Pegasus Opera 3 Version 2.90 Upgrade Now Available
Pegasus recently released Opera 3 version 2.90 which includes statutory payroll changes for the 2021/22 year-end and the new 2022/23 tax year. Pegasus recently released Opera 3 version 2.90. This release includes the statutory payroll changes for the 2021/22 year-end and new 2022/23 tax year. All customers using Payroll need to upgrade their software to comply with statutory changes.
For a better understanding of the changes included within Opera 3 version 2.90, we’ve provided an overview below.
Changes featured within the Opera 3 version 2.90 Upgrade
P6/P9 tax code notifications: This new functionality will provide Payroll users with the ability to download employee tax code data (otherwise referred to as P6 and P9 data) from the Government Gateway’s (Gov-G) and Data Provisioning Service (DPS). National Insurance addition - Freeports and Veterans: The calculation routine has been updated and 5 new National Insurance (NI) category letters added to support Employers National Insurance relief for Veterans and Freeports. The new NI category letters are:
- Freeports – F, I, L and S
- Veterans – V
Health and Social Care Levy: On 7 September 2021, the Government announced the creation of a new Health and Social Care levy which commences from 6 April 2022. For the 2022/23 tax year, the levy will be implemented by a simple increase in the rate of Class 1 NIC (including Class1A and Class 1B paid by employers on employee expenses and benefits) and Class 4 NIC. The increase will be 1.25% for employees, employers and the self-employed, so a total increase of 2.5% in respect of employed workers (split between the employer and employee) and 1.25% for the self-employed. For 2022/23, HMRC are also requesting employers to include a generic message on payslips, where possible, to show that the increase in National Insurance Contributions is for the Health and Social Care Levy. From April 2023, the calculation will be replaced with a new tax - the "Health and Social Care Levy".
Scottish Court Orders The bands, rates etc. for Scottish court orders have been updated for April 2022 and applies to Earnings Arrestment and Current Maintenance Arrestment order types.
P60 design: Some minor amendments have been made to the P60 design.
Tax Year History – Re-print of P60: A new re-print P60 facility has been added to the Payroll Processing – History – Tax Year form and allows a re-print of an employee’s P60 for a prior tax year, with the P60 being based on revised data, or on original data (e.g. depending on whether the data for the tax year has been revised or not).
Real Time Information (RTI): Opera’s RTI file formats have been updated to comply with HMRC specific ‘tax year related fields’ in the file format of the FPS and EPS XML files for the 2022/23 tax year. From 2022/23 the EPS has a new field for entry of a Corporate Tax Reference (COTAX) which is required where CIS Deductions are being claimed for; if there are no CIS deductions being claimed on the EPS then COTAX does not need to be entered.
Statutory rates, bands, etc.: The release also includes the usual adjustments to tax and NI bands/rates, statutory payment amounts, auto-enrolment thresholds, etc.
Council Tax Attachment or Earnings Orders: The calculation and thresholds for CTAEOs have always applied to both England and Wales. However, the Welsh government entered into a consultation period late last year (ended 31 Dec 2021) with a view to changing CTAEOs thresholds for Welsh Orders from 1 April 2022. The outcome of the consultation period is still unknown and with no information available no changes have been implemented in this release. More information will follow when available.
If you have any questions on the above or would like to discuss your payroll system, please get in touch.
