This article will walk you through the steps you need to take when ceasing trading. We will cover what needs to be done from a PayFit perspective, including how to close your PAYE scheme with HMRC.
1️⃣ Confirm the cessation date: This is the date that the company officially ceases trading.
2️⃣ Terminate employees' contracts: The leave date can be on or before the officially ceasing date. Don't forget to consider redundancy payments. For more information about terminating an employee contract in PayFit, please refer to our Help Centre article.
3️⃣ Add cessation information to your final HMRC submission: Your final submission needs to indicate that this is your final submission, that your PAYE scheme has ceased, and the date that it ceased. To set this up in PayFit:
From the left, choose Company settings, then HMRC Information.
Under the HMRC preferences section, click HMRC Settings.
Toggle on the Final Submission option
Toggle on the Scheme ceased option, then enter the Date scheme ceased.
Note: If you still need to make any submissions later, such as benefit-in-kind values, you should not cease your PAYE scheme in PayFit. Instead, once all of your submissions have been sent, you can submit the cessation using HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools.
Click Save.
4️⃣ Run your payroll: PayFit will send the indicators on the next payroll you run after toggling on the options. Your employees can also see their final payslip and P45 in the Documents section of their employee space.
Once HMRC receives the cessation date, they'll keep your PAYE scheme open for 12 months. If a further submission is sent within that time, the PAYE scheme is re-opened. If no further submissions are sent, HMRC will close the scheme.
5️⃣ Close your PayFit account: Get in touch with our Support team to let us know that your company is closing, and you'd like to cancel your PayFit subscription.
Tip: You can still access your PayFit account after you leave, so you can look back on any documents or reports. You just won't be able to run your payroll.