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You must pay your PAYE bill to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by:

• the 22nd of the next tax month if you pay monthly

• the 22nd after the end of the quarter if you pay quarterly - for example, 22 July for the 6 April to 5 July quarter

If you pay by cheque through the post, it must reach HMRC by the 19th of the month.

How to pay

You can:

• pay PAYE Settlement Agreements
• pay Class 1A National Insurance on work benefits that you give to your employees
• pay a PAYE late payment or filing penalty
• pay your PAYE bill using another payment method

What you’re paying

Your PAYE bill may include:

• employee Income Tax deductions

• Class 1 and 1B National Insurance

• Class 1A National Insurance on termination awards and sporting testimonials

• Student Loan repayments

• Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions

• your Apprenticeship Levy payments (starting from April 2017) if you, or employers you’re connected to, have an annual pay bill of more than £3 million

Payment booklets

HMRC no longer sends printed payment booklets.

You can still pay tax you owe from the tax year 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024 at your bank or building society using a payment booklet, if you already have one. To pay tax for the current tax year, you must choose another way to pay.

You can set up a Direct Debit through your HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online account to pay your bill automatically.

HMRC will automatically collect the payment from your bank account based on the amount in your return (also called a Full Payment Submission (FPS)). You’ll only need to set the Direct Debit up once.

Set it up at least 4 working days before your payment due date.

If you’ve not used your Direct Debit for 2 years or more, check with your bank that it’s still set up.

Set up a Direct Debit

Before you start

You’ll need to use your 13-character accounts office reference number as the payment reference. You can find this:

• in
• on the letter HMRC sent you when you registered as an employer (or sent to your accountant or tax adviser if they registered on your behalf)

You need to add extra numbers to your 13-character accounts office reference number each time you make:

• an early payment (before the 6th of the tax month or quarter the payment is due)

• a late payment (on or after the 5th of the tax month after the payment was due)

When the payment will be taken

HMRC will usually take the payment either:

• shortly after the 22nd of the month
• 4 working days after you file the return (if you file it after the 19th of the month)

HMRC will tell you the date and amount no later than 3 working days before the payment is collected. The payments will show on your bank statement as ‘HMRC ³§¶Ù¶Ù³§â€™.

When you cannot pay by Direct Debit

You must pay in a different way if you are:

• making payments of £20 million or more
• using an overseas bank account to pay your PAYE bill
• exempt from submitting your PAYE returns online
• an insolvency practitioner
• a Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) contractor who is not enrolled for PAYE online

You’ll need to use your 13-character accounts office reference number as the payment reference. You can find this:

• in
• on the letter HMRC sent you when you registered as an employer (or sent to your accountant or tax adviser if they registered on your behalf)

Pay your PAYE bill online

You can pay HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online by:

• approving a payment through your bank account using your online banking details
• debit or corporate credit card

You’ll need your online banking details or your card ready before you start.

If you approve the payment using your online bank account

You can pay your PAYE bill directly using your online or mobile bank account. You’ll need to have your banking details ready before you start.

You can select a date to pay, as long as it’s before your payment is due.

Check your account to make sure that the payment has gone out on the correct day. If the payment has not gone out as expected, speak to your bank.

The payment is usually instant but can take up to 2 hours to show in your bank account.

If you pay by debit or corporate credit card

There’s a fee if you pay by corporate credit card or corporate debit card. The fee is not refundable.

There’s no fee if you pay by personal debit card.

HMRC will accept your payment on the date you make it (even on bank holidays and weekends) - not the date it reaches HMRC’s account.

If you’re unable to pay your employers’ PAYE bill in full by card, you should use another payment method like a bank transfer.

Making an online or telephone bank transfer

You can make a bank transfer using Faster Payments, CHAPS or Bacs:

• from your online bank account
• by phoning your bank

If you’re paying from a UK bank account

You must pay into this HMRC account:

• sort code - 08 32 10
• account number - 12001039
• account name - HMRC Cumbernauld

If you’re from an overseas bank account

You can make a transfer from your overseas bank account by CHAPS.

You must pay into this HMRC account:

• account number (IBAN) - GB62 BARC 2011 4770 2976 90
• Business Identifier Code (BIC) - BARCGB22
• account name - HMRC Cumbernauld

How long it takes

Payments made by Faster Payments (online or telephone banking) will usually reach HMRC on the same or next day.

CHAPS payments usually reach HMRC the same working day if you pay within your bank’s processing times.

Bacs payments usually take 3 working days.

Multiple PAYE schemes

Send an online CHAPS enquiry form if you want to make a single payment via CHAPS for multiple PAYE schemes.

HMRC’s banking address is:

Paying by cheque through the post

You can send a cheque by post to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you have fewer than 250 employees.

Allow 3 working days for your payment to reach HMRC.

What to include

Make your cheque payable to ‘HM Revenue and Customs only’.

You’ll need to write your 13-character accounts office reference number on the back of the cheque.

You’ll also need to add 4 extra numbers to your 13-character accounts office reference number if you’re making an early or late payment.

Payslip

You can and include this with your cheque.

You can only use a payslip to pay by post. You cannot use this at a bank.

Do not fold the payslip or cheque or fasten them together.

You can include a letter with your payment to ask HMRC for a receipt.

You need to add 4 extra numbers to your 13-character accounts office reference number if you’re making an early or late payment:

• by Direct Debit
• by making an online or telephone bank transfer
• by cheque through the post

You need to update the reference number each time you make an early or late payment.

How to work out the extra numbers

Each month and quarter of the tax year is given a number. The 4 numbers you add to your 13-character accounts office reference number depend on whether you pay:

• monthly
• quarterly
• annually

This table shows the numbers you need to use for each month of the tax year.

Tax year month	Reference number
6 April to 5 May	01
6 May to 5 June	02
6 June to 5 July	03
6 July to 5 August	04
6 August to 5 September	05
6 September to 5 October	06
6 October to 5 November	07
6 November to 5 December	08
6 December to 5 January	09
6 January to 5 February	10
6 February to 5 March	11
6 March to 5 April	12

This table shows the numbers you need to use for each quarter of the tax year.

Tax year quarter	Reference number
6 April to 5 July	03
6 July to 5 October	06
6 October to 5 January	09
6 January to 5 April	12

If you pay monthly

The 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your 13-character accounts office reference number are:

• the last 2 numbers of the tax year your payment is for
• the number of the month of the tax year your payment is for

Example

If you pay quarterly

The 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your 13-character accounts office reference number are:

• the last 2 numbers of the tax year your payment is for
• the number of the month of the tax year that the quarter ends on

Example

If you pay annually

The 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your 13-character accounts office reference number are:

• the last 2 numbers of the tax year your payment is for
• the month of the tax year you paid your employees

Example

Check your - it should update within 6 working days of making payment.

If you’re paying by post, you can include a letter with your payment to request a receipt from HMRC.

You must tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you have not paid any employees for at least one tax month.

You can tell HMRC by filling in an Employer Payment Summary (EPS).

You must send it by the 19th of the month following the tax month when no employees were paid.

If you do not send an EPS, HMRC will send you a notice estimating how much you owe. You may have to pay a penalty.

Telling HMRC in advance

You can tell HMRC that you will not be paying any employees for between one month and 12 months by filling in an EPS.

Find out how to send an EPS if you did not pay any employees in a period in the payroll information guidance.