Testing Your Return

11.1 Checking your PAYE reference (authenticating your Return)

We cannot accept your Return online in any tax year if the PAYE reference that you use to authenticate your Return is in the incorrect format. 'Employer Annual Returns - common online filing errors' tells you what the correct format for your PAYE reference is.

You can check what PAYE reference we hold for your scheme by logging into PAYE Online for Employers, which will take you to the ‘Your Services’ page.

The page will show the user name you gave us when you first registered for PAYE Online, and will show your PAYE and Accounts Office references under the heading ‘PAYE Online’.