Effect on First Pay because of 10% Employer FNPF Contribution in 2015

How should you process the first pay of 2015 if it includes some days from 2014.

As of 1st January 2015, the compulsory employer contribution for FNPF has increased from 8% to 10%. Employee contribution (compulsory) remains at 8%. Both employers and employees can also make voluntary contributions to a total FNPF contribution of 30% (employer and employee combined).

What should you do if your first pay of 2015 includes some days from 2014?

FNPF is not interested in the individual days for which the pay was for. Instead it calculates the contributions based on the pay date you entered for the entire pay (usually the week-ending date).

OPTION 1

The easiest thing to do is to treat the entire pay as a 2015 pay.

This means that the employer will pay an extra 2% FNPF for the few days which were still in 2014.

OPTION 2

Create two separate pays… Pay 1 will be for the remaining days in 2014 and Pay 2 will be for days in 2015.

If you choose to do this, then you will need to process Pay 1 before you carry out your End of Year updates for 2015.

The downside of this is the extra work involved in preparing and paying out two separate pays.

What the 2015 Budget means for payroll

A number of changes were announced in the 2015 budget by the Fiji Government on 21st November 2014 that affects all employers and employees in Fiji.

FNPF

From 1st January 2015, all employers are required to contribute 10% FNPF for employees. This is an increase in the compulsory contribution from the previous 8%.

The employee (member) contribution remains at 8%. However as per the FNPF announcement earlier this year, employees are also now able to make voluntary contributions. In the past the voluntary contributions could only be made by employers.

This means that the total COMPULSORY contribution will now be 18% (10% by employers and 8 % by employees) and the total contribution can go as high as 30%.

PAYE

No changes were announced to the PAYE tax rates.

However, while it was not a part of the budget announcement, it is our understanding that FRCA may change the formula used for tax calculation to cater for a few problems with the formula introduced in 2013.

What does this mean for PayMaker users?

As always PayMaker users can be confident that the team at Standss will ensure that their payroll system will continue to meet all FRCA and FNPF requirements.

The 2015 budget changes will require another update to PayMaker before the start of the year.

The development team are already working to implement the FNPF changes. We are waiting to find out if FRCA also requires any changes so that we can keep costs down for customers by doing the updates in one release.

We will email or fax all customers with details of the update in the next few weeks. 

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email us at payroll@standss.com.fj

Employers MUST submit FNPF payments using new forms

FNPF has released a revised format for the CS form. The CS form (or Contribution Schedule) is the form that employers submit with payment to FNPF at the end of the month.

Payments made in November (for deductions from October) wages must be made using the new CS form.

These changes are part of FNPF's transition to new systems and processes due to new laws that come into effect on 1 November 2014.

We have upgraded PayMaker with the new form so that our customers can continue to prepare their monthly reports literally at the click of a button.

We are contacting customers to arrange a convenient time for the upgrade.

PayMaker users who have not been contacted yet can call our office on 3304554 or email us at payroll@standss.com.fj  to arrange a convenient time for our team to carry out the upgrade.
If you are not a PayMaker user (yet), click here to learn why we are Fiji's Number 1 payroll solution.

Don’t Forget Your End of Year Payroll Procedures

Before you process your first pay of 2014, please remember to carry out the End of Year Rollover which includes:

• Repairing and backing up your payroll data for 2013
• Clearing your Year to Date totals for 2013
• Clearing leave totals as appropriate

Make sure to contact your payroll software supplier to get instructions on how to do this using the software.

PayMaker users can follow the steps below:

• Process your last pay for 2013
• Repair your data files in case data files have been electronically corrupted in any way (Leaving your data in an unstable state can lead to data loss)
• Create a backup copy of your payroll data files. Make a separate copy that contains 2013 data.  
• Clear Year-To-Date totals for calendar year (and financial year if appropriate)
• Clear Leave Totals as appropriate

You must carry out the End of Year procedures in the correct order to ensure that 2013 records are accurate as per the FRCA’s requirements. Our trained staff can do this for you at your office (or remotely if you are outside Suva)

For PayMaker customers: Please email us at payroll@standss.com.fj or call us on 330 4554 to schedule your End of Year Service and Upgrade.

Standss is now on Facebook

Get the latest information on payroll changes that affect Fiji employers and employees on our Facebook page. Simply visit our Facebook page and LIKE it to get regular updates on your Facebook newsfeeds.

Looking for a Payroll software that is Tax Compliant? Contact us now: Ph: +(679) 330 4554 Fax: +(679) 330 4864 Email: payroll@standss.com.fj http://www.standss.com.fj

MAJOR changes to Payroll Processing for ALL EMPLOYERS

The Fiji Government has again made major changes to how payroll is to be processed from 2014. 

While the tax rates have not changed, the method of calculation has now changed significantly.

The new method of calculation was gazetted on Friday November 22nd 2013.

