Every payday: the FPS
Your Full Payment Submission must reach HMRC on or before each payday. File late without a reasonable excuse and monthly penalties apply: £100 for schemes with 1 to 9 employees, £200 for 10 to 49, £300 for 50 to 249 and £400 for 250 or more. The first default in a tax year is excused and there is currently a 3 day concession, but do not build a habit around it. Our RTI guide explains the submissions themselves.
The 19th: EPS and postal payments
Any Employer Payment Summary for the previous tax month, whether claiming statutory pay recovery or reporting no payments, is due by the 19th. The 19th is also the payment deadline if you still pay HMRC by cheque.
The 22nd: paying HMRC electronically
The PAYE tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions from the tax month ending 5th must reach HMRC by the 22nd. Use the correct 17 character payment reference for the specific month, otherwise your payment can be allocated wrongly and generate phantom arrears. Small employers averaging under £1,500 a month can pay quarterly, due by the 22nd after each quarter ends in July, October, January and April.
Late payment penalties and interest
In year late payment penalties are percentage based: the first late month in a year is free, defaults 2 to 4 cost 1% of the late amount, rising to 2%, 3% and eventually 4% as defaults accumulate. Amounts still unpaid at 6 months attract a further 5%, and again at 12 months. Interest runs daily on top from the due date. A £5,000 monthly liability paid consistently late can easily generate over £1,000 in penalties across a year.
Year end deadlines
By 19 April, your final FPS for the year should be submitted with the final submission indicator ticked. By 31 May, every employee employed on 5 April must have their P60. By 6 July, P11Ds for benefits in kind and the P11D(b) are due, with Class 1A National Insurance payable by 22 July electronically. Miss the P11D(b) and penalties run at £100 per 50 employees per month. Our guides to P45s, P60s and P11Ds and payrolling benefits in kind cover what is changing from April 2027.
Other dates worth diarising
New tax codes apply from 6 April, and the National Minimum Wage increases every 1 April, £12.71 an hour for over 21s from April 2026. Auto enrolment re-enrolment falls every 3 years from your staging date, with a re-declaration of compliance due within 5 months. Student loan thresholds also move each 6 April, covered in our student loan deductions guide.
If you have already missed something
Act quickly: file the outstanding submission, pay what you owe, and appeal any penalty where you have a reasonable excuse such as serious illness or software failure. HMRC's appeal window is 30 days. A pattern of lateness invites a compliance review, which is far more disruptive than the penalties themselves. If deadlines keep slipping, a fixed fee payroll service usually costs less than a single year of accumulated penalties.
Frequently asked questions
When do I have to pay PAYE to HMRC?
By the 22nd of the following tax month if you pay electronically, or the 19th if you pay by post. Employers who owe less than £1,500 a month on average can arrange to pay quarterly instead.
What is the deadline for giving employees a P60?
Employees still working for you on 5 April must receive their P60 by 31 May following the end of the tax year.
What is the penalty for paying PAYE late?
HMRC charges interest from the due date plus percentage penalties on in year amounts: nothing for the first late month, then 1% to 4% of the late amount depending on how many defaults build up in the year, with an extra 5% at 6 and 12 months.