If you employ anyone in the UK, you run PAYE (Pay As You Earn): you deduct income tax and National Insurance from wages and report every payment to HMRC through Real Time Information (RTI) on or before each payday.
Rates, thresholds and deadlines below are correct at the time of writing. HMRC updates them regularly, so confirm the current figures on GOV.UK or with your accountant before you file or pay. This guide is general information, not tax advice.
Register with HMRC as an employer before your first payday. You receive a PAYE reference and an Accounts Office reference, needed to report and pay. You also need payroll software that can submit RTI, and, for most employers, a workplace pension scheme.
As the employer you also pay employer National Insurance at 15% on earnings above the secondary threshold, less any Employment Allowance you can claim.
ETaxFlow calculates tax and NI, issues payslips and submits RTI to HMRC, then posts the payroll journal.
RTI means HMRC receives your payroll data every time you pay staff, not once a year.
| Submission | What it reports | When |
|---|---|---|
| Full Payment Submission (FPS) | Pay, tax, NI and other deductions for each employee paid | On or before each payday |
| Employer Payment Summary (EPS) | Adjustments such as Employment Allowance claims or no-payment periods | By the 19th of the following tax month |
| Final FPS / EPS | Confirms the last submission of the tax year | By 5 April |
PAYE tax, National Insurance and other deductions are due to HMRC by the 22nd of the following tax month if you pay electronically (19th if by cheque). Employers whose average monthly bill is under £1,500 can pay quarterly. Use your Accounts Office reference so the payment is matched.
You must automatically enrol eligible workers — generally those aged 22 up to State Pension age earning above £10,000 a year — into a qualifying pension. The statutory minimum total contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings, of which the employer pays at least 3%. Each pay run should track the employee and employer amounts.
Payroll also has to handle Statutory Sick Pay and statutory parental pay (maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental). Most of these payments can be partly recovered by deducting them from what you owe HMRC.
HMRC charges monthly penalties for late or missing FPS submissions, scaled by the number of employees you have. Submitting on or before payday, every time, is the simplest way to avoid them.
| Task | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Final FPS or EPS for the tax year | 5 April |
| Give each employee a P60 | 31 May |
| File P11D expenses and benefits returns | 6 July |
| Pay Class 1A National Insurance on benefits | 22 July (electronic payment) |
| Update tax codes and thresholds for the new year | Before the first payday in April |
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Confirm pay inputs | Hours, overtime, starters, leavers and changes reviewed |
| 2. Calculate PAYE and NI | Tax, NI, pension and statutory pay computed per employee |
| 3. Submit the FPS | Sent to HMRC on or before payday |
| 4. Pay employees and issue payslips | Net pay disbursed with digital payslips |
| 5. Post the payroll journal | Salary expense, PAYE/NI liability and net pay hit the ledger |
| 6. Pay HMRC | PAYE and NI paid by the 22nd |
Real Time Information (RTI) is HMRC’s requirement that employers report PAYE payroll details, through a Full Payment Submission, on or before each payment date.
By the 22nd of the following tax month if paying electronically (19th by cheque). Employers with an average monthly bill under £1,500 can pay quarterly.
Yes. Register as an employer before your first payday to get your PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference.
Generally workers aged 22 up to State Pension age who earn above £10,000 a year. The minimum total contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings, with the employer paying at least 3%.
Yes. ETaxFlow calculates PAYE and National Insurance, issues payslips, tracks pensions and statutory pay, submits RTI to HMRC and posts each pay run to your general ledger.