Payroll information to report to HMRC
Find out what to put in your Full Payment Submission (FPS) and Employer Payment Summary (EPS) if you're paying employees through PAYE.
As an employer running payroll, you need to report your employee鈥檚 pay, any payrolled benefits, and deductions in a Full Payment Submission (FPS) on or before their payday (unless an exception applies).
You will also need to send an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) by the 19th of the following tax month for HMRC to apply any reduction (for example, statutory pay) on what you鈥檒l owe from your FPS.
If you鈥檝e not paid any employees in a tax month, send an EPS instead of a FPS.
Your payroll software may have different names for the fields below.
Employer information
Report these in every FPS and EPS.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| HMRC office number | The first part of your employer PAYE reference (3 digits) 鈥 this is on the letter HMRC sent you when you registered as an employer. You can also find it on P6 or P9 coding notices |
| Employer PAYE reference | The second part of your employer PAYE reference (the letters and numbers after the slash) |
| Accounts Office reference | Format 鈥123PA00012345鈥 鈥 you鈥檒l get this from HMRC after you鈥檝e registered as an employer. It鈥檚 available online if you pay electronically or via your payment booklet P30BC if you do not |
| Related tax year | The Income Tax year that this report relates to |
Include these if they apply to your business.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Employer鈥檚 Contracted Out Number (ECON) | Get this from your contracting-out certificate or pension scheme administrator |
| SA UTR | Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) for Self Assessment (SA) if you鈥檙e a sole trader, or the partnership UTR if you鈥檙e a partnership |
| COTAX reference | Your Corporation Tax reference, if you鈥檙e a limited company. If you have more than one, enter the reference for the company responsible for employment contracts |
Employee information
Report this information in a FPS every time you pay an employee.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| National Insurance number | The employee鈥檚 National Insurance number. Leave blank if you do not know it, but make sure you enter their address |
| Title | 鈥 |
| Surname or family name | 鈥 |
| Forename or given name | 鈥 |
| Second forename or given name | 鈥 |
| Initials | Only needed if you do not know their full forename(s) |
| Date of birth | 鈥 |
| Gender | 鈥 |
| Address | Enter their address if they鈥檙e a new employee, you do not know their National Insurance number or the employee鈥檚 address has changed |
| UK postcode | It is important that if you enter your employee鈥檚 post code, you ensure that it is correct. If you enter an incorrect post code this could result in the employee鈥檚 address being changed on our systems leading to correspondence being issued to the wrong address. |
| Foreign country | Only enter their country of residence if they live outside the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. Also complete the 鈥楢ddress鈥 field |
| Payroll ID | You can assign payroll IDs to your employees. The ID must be unique. Use a different one if you re-employ someone (if you do this within the same tax year restart their year-to-date information from 鈥樎0.00鈥) or have an employee who has more than one job in the same PAYE scheme. If you reuse a previous payroll ID you鈥檒l create a duplicate record and report payroll incorrectly |
| Payroll ID changed indicator | Only set the payroll ID changed indicator when reporting payroll ID changes and ensure both the 鈥極LD鈥 and 鈥楴EW鈥 payroll ID is entered. You should not include the original start date. Do not put 鈥榊es鈥 if you used a different payroll ID when you re-employed someone who left in the same tax year. You should ensure that the year to date financial data cumulates from that on the previous submission. |
| Old payroll ID for this employment | Only enter their old ID if it鈥檚 changed since your last FPS. You must not complete this if you are re-employing someone. If you do not supply it, and they have more than one job in your PAYE scheme, your PAYE bill may be calculated incorrectly |
| Irregular payment pattern indicator | Only put 鈥榊es鈥 if the employee is not being paid regularly (for example, they鈥檙e a casual employee or on long-term sick leave) or if you鈥檙e not going to pay them for 3 months or more |
Pay and deductions
Report information about each employee鈥檚 pay and deductions in a FPS.
