HMRC has published a report into the findings from an analysis of disputed PAYE charges. Feedback had been received that some PAYE schemes were experiencing difficulties in reconciling the difference between the tax HMRC reported as due and the tax the employer believes to be due. HMRC had set up a dedicated team to identify the cause of these discrepancies.

The report sets out the team's findings from an analysis undertaken between July and September 2013 and recognises that by virtue of the introduction of Real Time Information, 2013–14 is a year of transition with employers and payroll service providers still getting used to the new way of reporting.

The report cites a clear need to increase knowledge of how the employer charge is created - both internally in HMRC and externally with employers and their agents. The analysis work demonstrated that some employers do not understand how HMRC calculates the employer charge, and within HMRC, that a lack of detailed knowledge by some contact centre advisors affects responses to employer contact and HMRC's handling of referred disputed charges. This meant that some employers were led to believe that their liability and payment had been calculated incorrectly, and so cases were referred incorrectly for review.

Work on developing that knowledge is now underway and HMRC does intend to publish enhanced guidance soon.

Where straightforward issues occur, HMRC are working with employers, payroll service providers and, where appropriate, their payroll software providers to resolve issues quickly. More complex cases requiring detailed work by both HMRC and the employer will take longer to resolve.

HMRC have also found during the course of this analysis work that the majority of discrepancies have been due to misunderstanding, error or transitional issues as employers joined RTI. The report stresses that there is no evidence of error in the way that HMRC's IT systems create the charge.

It is therefore recommended that employers and payroll service providers check HMRC's guidance or liaise with their payroll software provider where they are unsure. As new types of queries arise, HMRC will add these to those already being reviewed.