As we approach the end of the year it is important we are aware of the changes that Revenue have introduced for the upcoming year and plan for the Christmas period. Whilst most areas of your business will be winding down, it’s typically a busy time for payroll departments, so sharing information that supports forward planning, will pay dividends in December. At CR Payroll, we are working with our clients to prepare for several changes.
Changes Being Introduced
Enhanced Reporting Requirements
Real time reporting obligations will be introduced from 1st January 2024 which requires employers to report to Revenue details of certain payments made to employees. Where an employer makes a payment under one or more of the following categories, they are required to report details of these payments to Revenue on or before the date of payment.
Travel & Subsistence
The amount and date paid for each of the following:
- Travel Vouched
- Travel Unvouched
- Subsistence Vouched
- Subsistence Unvouched
- Eating on site
- Site based employees (includes “Country Money”)
- Emergency Travel
Small Benefit
i.e., voucher or tangible item (maximum two benefits in a tax year, cumulative value cannot exceed €1,000) *
- Date provided
- Value
*It is the first two qualifying benefits that are exempt.
Remote Working Daily Allowance
- Number of days
- Amount paid
- Date paid
Revenue plan on providing a number of sessions to employers to share details of what information employers must report on. Please keep an eye on the Revenue website to avail of these forums.
Introduction of Domestic Violence Leave
It was announced this year that domestic violence leave will be formally introduced so that victims of domestic violence will receive full pay should they need to take leave due to domestic violence.
Employees will be able to avail of up to 5 days leave within a consecutive 12-month period if he/she, or a close family member, is experiencing or has experienced domestic violence. Further details regarding the rate of pay and regulations are yet to be released by Revenue.
Auto Enrolment
This is a retirement savings scheme for employees and will automatically enrol employees into the new pension scheme. The introduction of Auto Enrolment has been postponed so this means the Payroll and Pensions departments do not need to treat this as a priority and can focus on the existing year end tasks.
Statutory Changes
Any statutory changes will be released by Revenue after the budget details are shared in October.
Planning and Options Available
When planning for this busy time, it is useful to review the impacts for each payroll and allocate the relevant resource to each task.
Below are some of the various tasks that may or may not impact your different payrolls. CR Payroll can offer support to companies with each of these tasks which alleviates the pressure for your team.
- Capacity and impacts of shorter timelines due to earlier pay dates including earlier dates for all Inputs
- Possibility of additional items in December payroll, bonus payments, salary adjustments/Increases, etc. which will introduce extra administrative tasks
- Company shutdown over the Christmas period which introduces double week payments in December and the need for reconciliation and review of hours/absences/etc. in January
- System updates that may require testing to ensure no potential issues may arise when processing the payrolls
Next Steps for You
To ensure you are prepared for the upcoming year end changes and the tight timelines in December, we would recommend that you complete the following steps:
- Are you familiar with all the upcoming changes and how they will impact your payroll?
- Has your software provider confirmed when they will provide the updates to you, where relevant?
- Do you intend on testing those updates to give you the confidence your specific payroll configuration will align to the updates?
- Have you registered for the Revenue webinars which outline the Enhanced Reporting Requirements?
- Are you satisfied your team and payroll system will effectively meet the ERR for 1st January?
If you would like to request support from our payroll specialists, please feel free to get in touch.
