Doing it Online in Practice
3.1 Forms you can send us over the Internet
You can send these forms over the Internet:
- P9(D) - Return of expense payments and income from which tax cannot be deducted
- P11D - Return of expenses payments and benefits
- P11D(b) - Return of Class 1A National Insurance contributions
- P12 - employer's annual deduction card (simplified deduction scheme)
- P14 - end of year summary
- P35 - Employer's Annual Return
- P37 - Employer's Annual Return (simplified deduction scheme)
- P38A - Employer's Supplementary Return
- P38S – Student employees (not available on Online Return and Forms - PAYE)
- P45(1) - employee leaving work
- P45(3) - employee starting work
- P46 - employee starting work (with no P45)
- P46(Car) - car provided for the private use of an employee or director
- PENNOT - pension notification (not available on Online Return and Forms - PAYE)
- WNU - works number update.
3.2 Forms we can send you over the Internet
We can send you these forms over the Internet:
- P6 - notice to employer of employee tax code (or amended code) and previous pay and tax
- P9 periodic - amended code (new tax year)
- SL1 - notification to start student loan deduction
- SL2 - notification to stop student loan deduction
3.3 Forms you can send us using Electronic Data Interchange
Electronic Data Interchange lets you send us these forms:
- CIS23, CIS25, CIS36(CS) - for the construction industry
- P11D - Return of expenses payments and benefits
- P11D(b) - Return of Class 1A National Insurance contributions
- P14 - end of year summary
- P35 - Employer's Annual Return
- P38A - Employer's Supplementary Return
- P45(1) - employee leaving work
- P45(3) - employee starting work
- P46 - employee starting work (with no P45)
- P46(Car) - car provided for the private use of an employee or director
- WNU - works number update.
3.4 Forms we can send you using Electronic Data Interchange
- P6 - notice to employer of employee tax code (or amended code) and previous pay and tax
- P9 - notice to employer of employee tax code
- SL1 - notification to start student loan deduction
- SL2 - notification to stop student loan deduction
3.5 Microfiche
We will not send you copies of your P35 continuation sheet (P35 (CS) MT) or P14s on microfiche, or on paper.
So you must keep your main payroll records for reference, and check that you can store them in your archives in a format, which can be electronic, that will make it easy to look at them later. You must keep your records for three years following the end of the tax year to which they relate.
3.6 Magnetic media
Remember that online filing does not include magnetic media (CD-ROM, disk and cartridges). So if you are using magnetic media now, you will have to switch to online filing.
When you have to make that switch depends on whether you are a large, medium-sized or small employer. If you do not file online when you should, you may be charged a penalty.
We can talk to you about the alternatives to magnetic media. Call our Magnetic Media Team on 0845 9 155 903.
If you are a small employer and you send in your Return using magnetic media, you will not qualify for a tax-free payment for early online filing.
We will carry on accepting magnetic media for now, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accept your Returns on magnetic media indefinitely.
If you continue to send your P14s using magnetic media, note that the P35 (MT) has been withdrawn, so you will no longer get a magnetic tape version of the P35.
Instead, we will have sent you an ordinary paper P35. Fill this in, and confirm
that your P14s are being sent separately. You must also state the number of
parts being sent which will be the number of ‘Unique Identifiers’
you have used to send your P14s (see ‘Magnetic media
and sending in your Return’). Do not give the permit number(s),
although you can use the permit number as your Unique Identifier.
3.7 Magnetic media and sending in your Return
You can use magnetic media to send in just the P14 part of your Return.
If you do, you must meet the validation rules in our Technical Guide (PDF 575K), 'Submitting Year End Returns on Magnetic Media' (CA51/52), or the P14 part will be rejected. You or your agent (depending on who sent in the P14s) will get a message if there are any mistakes, telling you why the part has been rejected. You will have to put right what is wrong and file the Return again by 19 May or you will face a penalty.
You will not be able to send your Return using magnetic media if your business ceases during the year. You can send your cessation Return either by paper, Internet or Electronic Data Interchange. If you have fewer than 50 employees and send your Return online you will qualify for the tax-free payment for filing online.
3.8 Endorsing ('signing') your online Return
Because you cannot 'sign' an online Return, we need to make sure that a company secretary or director endorses the Return before it is sent online. We do this by giving an online services password to an authorised person in your company.