These changes are to further streamline the implementation of the PAYE as Final Tax which was introduced in 2013.

If you are a PayMaker user, you do not need to worry. PayMaker is currently being updated and will be fully compliant. We will provide you with more information as part of the End of Year Service.

This change is mandatory and all  payroll software vendors will be required to incorporate this new PAYE formula and have the software tested and certified by FRCA.

If your company is not using PayMaker, you need to ensure that your provider is implementing these changes so you are tax compliant in 2014. Employers who do not comply too the tax requirements can be charged large fines and penalties

Looking for a Payroll software that is Tax Compliant? Contact us now: Ph: +(679) 330 4554 Fax: +(679) 330 4864 Email: payroll@standss.com.fj http://www.standss.com.fj

Standss is now on Facebook  

Get the latest information on payroll changes that affect Fiji employers and employees on our Facebook page. Simply visit our Facebook page and LIKE it to get regular updates on your Facebook newsfeeds.

New FNPF and FRCA Joint Identity Card, Why you need it and How to get it?

Firstly I will start by saying that this is a great initiative by FNPF and FRCA to collaborate and provide its members and customers with a better service experience.

Why do you need the Joint Identity Card?

How many times have you:

• Lost/misplaced your TIN letter spending hours trying to find it or visiting the FRCA office to get a new one printed for a fee.
• Forgot to take your TIN letter with you to the Bank or LTA causing delay in getting the work done.

Having the new FNPF and FRCA joint Identity card will make it so much more convenient as you can easily carry it around with you (like your ATM/Credit card, Driver’s license etc) thus overcoming both inconvenience identified above.

Even better, new members will no longer be required to visit both institutions to register for their FNPF membership or Taxpayer number. You can now visit either (FNPF or FRCA) to register for your Tax Identification Number (TIN) or FNPF membership.

All employers will be required to have their employee’s obtain an ID card and update it on their payroll systems. Details of how to get the new ID card are below.

How to get the Joint Identity Card?

The rollout of the Joint ID card has already started from August. The rollout is undergoing in phases and the new card is being issued to all members around Suva first followed by the rest of the country.

Here is how to obtain your joint ID card:

1. You can get a copy of the Joint Card Registration Form from FRCA website. You will be required to fill this form to register and obtain a new FRCA/FNPF Identification (ID) card.
2. You will also need to submit a full extract of Birth Certificate, which has the birth registration number. Birth certificates that were issued prior to 2000, do not contain this
3. Submission of the FNPF card.
4. In the absence of the above, a photo ID such as the Electronic Voter Registration (EVR) card, Driving License, Passport, employee ID. The photo must be easily recognizable as a true likeness of the person.

Once you have the form filled with the other documents, you can visit the FNPF head office to submit your form and wait for the new ID card.

I hope you find this information useful.

To receive latest news and updates regarding payroll in Fiji, you can:

1. Like our Standss Fiji Payroll Facebook page or
2. Subscribe to our blog by filling the form on the right side pane and receive updates via email.

EMPLOYERS need to ensure that ALL EMPLOYEES fill in Employee Tax Code Declaration forms

The (compulsory) Employee Tax Code Declaration Form was introduced from 2013 as a result of PAYE as Final Tax. Here are the main points that all employers need to be aware of.

1. The Employee Tax Code Declaration form is a simple one page form that each employee has to fill. The main purpose of the form is to declare whether this is the employee’s primary or secondary employment.
   
   The form can be downloaded from FRCA’s website. Alternatively you can email us at payroll@standss.com.fj or call our payroll team on 3304554 for more information.


2. What is Primary and Secondary Employment?
   
   “P” is the code for primary employment which means you have only one employment or this is your primary employment.
   “S” is the code for secondary employment which means this is not your primary employment but your second employment or other employment.
   
   Each employee can only have one Primary income. It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that they only tick Primary income at one place of employment.


3. EMPLOYERS must get ALL their employees to fill in this form.


4. EMPLOYERS must keep the completed signed originals of the forms filed safely. The completed forms do not need to be submitted to FRCA. However the file copy will need to be made available to FRCA should they wish to see it.


5. The rate at which the employer calculates PAYE for the employee is dependent on what the employee fills in on this form. Primary employment will have PAYE calculated according to the tax tables. Secondary employment (or if the employee does not fill in a Employee Tax Code Declaration Form) should have PAYE calculated at the maximum tax rate (currently 20%).

Have you provided all your employees the Tax Code Declaration form?

If you need a copy of the Employee Tax Code Declaration form or have any further queries, you can contact us on 3304554 or email us at payroll@standss.com.fj

I hope you find this information useful.

To receive more latest news and updates regarding payroll in Fiji, you can:
1. Like our Standss Fiji Payroll Facebook page or
2. Subscribe to our blog by filling the form on the right side pane and receive updates via email.