National Insurance and payroll changes for employers

Every April brings new rates and thresholds, and the effect on a payroll bill is rarely obvious from the headline figures alone. Employer National Insurance, the National Living Wage and pension contributions all move at once, and the combined cost of employing someone can shift noticeably.

For smaller employers the Employment Allowance remains the single largest offset against employer National Insurance, and it needs to be claimed each year rather than assumed to carry forward.

It is worth modelling the cost of your payroll for the year ahead rather than discovering it one month at a time. We do this for clients as part of the payroll service and flag where a change in structure or timing would help.

Points to note

• Check the Employment Allowance claim has been renewed
• Review pay rates against the National Living Wage
• Budget for auto enrolment contributions on the new thresholds
• Confirm RTI submissions are being made on or before payday
• Diarise P60 and P11D deadlines