In this section:

EDI filing for large employers

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is a way of transferring large amounts of information between two organisations using a dedicated connection or a secure network. This guide explains how EDI can be used for filing PAYE (Pay As You Earn) forms.

On this page:

Who can use EDI filing?
What can be filed using EDI?
What software and telecoms facilities are needed?
How to register and get started
More useful links

Who can use EDI filing?

Any employer with the necessary communication links installed can use EDI to send and receive their PAYE forms. In practice, however, EDI is most suitable for the largest of employers - those with staff numbers running into the thousands and/or with high levels of staff turnover. For smaller employers, filing over the Internet is likely to be a more cost-effective option.

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What can be filed using EDI?

You can send the following PAYE forms to HMRC using EDI:
Form	Details
P11D	annual return for expenses payments and benefits
P11D(b)	annual return showing Class 1A National Insurance contributions for the year
P14	end of year PAYE summary for each of your employees
P35	employer annual return
P38A	employer supplementary return
P45 Part 1	completed when an employee leaves your business
P45 Part 3	completed when you take on a new employee (includes details of previous employment)
P46	for new employee without a P45 from previous job
P46 (Car)	when a car is provided for private use to an employee
P46 (Expat)	completed to provide details of an employee seconded to work in the UK
PENNOT	completed when a new pension starts to be paid (communication routing name of the P46 (Pen))
WNU	works number update
CIS300	CIS monthly return
CISREQ	a verification request for the Construction Industry Scheme

HMRC can send you the following forms using EDI:
Form	Details
P6	notice of the tax code to use for an employee (issued on a daily basis)
P6B	notice of the tax code to use for an employee (issued on an annual basis)
P9	notice of the tax code to use for an employee (issued on an annual basis)
SL1	notice that you should start making student loan deductions
SL2	notice that you should stop making student loan deductions
CISREP	a verification reply for the Construction Industry Scheme

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What software and telecoms facilities are needed?

In order to use EDI, you must have EDI-compatible payroll software and one of three types of communications link.

Payroll software for EDI

Your payroll software must be able to output your PAYE data in either of the following formats:

EDIFACT
GFF (generic file format)

If your software doesn't output in these formats you'll need to update it or purchase additional software to translate your output into an EDI format.

If you use your own in-house software, you'll need to check that the technical specifications of the messages it generates are compatible with HMRC’s Message Implementation Guidelines for EDI.

Communications links for EDI

You need to have one of the following four types of communications link:

AS2 (Applicability Statement 2): AS2 is a specification describing how to transport EDI data over the Internet using the HTTP or HTTPS protocols. The purpose of AS2 is to ensure that transmission of EDI traffic is secure, reliable and authenticated.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network): to use ISDN you must also have Odette File Transfer Protocol software (using X25 protocols).
VAN (Value Added Network): this is a secure third-party network service that you can use to transfer and store your data.
X.400: this is a non-Internet type of email standard; HMRC supports messages using the Cable and Wireless (CW) X.400 ADMD (administration domain) on the CW mail service.

A list of quality-approved EDI software providers

PAYE Message Implementation Guidelines for EDI

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How to register and get started

There is a two-stage registration process and a testing phase to complete before you can start filing to HMRC using EDI.

Step 1: lodging your initial enquiry

There are three ways to provide HMRC with the information it requires. You can:

telephone the Online Services Helpdesk on Tel 0845 605 5999 (open 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, seven days a week)
download and complete an enquiry form (using the link below) and fax it to 01274 534 792
download and complete an enquiry form and email it to helpdesk@ir-efile.gov.uk

Step 2: submitting your registration form

When HMRC has received your enquiry form, an account manager from the Online Customer Service Team (OCST) will contact you to help you set up your connection link.

Once the link is operational and ready for testing, you will have to send HMRC another form - EDI Registration Form 2. This can be found in Appendix C of the EDI Step by Step Guide, which you can download using the link below.

Among other things, Registration Form 2 asks you to tell HMRC:

which forms you will be using EDI to send and receive
the data format you wish to use
the date you'd like to test your EDI link
which employer references you'll be testing and going live with

Step 3: testing that you can send and receive files

HMRC will set up a test facility for you when it receives your Registration Form 2. The testing process involves checking that you can send and receive forms without problems using your EDI link.

For forms P14, P35, P6, P6b, P9, SL1 and SL2 you can go live once you have had one successful test.

For all other forms the number of successful tests required depends on the kind of payroll software you are using:

if you're using EDI software that HMRC recognises, then one successful test is enough
if you're using any other software, then HMRC requires four consecutive successful tests for each form

The test files HMRC uses will usually be blank. However, you can ask your OCST account manager to include dummy data such as code change details. This will allow you to check that the data is being transferred without problems into your payroll software.

Step 4: going live

Once you have successfully tested you should contact your OCST account manager to agree a go live date.

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