Pay and deductions made this period
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Taxable pay | The total pay to the employee that is taxable (even if tax is not due) in this period, including any benefits in kind which you have taxed via the payroll |
| Tax deducted or refunded | 鈥 |
| Student Loan repayment recovered | 鈥 |
| Postgraduate Loan repayment recovered | 鈥 |
| Pay after statutory deductions | Their net pay after you鈥檝e deducted tax, National Insurance contributions and Student Loan repayments. Do not include payments you鈥檙e including in 鈥楴on-tax or National Insurance contribution payment鈥 |
| Deductions from net pay | Any other deductions you鈥檝e taken for example, child maintenance payments (do not include tax, National Insurance contributions and Student Loan repayments) |
| On strike | Only put 鈥榊es鈥 if you reduced your employee鈥檚 pay because they were on strike |
| Non-tax or National Insurance contribution payment | Any payment made to the employee that is not subject to PAYE tax or National Insurance contributions that has been sent with the 鈥榮alary鈥 payment for this period |
| Student Loan Plan type | Select the student loan plan type that your employee is on. If you do not know, your employee should check with Student Loans Company, otherwise default to plan type 1 until you receive a student loan start notice (SL1) |
Year to date totals
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Taxable pay to date | The total taxable pay to date in this employment only, including any benefits that have been taxed through the payroll, including this payment |
| Total tax to date | 鈥 |
| Total Student Loan repayment recovered to date | 鈥 |
| Total Postgraduate Loan repayment recovered to date | 鈥 |
If you鈥檝e employed the same person more than once in a tax year, report for their current employment only.
Pension deductions
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Employee pension contributions paid under 鈥榥et pay arrangements鈥 | Pension contributions paid under 鈥榥et pay arrangements鈥 in this pay period |
| Employee pension contributions not paid under a 鈥榥et pay arrangement鈥 | Contributions taken from their pay after deducting tax and National Insurance contributions in this period |
| Employee pension contributions paid under 鈥榥et pay arrangements鈥 year to date | The amount of pension contributions your employee paid under the 鈥榥et pay arrangements鈥, to date, in this employment, within the tax year |
| Employee pension contributions not paid under a 鈥榥et pay arrangement鈥 year to date | The amount of pension contributions that are not paid under the 鈥榥et pay arrangements鈥, to date, in this employment, within the tax year |
Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental and neonatal care pay
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) year to date | 鈥 |
| Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) year to date | 鈥 |
| Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) year to date | 鈥 |
| Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) year to date | 鈥 |
| Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) year to date | 鈥 |
| ShPP: Partner surname or family name | Only put this when you report ShPP for the first time for this employee |
| ShPP: Partner forename or given name | Only put this when you report ShPP for the first time for this employee |
| ShPP: Partner second forename or given name | Only put this when you report ShPP for the first time for this employee |
| ShPP: Partner National Insurance number | Only put this when you report ShPP for the first time for this employee |
If you pay benefits through payroll
Enter this information if you鈥檝e agreed with HMRC to tax benefits through payroll, instead of reporting in the normal way.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Items subject to Class 1 National Insurance only | 鈥 |
| Benefits this period taxed via payroll | Also include this in 鈥楾axable pay in this period鈥 |
| Benefits taxed via payroll year to date | 鈥 |
Employee pay information
Report details of each payment you make an employee in a FPS.
