Online filing PAYE forms, P45 and P46.

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PAYE form P45 is issued to employees when they leave your employment. Form P46 needs to be completed when you take on a new employee who does not have a P45 from a previous employment. In both cases these forms need to be filed with H M Revenue & Customs.

Firms with 50 or more employees
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You have been required to file these two forms online since 6 April 2009. From April 2010 failure to file online may result in penalties being charged. Depending on the number of forms which an employer has failed to file, penalties could rise to a maximum of £3,000.

Firms with less than 50 employees
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You are required to file forms online from 6 April 2011.

The advice from HMRC to employers is as follows:

1. As all employers are filing year end returns online it makes sense for all firms, even those with fewer than 50 employees, to make use of the online process and file forms P45 and P46 now.

2. If you do file online do not send in paper forms as well.

3. To avoid penalties do not send in paper returns when you are required to file online.

The message seems clear - HMRC are keen to receive all PAYE filing online as soon as possible. If you have a problem setting up or dealing with online filing please call for assistance.