3.9 Filing large amounts of information online
If you have a very large amount of information to file online, you can 'compress' your information - if compression is part of your software - so that more can be filed online in one go.
Compression means you can increase the number of online P14s you send us
in one go from 22,000 to about 150,000. Compression can also speed up the
time it takes to send your Return online.
3.10 Sending your Return to us in parts
You can send in your Return in parts using different transmission routes, as long as your software allows you to send your Return in parts.
Parts can be sent from more than one source (for example, some from your agent and some from you), using either the Internet, Electronic Data Interchange, paper or magnetic media. But it would be best if you can send your P14s and P35 in one go.
There is no limit to the number of parts you can send us, but the fewer the better.
Your Return is not complete until we have got all your P14s and your P35. We must have all parts by 19 May, or you may face a penalty for filing late. For example, if you send us your P35 part without your P14 part reaching us by 19 May, a complete Return was not sent to us on time, so you will face a late filing penalty.
If you choose to send part of your Return using magnetic media or paper, we will process what you send. But if you must file online (because the law says you must), you will face a penalty for not filing all the parts online. If you are a large employer and you use paper or magnetic media to send your parts, you will get a penalty for failure to file online.
We will keep your parts until you have sent them all to us. A part can be made up of a batch of P14s or a P35, but not both. Your software must be able to send each P14 part with at least one P14 record and must include the summary subtotals for each monetary field needed for your P35. The P35 must contain a count of the number of P14 parts sent that will make up the complete Return.
So that we can bring all the parts of a Return together, you must give each part a 'Unique Identifier' as well as showing your PAYE scheme reference when you send your Return in parts. The Unique Identifier (of up to 12 characters and chosen by you) must be unique within your PAYE scheme and mean something to you. For instance, a company split four ways geographically might choose 'North', 'South', 'East' and 'West' as Identifiers. Another might identify directors and salaried employees with 'directors' and 'staff'. A part consisting of the P35 only does not need a Unique Identifier, but must show the number of P14 parts being sent for the Return.
If you have used Electronic Data Interchange or magnetic media in the past, you may have used a permit number when sending your Return. You may wish to use your permit number as your Unique Identifier even though you do not have to use permit numbers any more.
You (or your agent or payroll bureau) will need to agree with anyone else in your business (or your agent or payroll bureau) who is responsible for sending in parts, what the Unique Identifiers are for each part, and how many parts there are going to be.
You must use a P14 Cover sheet if you send P14 part by paper, and other parts of the Return (P35 and P14s) by Internet, Electronic Data Interchange or magnetic media. You can get a P14 Cover sheet by calling the Employer’s Orderline on 0845 7 646 646. Do not use the P14 Cover sheet if your P35 and all your P14s are being sent on paper. Instead you must continue to send these forms together in full to your HM Revenue & Customs office.
When you send us any part we will check that it meets our initial validation requirements. If any or all of your parts are rejected, we will tell whoever sent us each part why it has been rejected. You will need to correct the information and resubmit the part before 19 May.
If parts are accepted whoever sends in each part will get the same acceptance message saying ‘The EOY Return has been processed and passed full validation’, even where there may be more parts to follow. It is important that the acceptance message is not misinterpreted as a successful submission of the whole Return. The message means that the part you have just sent us has been accepted. So whoever is sending the P35 Return part must make sure that every part has been or will be sent in. We recommend that agents tell their clients how many parts they intend to send and when they have been sent. We also recommend that people send the P35 last. You must make sure the P35 has the correct count of P14 parts and the correct accounting totals to pass the quality checks. We will store all parts until you have sent us the rest of your Return.
When you have sent all parts in, we will make sure that the whole Return also meets our Quality Standard. We need all your P14 parts and your P35 part before we can do our further Quality Standard checks.
Internet and Electronic Data Interchange filers can replace a part as long as the replacement has the same unique identifier as the part that it replaces. Our systems will override the first submission with the replacement part. A replacement must be made before the acceptance message has been sent for the P35.
Any changes or additions instigated by the employer after all parts of a Return including the P35 have been accepted must be made as an amended (sometimes called a supplementary) Return.
