In this section:
- File your Employer Annual Return online: P14s and P35
- File your PAYE in-year forms online: P45, P46, etc
- Common errors to avoid when filing online
File your Employer Annual Return online: P14s and P35
Your Employer Annual Return for 2008-09 is due by 19 May 2009. Filing your return online is quick, easy, convenient and secure – and it's a requirement for a growing number of employers.
If you have 50 or more employees, then you're already required to file your return online. Under government proposals, most employers with fewer than 50 employees will have to file online from their 2009-10 return – but can get a tax-free payment for filing the 2008-09 return online.
This guide lists the different ways you can file your return online, and sets out what you need to do to get started. It also explains how to amend your return if you need to make a change after it has been filed.
On this page:
- Important updates and changes
- Deadlines and tax-free payments for filing online
- If you file your return late or using the wrong method
- Are you ready to file online?
- Make sure your return is error-free
- Acceptance and rejection messages when you file online
- Sending your P14s and P35 separately
- Amending your return after you've filed it
- If an agent files online on your behalf
- More useful links
Important updates and changes
Get ready to file your 2008-09 return
Your Employer Annual Return (form P35 and forms P14) for 2008-09 is due by 19 May 2009. If you have 50 or more employees, you must file it online. If you have fewer than 50 employees, you can get a tax-free payment for filing online.
Latest information on technical issues affecting end-of-year online filing
Please follow the links below to check for any current service issues.
Check service availability for PAYE Online
Check whether any service issues are currently affecting PAYE Online
Deadlines and tax-free payments for filing online
If you have 50 or more employees
You're already required to file your Employer Annual Return online. There are penalties if you don't file online.
If you have fewer than 50 employers
Under government proposals, most employers of this size will have to file online from their 2009-10 return onwards. But you can file online before then - and if you file your 2008-09 return online, you may be entitled to a tax-free payment of £75 from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). For more information, follow the link below.
Even if you don't start to file online before 2010, you should get your payroll ready for online filing now. By keeping your payroll records in electronic format from the beginning of the 2009-10 tax year in April, you'll avoid a last-minute rush at the end of the year.
Tax-free payments for online filing - find out more
If you file your return late or using the wrong method
HMRC may charge a penalty if:
- they haven't received your full Employer Annual Return by 19 May
- you were supposed to file your return online but sent paper forms instead
Penalties if you file your Employer Annual Return late
Penalties for failing to file PAYE online
Are you ready to file online?
Registering for online filing
If you're going to file any part of your return online yourself (rather than using an agent or payroll bureau), then you'll need to register to use the 'PAYE Online for employers' service. You'll also need to activate the service before you start to file. This can take up to seven days, so it's important not to leave registration until the last minute.
How to register for PAYE online filing
Online filing options
Once you've registered with HMRC to file your PAYE forms online, you need to decide which of the online filing methods you're going to use:
- HMRC's Employer CD-ROM: You can use the P11 Calculator on the Employer CD-ROM to file your return if you have nine or fewer employees at the end of the tax year. (This feature is only available on versions of the CD-ROM from 2008. It is also year-specific - so you can only file your 2008-09 return using the 2009 CD-ROM.)
- HMRC's free 'Online Return and Forms - PAYE' service: This service is available on the HMRC website, and can be used to file up to 50 P14s. You fill in your P14s and P35 over the Internet and then file them with HMRC.
- Commercial payroll software: If you use a software package for your day-to-day payroll during the year and it meets the HMRC Quality Standard, it will automatically complete and file your Employer Annual Return at the end of the tax year. (Check with your software provider to find out if your software meets the Quality Standard.)
- An agent or payroll bureau: You have an agent or bureau file online on your behalf, using the figures and records you provide to them.
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): EDI is an online-filing option that's generally suited for larger employers only. It has a separate registration process and more complicated software and telecommunications requirements.
You're not restricted to using just one of these options. For example, when you file your Employer Annual Return you could have an agent file your P14s but then file your form P35 yourself using HMRC's free service.
Read more about filing straight from your Employer CD-ROM
Demonstration of HMRC's 'Online Return and Forms - PAYE' service
Make sure your return is error-free
When you file your Employer Annual Return online it's checked against HMRC's Quality Standard to make sure the information you've provided is in the correct format.
If your return is rejected you must correct it and file it successfully before the 19 May deadline to avoid having to pay a penalty.
