Sage Instant Payroll question

[galvpaul]

I am using the Sage Instant and ran a complete april through march year process. I assumed a salary and then added a bonus in January. It seems now that on the last month I have a negative PAYE figure where Sage says amount due exceeds salary being paid. Can anyone let me know if they have encountered this problem.
Paul.

[Clare@InTouch]

Hi Paul,

It's likely just because you paid a larger than usual amount in January followed by a smaller amount the next month.

Payroll assumes that you're going to be earning the same amount each month, so the tax calculated in January was correct assuming that same amount would be paid February and March. When the salary dropped, all of a sudden the tax in January was based on wrong assumptions and is therefore too much. So you get a refund in February, and this can lead to negative PAYE in total.

It should all even out over the course of the whole year.