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Employee tax code | 鈥 |
| Employee tax code: Week 1/Month 1 indicator | Only put 鈥榊es鈥 if their tax code has 鈥榃1鈥 or 鈥楳1鈥 at the end |
| Employee hours normally worked | Put 鈥楢鈥 if less than 16 hours, 鈥楤鈥 if 16 to 23.99 hours, 鈥楥鈥 if 24 to 29.99 hours, or 鈥楧鈥 if 30 hours or more. Put 鈥楨鈥 if you do not pay your employee regularly or you pay them a workplace pension or annuity |
| Pay frequency | Put 鈥榃1鈥 if weekly, 鈥榃2鈥 if fortnightly, 鈥榃4鈥 if every 4 weeks, 鈥楳1鈥 if monthly, 鈥楳3鈥 if quarterly, 鈥楳6鈥 if twice a year, 鈥楳A鈥 if annually, 鈥業O鈥 if a one-off payment, or 鈥業R鈥 if you pay your employee irregularly |
| Payment date | The date you paid them, not the date you run your payroll. Use the normal payday if it falls on a non-banking day |
| Tax week number | The week you paid them if you pay them weekly, fortnightly or every 4 weeks |
| Tax month number | The month you paid them if you pay them monthly, quarterly, twice a year or annually |
| Number of earnings periods covered by payment | 鈥 |
| Bacs hash code | Only put this if you鈥檙e paying them through Bacs using your own Service User Number (SUN) 鈥 there is no longer a requirement to complete this, but it can still be reported |
| Aggregated earnings indicator | Only put 鈥榊es鈥 if you鈥檝e added the earnings from more than one job to work out their National Insurance |
Late reporting reason
If you send a FPS after your employee鈥檚 payday, let HMRC know why in the 鈥楲ate reporting reason鈥 field.
| HMRC code | Situation | When to report |
|---|---|---|
| G | You have a reasonable excuse | As soon as possible |
| G | You are paying foreign tax on your employee鈥檚 behalf and it is taking longer than usual to calculate the PAYE and National Insurance contributions on that tax | As soon as possible and no later than one month after usual reporting date 鈥 select 鈥楲ate reporting reason鈥 code G |
| H | You correct an earlier payroll report | On your next regular FPS, or an additional FPS, report the correct payment details. Send by the 19th of the tax month after your original FPS for HMRC to show the correction in that month鈥檚 PAYE bill |
| F | You have an employee who鈥檚 either paid less than 拢96 a week or has worked with you for less than a week | Within 7 days of paying your employee |
| D | You pay your employee an expense or benefit where you must pay National Insurance contributions, but not Income Tax, through payroll. This depends on the benefit | Within 14 days of the end of the tax month |
| F | You pay your employee based on their work on the day (for example, harvest workers paid based on how much they pick) | Within 7 days of paying your employee |
| A | You鈥檙e an overseas employer paying an expat employee, or you pay them through a third party | By the 19th of the tax month after making the payment |
| B | You pay your employee in shares at less than market value | Usually by the 19th of the tax month of giving them the shares 鈥 contact HMRC for complex situations |
| C | You make any other non-cash payment (for example, vouchers or credit tokens) to your employee | By the 19th of the tax month after making the payment |
If HMRC disagrees or you do not send a FPS or EPS, they may send you a filing notice through PAYE Online or your commercial payroll software package. Penalties for late reporting started from 6 October 2014.
National Insurance
Include information about National Insurance in your FPS when you pay an employee 拢96 or more a week.
For employees paid less, you only need to include this information if you鈥檙e not required to report their earnings for tax (for example, you鈥檙e an overseas employer that does not need to pay tax in the UK).