Avoid common errors
There are a number of common errors to look out for when you file online - these are a frequent cause of returns being rejected. Follow the link below for a list of these errors.
Common errors to avoid when filing online
Test your return before submission
If you file online using HMRC's 'Online Returns and Forms - PAYE' service, or the P11 Calculator on the Employer CD-ROM, your return is checked for errors as you complete it, so that you can correct them before filing.
If you're using commercial payroll software, many packages will let you make a test submission. HMRC will respond with the same messages used for real submissions (see the next section, below), so you'll know whether your return contains any problems to be fixed before you file it properly.
If you send a test submission and receive a message saying that your return has been successful, don't forget that you still need to file it properly.
Acceptance and rejection messages when you file online
After you file your Employer Annual Return online, you'll get an acceptance or rejection message through the software or service you use. If you've provided HMRC with an email address, you'll also get an email message. These messages are usually issued within a minute of filing, but it can take longer if your return covers a large number of employees.
If your return is successful, you'll get the following messages:
- Software - '9004: the EOY Return has been processed and passed full validation.'
- Email - 'The submission for [your PAYE reference] was successfully received on [date]. If this was a test transmission, remember you still need to send your actual Employer Annual Return using the live transmission in order for it to be processed.'
If your return is rejected, you'll get the following message instead:
- Software - your message will highlight the area(s) of your return that have led to its rejection.
- Email - 'The submission for reference [your PAYE reference] was received on [date]. Unfortunately it could not be accepted as it failed data checks. To correct this, please use the help provided within the software you used to complete your form and send it again.'
Returns filed before 6 April 2009
If you file your return before 6 April, HMRC will still let you know straight away whether it has been accepted or rejected. But the return won't actually be processed for tax and National Insurance contribution purposes until early April.
Sending your P14s and P35 separately
You can file your forms P14 and your form P35 separately to HMRC. This might be useful if your payroll arrangements make it impractical to send the entire return at the same time - for example, if a payroll agent files your P14s for you but you file your P35 yourself.
Follow the link at the end of this section for more detailed information, but bear the following points in mind if you're considering sending your return in this way:
- You'll need to check that your filing method allows you to file your return in parts (you can file in parts using HMRC's 'Online Return and Forms - PAYE' service, but not the Employer CD-ROM; if you're using commercial software, check with the software provider).
- If you're sending separate batches of P14s, each batch must have its own unique identifier.
- If possible file your P35 last, after filing all your P14s.
- Your form P35 should indicate how many batches of P14s you've filed, not how many individual P14s. Don't count the P35 (or a P38A if you're filing one) in this total.
Read more about filing your P35 and P14s separately
Amending your return after you've filed it
If you need to amend your Employer Annual Return after you've filed it with HMRC you must take the following steps:
- Write to your HMRC office explaining why your return needs to be amended.
- Send new versions of the forms that need to be amended.
- Only record the difference between what you had originally filed and what the figure should be. So if you recorded £100 too little tax on an employee's P14, your amended form should show '+£100'
- If you amend any P14s you must send a new P35 with them, even if there are no changes to the figures you reported on your original P35.
Sending amended information means that your original return wasn't complete - so HMRC won't consider it to have been successfully filed. This means that you may be charged a penalty.
Amended information doesn't have to be filed using the same format you used for your original return. For example, even if you used commercial payroll software to file your return, you could send an amendment using HMRC's free 'Online Return and Forms - PAYE' service.
If an agent files online on your behalf
If you use an agent to file your return, you must keep a written record confirming that the information they've filed on your behalf is correct. Any written confirmation - such as a letter or email - is acceptable.
You can download a sample form P35 to record and confirm the information you've agreed with your agent - but if you do this, make sure not to send it to HMRC as then you will have filed two P35s for the same end-of-year return.
If HMRC were to process a paper form P35 received from you before the P35 filed online by your agent, you would be considered to have filed by paper. This means you:
- would be penalised if you have 50 or more employees and so are required to file online
- wouldn't be entitled to the tax-free payment if you have fewer than 50 employees
More useful links
PAYE at the end of the tax year
General guidance on PAYE online filing
Use HMRC's PAYE Online demonstrator
Contact the HMRC Online Services Helpdesk
Check whether any service issues are currently affecting PAYE Online
