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There are several changes to the P46 process and reporting requirements for employers that came into effect from April 2008.

From April 2008, HMRC have agreed a relaxation in the P46 process. When a completed P45(Part 3) is not provided, an employee will not necessarily have to complete form P46. Employers may ask them to provide this information on business stationery or in an e-mail, for example. It will be up to the employer to decide how they get the P46 information and whether they need a signature from the employee for their own purposes. Employers can get the necessary information in a way that best suits their business need as long as they keep a record of where it came from.

Employers will have to send HMRC a P46 (Statement A and B cases) when an employee’s earnings reach the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions, which is £90 a week, £390 a month or £4,680 a year for 2008-09.

From April 2009, there will be penalties for sending in-year forms on paper when they should be sent online. But HMRC will not be charging these straight away. At the end of the first, second and third quarters of the 2009-10 tax year, HMRC will write to employers if they have submitted paper forms when they should have filed online, reminding the employer of the new requirements and offering guidance and support. If ythe employer then sends any paper forms during the fourth quarter (or later), HMRC will charge a penalty.