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| National Insurance category letter | Your employee鈥檚 National Insurance category letter. You can use up to 4 for each payment |
| Freeport and Investment Zone special tax sites employee workplace postcode | Put the employees鈥 workplace postcode. Only put this if you are claiming Freeport and Investment Zone employer National Insurance contributions relief and using a Freeport or Investment Zone specific National Insurance category letter. This must be a UK postcode. If your employee is based in a designated Freeport or Investment Zone special tax site which does not have a postcode assigned by Royal Mail, contact the employer helpline for more information. If you make a mistake by submitting an incorrect employee workplace postcode, use the correct workplace postcode from your next regular FPS. |
| Gross earnings for National Insurance contributions in this period | The total pay that鈥檚 subject to National Insurance contributions this period 鈥 usually all payments 拢96 a week or over. Also include pay below this if you鈥檙e not required to report it for tax |
| Gross earnings for National Insurance contributions year to date | The total pay subject to National Insurance contributions this tax year |
| Earnings at the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) year to date | The total pay at 拢125 a week (拢542 a month) or over. Do not include any smaller payments, even if you鈥檙e not required to report it for tax |
| Earnings above LEL up to and including the Primary Threshold (PT) year to date | The total pay between 拢125 and 拢242 a week, or 拢542 and 拢1048 a month |
| Earnings above the PT, up to and including the Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) year to date | The total pay between 拢242 and 拢967 a week, or 拢1048 and 拢4189 a month |
| Employee contributions payable this period | The primary contributions (employee鈥檚 National Insurance contributions) deducted from your employee鈥檚 pay this period. If you do not pay an employee in a pay period enter 0.00 |
| Employee contributions payable year to date | The total primary contributions (employee鈥檚 National Insurance contributions) deducted from your employee鈥檚 pay. If you do not pay an employee in a pay period put the same figure as on your last FPS |
| Total of employer鈥檚 contributions payable in this pay period | The secondary contributions (employer鈥檚 National Insurance contributions) you need to pay this period. If you do not pay an employee in a pay period enter 0.00 |
| Total of employer鈥檚 contributions payable year to date | The total secondary contributions (employer鈥檚 National Insurance contributions). If you do not pay an employee in a pay period put the same figure as on your last FPS |
| Scheme Contracted Out Number (SCON) | Do not complete if reporting National Insurance contributions for tax years 2016 to 2017 onwards |
Report this National Insurance information when you pay a director.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Director鈥檚 National Insurance contribution calculation method | Put 鈥楢N鈥 if you鈥檙e using the standard annual method of work out the director鈥檚 National Insurance contributions, or 鈥楢L鈥 if you鈥檙e using the alternative method |
| Week of director鈥檚 appointment | Put the tax week the director was appointed |
EPS: what to report
Send an EPS by the 19th to claim any reduction on what you鈥檒l owe HMRC (for example, statutory pay) from your FPS sent the previous tax month. If you鈥檝e not paid any employees in a tax month, send an EPS instead of an FPS.
Include your employer information as well as the information below.
Reclaiming statutory pay for parents and Construction Industry Scheme deductions
Fill in these fields in your EPS if you:
- reclaim statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental bereavement and neonatal care pay 鈥 you can reclaim 92%, or 108.5% if your business qualifies for Small Employers鈥 Relief
- made Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions and you are a Limited Company
If you run more than one payroll under the same PAYE employer reference, include the total amount of reductions for all those payrolls.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Tax month | Put which tax month the EPS credit is for |
| SMP reclaimed this tax year | Put how much statutory maternity payment you鈥檝e claimed |
| SMP National Insurance contribution compensation recovered this tax year | Put how much National Insurance contributions compensation you鈥檝e recovered through Small Employers鈥 Relief |
| SPP reclaimed this tax year | Put how much statutory paternity payment you鈥檝e reclaimed |
| SPP National Insurance contribution compensation recovered this tax year | Put how much compensation you鈥檝e recovered through Small Employers鈥 Relief |
| SAP reclaimed this tax year | Put how much statutory adoption payment you鈥檝e reclaimed |
| SAP National Insurance contribution compensation recovered this tax year | Put how much National Insurance contributions compensation you鈥檝e reclaimed through Small Employers鈥 Relief |
| ShPP reclaimed this tax year | Put how much ShPP you鈥檝e reclaimed this tax year |
| ShPP recovered this tax year | Put how much National Insurance contributions compensation you鈥檝e recovered through Small Employers鈥 Relief |
