HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has urged small employers to send their 2006-07 "pay as you earn" returns online.

It has issued a statement reminding firms that employ fewer than 50 people that they could claim a bonus payment of £150 by filing online before the 19 May deadline.

A spokesperson told GC News it is part of a five year campaign to switch companies to filing online. It is already compulsory for firms with 50 or more employees, with a penalty of £100 for those that fail to do so.

Smaller firms have been offered an incentive of £250 over the past two years, and will be able to claim payments of £75 for the next two years. If doing so over the full five years they would receive £800.

The spokesperson added that the system has two useful functions: an error checking system, which sends a message to the user immediately after the submission is rejected, and the ability to help employers file the return when they want up to the deadline date.

HMRC has also provided a help facility on its website.

This article was originally published at Kablenet.

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