Employer deadlines for filing PAYE online

Filing online is a simple, efficient and reliable way of sending your PAYE forms to us. Almost all employers are now required to file their Employer Annual Return (form P35 and forms P14) online. Employers with 50 or more employees must also file forms P45 and P46 online, and under government proposals this requirement will be extended to employers of all sizes from April 2011.

On this page:

Your Employer Annual Return
In-year forms including P45 and P46
More useful links

Your Employer Annual Return

Almost all employers are now required to file their Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s) online. The 2009-10 return must be filed by 19 May 2010.

Only the following four groups still have the option of filing their return either online or on paper:

Employers who cease paying PAYE during the 2009-10 tax year and who file their return for that year by 5 April 2010
Employers entitled to operate PAYE using HMRC’s simplified deductions scheme for domestic employees (using forms P12 and P37) - provided they haven’t previously received a tax-free payment for online filing
Practising members of religious societies or orders whose beliefs are incompatible with the use of electronic methods of communication
Employers who employ someone to provide care or support services at or from their home. The following four conditions must be met:
- the care or support services must be provided to the employer or a member of their family
- the recipient of the services must have a physical or mental disability, or be elderly (aged 65 or over) or infirm
- the employer cannot have received a tax-free payment in respect of online filing in the preceding three years
- the employer must be filing their return themselves, not having someone else (such as a relative or accountant) file it on their behalf

If you are in category (c) or (d) and wish to file on paper, you must write to your HMRC office with full details of your circumstances so that your records can be updated.

Bear in mind that even if you are exempt you can still choose to file online - many exempt employers already do so because of the greater speed and convenience it offers.

If you file your annual return on paper when required to file online, HMRC may charge you a penalty.

How to file your Employer Annual Return online

Guidance for exempt employers - filing your return on paper

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In-year forms including P45 and P46

It is becoming compulsory for employers to file the in-year forms shown in the table below online. The deadline differs depending on the number of employees in your business.

If you have 50 or more employees

As from 6 April 2009 you are now required to file these in-year forms online. If you still file on paper instead of online, you may have to pay a penalty.

If you have fewer than 50 employees

Under government proposals, employers with fewer than 50 employees will have to file these in-year forms online from 6 April 2011.

Form	When to use
P45 Part 1	When an employee leaves your business
P45 Part 3	When a new employee starts
P46	When a new employee starts, but has no P45 from their previous employer
P46 (Pen)	For sending details of a new pension or annuity that you start to pay. (This form was introduced on 6 April 2009. The online version was previously referred to as PENNOT.)
P46 (Expat)	For certain employees seconded to work in the UK. This form was introduced on 6 April 2009.

How HMRC determines how many employees you have

HMRC counts all those employees, including directors, for whom it:

has received notification from you that they have started employment with you – for example a form P45 Part 3 or form P46
hasn’t received notification from you that they’ve left your employment

HMRC writes to employers by 30 December each year to advise what size it thinks their business is and to remind them which forms they must file online. You can appeal in writing if you believe the number of employees in your business has been miscounted.

More about filing your in-year PAYE forms online