Small firms given P45 reminder

Date: 9th March 2009

Small businesses have been advised to switch to the new A4-sized version of P45 documents from April 6th.

According to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), companies are advised to destroy any remaining copies of the old A5-sized documents before this date.

The new forms were introduced in October last year and now include details on the gender and date of birth of employees.

A spokeswoman for the department, Mel McDonald, commented: "The new P45 has real benefits for employers.

"It will help HMRC match employees' information to their records and will reduce the number of queries we send employers."

She added that it was "important" organisations informed their employees of the change, as they may not recognise the new documents.

Companies which require additional information on the changes should speak to their local accountant.

Last month, HMRC published a number of tutorial videos aimed at helping sole traders and partnerships with business taxation and VAT.