.

This can't be reversed in your software, and you'd need to contact HMRC to request they use the year to date values on your most recent submission to correct the total liability.

▼ Incorrect leave date submitted on an FPS

If you've marked a leaver with an incorrect date and submitted to HMRC, this can't be amended with your software.

You should correct the leave date in Sage 50 Payroll, then contact HMRC to correct the leave date on their systems.

▼ HMRC request that you send another FPS adjustment for a period when you've not processed any changes

When you reprocess a period that you'd sent on an FPS, you submit an FPS adjustment to send any changes to HMRC.

Once you've sent an FPS adjustment your software can't send another unless you reprocess again and make further changes.

If HMRC asks you to send another FPS adjustment when you've already sent one, you'll need to contact HMRC to explain this isn't possible.

▼ HMRC ask you so submit an FPS for a period prior to your last FPS

It's not possible to submit an FPS from your software for a period prior to your last FPS sent. For example, if you've processed and submitted up to month 10, you aren't able to send an FPS for month 9 or prior, even where a submission was missed previously.

As this isn't possible, you'd need to contact HMRC and explain that you're unable to send this submission from your payroll software.

Every FPS you submit includes year to date values for each employee. As long as all periods are processed correctly, as an alternative you could ask HMRC to use these year to dates from your most recent submission to correct their totals and account for any missing periods.

▼ HMRC ask you to resubmit a year to date FPS for a prior tax year

It's not possible to submit an FPS for any period prior to your most recent FPS. This means it's not possible to resubmit an FPS for a prior tax year.

The Amend a previous tax year submission can amend figures with HMRC for the previous tax year only. This submission can only submit adjustments that occur when you've reprocessed, rather than send a full FPS.

To resolve this, you'd need to contact HMRC to ask for alternatives, as the requested submission isn't possible.

▼ You accidentally submitted a 'rolled up' FPS for multiple tax periods after moving computers

When you move Sage 50 Payroll to a new computer, you need to set up your companies on the new computer. If you restore a backup to do this, you need to include RTI files.

If you restore a backup and don't include RTI files, your software doesn't know what submissions you've sent for the current tax year.

This means that when you send the next FPS, your software includes the values from all periods in the tax year in one submission for the current period. This is a rolled up submission.

You can't undo this submission using your software once you've sent it. Instead, contact HMRC's debt management team and ask that they use the year to date values on your submission to correct the liability.