| SNCP reclaimed this tax year | Put how much SNCP you鈥檝e reclaimed this tax year |
| SNCP recovered this tax year | Put how much National Insurance contributions compensation you鈥檝e recovered through Small Employers鈥 Relief |
| CIS deductions suffered | If you鈥檙e a limited company that has had CIS deductions made from payments received for work in the construction industry, enter the total amount of CIS deductions suffered year to date |
Bank details
Include details of the bank you want HMRC to pay into if you鈥檙e overpaid or you鈥檝e reclaimed any statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, neonatal pay or CIS deductions.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name of account holder | 鈥 |
| Account number | 鈥 |
| Branch sort code | 鈥 |
| Building society reference | If applicable |
You did not pay any employees in a period
Send an EPS with the following information by the 19th after the tax month you did not pay any employees. The tax month starts on the 6th. Do not send an FPS.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| No payment for period | Put 鈥榊es鈥 to tell HMRC you did not pay any employees |
| No payment dates from | Put the 6th of the first month where you did not pay any employees |
| No payment dates to | Put the 5th of the last month where you did not pay any employees |
| Period of inactivity from | Tell HMRC in advance if you will not be paying any employees for a minimum period of one month, and a maximum of 12 months. Put the 6th of the first month where you will not pay employees 鈥 you can only notify from the beginning of the next tax month |
| Period of inactivity to | Put the 5th of the last month where you will not pay any employees |
Claim Employment Allowance
You could get up to 拢10,500 a year off your National Insurance if you claim Employment Allowance.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Employment Allowance indicator | Put 鈥榊es鈥 to claim the allowance. This is your declaration that you鈥檝e checked your eligibility to receive Employment Allowance. If you do not check your eligibility or you answer incorrectly you may have to repay any Employment Allowance you have received Employment allowance must be claimed each tax year. The claim will be retained for the full tax year and the following year you鈥檒l need to submit a new claim. Only select 鈥楴o鈥 if you are not eligible to claim or want to withdraw a claim. If your claim is rejected you鈥檒l receive a Generic Notification Service (GNS) message to advise you. |
Report Apprenticeship Levy
From April 2017, employers who have an annual pay bill greater than 拢3 million, or who are connected to other employers by virtue of the connected companies or connected charities rules, which in total have an annual pay bill of more than 拢3 million, need to tell HMRC about their Apprenticeship Levy.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Tax year | Put the tax year to which the return of the Apprenticeship Levy relates |
| Employer鈥檚 HMRC office number | 鈥 |
| 贰尘辫濒辞测别谤鈥荣 PAYE reference | Put the PAYE reference to which the return of the Apprenticeship Levy relates |
| Employer鈥檚 accounts office reference | 鈥 |
| Annual Apprenticeship Levy allowance amount | Amount of annual Apprenticeship Levy allowance the employer is allocating to the employer鈥檚 PAYE reference |
| Apprenticeship Levy due year to date | Amount of Apprenticeship Levy liability due to date which the employer has calculated |
| Tax month | Put the tax month to which the return of Apprenticeship Levy relates |
New employees
When an employee starts working for you, register them with HMRC by including this information in your FPS the first time you pay them.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Start date | Only fill this in the first time you pay a new employee |
| Starter declaration | Put the starter declaration that you鈥檝e worked out. Do not put anything for new pensioners, or employees seconded from abroad |
| Student Loan indicator | Put 鈥榊es鈥 if your employee needs you to make Student Loan deductions |
| Address | 鈥 |
| UK postcode | 鈥 |
| Foreign country | Only put their country of residence if they live outside the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man |
| Passport number | Include this if you reviewed your employee鈥檚 passport to check they can work in the UK |
There are special rules for what to fill in if you:
- pay a workplace pension
- take on an employee seconded from abroad
When an employee leaves
Report this information when an employee leaves or if you close your PAYE scheme.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Date of leaving | 鈥 |
| Payment after leaving indicator | Put 鈥榊es鈥 if you pay an employee after you鈥檝e sent an FPS with their leaving date (for example, you鈥檙e paying them after giving them a P45) |
Workplace pensions
Report this information when you鈥檙e paying a workplace pension or annuity.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Occupational pension indicator | Put 鈥榊es鈥 if you make occupational pension payments |
| Annual amount of occupational pension | Only put this the first time you pay someone from an HMRC-registered workplace pension scheme. Otherwise leave this field blank (do not enter 拢0.00) |
| Employee receiving occupational pension because they鈥檙e a recently bereaved spouse/civil partner | Put 鈥榊es鈥 if this applies |
| Trivial commutation payment type | If you鈥檙e paying a lump sum 鈥 put 鈥楢鈥 for a trivial commutation lump sum (TCLS), 鈥楤鈥 if it鈥檚 from a personal pension scheme, or 鈥楥鈥 if it鈥檚 from a workplace or public service pension scheme |
| Trivial commutation payment | The lump sum paid. Also fill in the 鈥楾axable pay to date鈥 and 鈥楾axable pay in this period鈥 fields, and put any non-taxable amount in the 鈥楴on-tax or National Insurance contribution payment鈥 field |
| Payment to a non-individual | Put 鈥榊es鈥 if you make payments to a personal representative, trustee or corporate organisation etc |
End-of-year or final reports
You鈥檒l need to complete certain annual reports and tasks to prepare for the next tax year, which starts on 6 April.
Report this information in your final FPS or EPS of the tax year. You will also need to fill in the relevant fields if it鈥檚 your last report because you鈥檙e closing your PAYE scheme.
| Field | Description new |
|---|---|
| Final submission for year | Put 鈥榊es鈥 to tell HMRC this is your final payroll report of the tax year |
| Ceased indicator | Put 鈥榊es鈥 if this is the last report because you鈥檙e closing your PAYE scheme. Also enter 鈥楧ate scheme ceased鈥 and the 鈥楧ate of leaving鈥 for all your employees. Do not fill in 鈥楩inal submission for year鈥 |
| Date scheme ceased | 鈥 |
Updates to this page
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Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for tax year 2025 to 2026. The section about claiming Employment Allowance has been updated to show the new allowance for 6 April 2025. Statutory Neonatal Care Pay has been added. Information about what to enter for the Freeport and Investment Zone special tax sites employee workplace postcode has been added.
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Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for tax year 2023 to 2024.
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Rates and allowances for National Insurance contributions have been updated and will take effect from 6 July 2022.
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Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for tax year 2022 to 2023.
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Code G, reasonable excuse has been updated in the 'late reporting reason' section.
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Clarification added to late reporting reason code G.
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Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for tax year 2021 to 2022.
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The section on Claiming Employment Allowance has been updated to give more detailed information about reporting.
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Claim Employment Allowance section has been updated.
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Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for tax year 2020 to 2021.
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Information about where you can find the Accounts Office reference has been updated.
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The Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) amounts have been updated within the guidance.
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More details about the Student Loan Plan type has been added.
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The employee information section has been updated to help ensure post codes are entered correctly.
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Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for the tax year 2018 to 2019.
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Information about running an employer payroll has been updated.
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The Payroll ID changed indicator section of the employee information table has been updated.
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Table under 'end-of-year or final reports' heading has been updated for the tax year 2017 to 2018.
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Information on reporting Apprenticeship Levy added to the page.
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Minor amend on when to complete the 'Employment Allowance indicator' field
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The National Insurance and Late reporting reason sections have been updated.
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Late reporting guidance updated on what payroll information to report to HM Revenue and Customs.
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Guide updated to to clarify the use of unique payroll ids and when to set the payroll id changed indicator.
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Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for the tax year 2015 to 2016.
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You can now tell HMRC up to 12 months in advance if you won't pay any employees and include a tax month when submitting an EPS.
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There is an additional situation where the 'Payment after leaving' indicator should be used.
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First published.