Setting up and using the Employer CD-ROM P11 Calculator

The P11 Calculator on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Employer CD-ROM is a free tool you can use to keep your employees’ payroll records in an electronic format. It works out the tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) for your employees in each pay period and smaller employers – those with nine or fewer employees at the end of the tax year – can use it to file their Employer Annual Return (form P35 and forms P14) online.

This guide tells you where to get the free P11 Calculator, how to install it on your computer and how to start using it. To read about the P11 Calculator’s key features and benefits read our guide ‘Using commercial software or HMRC’s P11 Calculator’ – see ‘More useful links’.

On this page:

Getting started with the P11 Calculator
Using the P11 Calculator to work out tax and deductions
Using the P11 Calculator to file online
More useful links

Getting started with the P11 Calculator

The P11 Calculator is currently only available on the Employer CD-ROM. HMRC will send this to you when you register as a new employer. If you're already an employer, they'll send you the latest CD-ROM as part of the Employer Annual Pack. You may also be sent an updated CD-ROM which will reflect any changes announced in the Chancellor’s spring Budget Statement.
You can order a copy of the Employer CD-ROM online or from the Employer Orderline on Tel 08457 646 646 (open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Friday and from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm on Saturdays, closed on Christmas and New Year bank holidays). You can also order a copy by fax on Tel 08702 406 406.

Order a copy of the Employer CD-ROM online

Installing the Employer CD-ROM

To use the P11 Calculator, you'll need to install the Employer CD-ROM onto your computer - if you just run it without installing it you won't be able to use the calculator. You'll find the installation instructions and system requirements on the back of your CD-ROM cover. Once you've installed the CD-ROM you can download any available updates from the HMRC website.

Find out about downloading updates for the Employer CD-ROM

Accessing the P11 Calculator

You can access the P11 Calculator by selecting 'Calculators' from the menu on the home page of the Employer CD-ROM, and then selecting 'P11 Calculator' from the pop-up menu. This will take you to the P11 Calculator home page. From here you can choose from the following options:

P11 Calculator
employer database
P45 checker
back up your data

Setting up the employer database

The P11 Calculator uses employee information held in an employer database. To set this up select the 'Employer database' option from the P11 Calculator home page and follow the on-screen instructions.

To set up the employer section you'll need the following information:

your business name
your address and postcode
the date your tax year ends
your employer PAYE reference (sent with your New Employer Pack)
your Accounts Office reference (as above)

To set up the employee section you'll need the following:

each employee's full name and address
National Insurance number
date of birth
works number (if there is one)
department (if there is one)
tax code
National Insurance category letter
whether they're a director
whether they have a student loan
their pay interval
their start date if they started working for you during the current tax year
previous pay and tax details from their previous employment if they started work during the current tax year and have given you a P45

Once you've added all your employees, you're ready to use the P11 Calculator.

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Using the P11 Calculator to work out tax and deductions

To work out the deductions for an employee, select their name from the list in the P11 Calculator and then enter their:

payment date
gross pay in the pay period
earnings for NICs purposes if different from their normal gross pay
details of any statutory payments you've made during the period (leave blank if not applicable)

If you've received a P6 giving you a new tax code for an employee, you'll also need to enter the revised code into the calculator.

Once you've completed your entries you'll be able to review them on the confirmation screen. You must save them to be able to use them in the P11 Calculator. It will then use this information to work out the tax and NICs that you need to deduct from your employee's pay and it will fill in the entries in their P11.

Statutory payments

You can use the statutory pay calculators on the CD-ROM or HMRC website to work out any statutory pay amounts.

Use the online statutory payments calculators to work out statutory payments

Gross pay

Bear in mind that gross pay for tax purposes won't necessarily be the same as earnings for NICs purposes. Refer to booklet CWG2 'Employer's Further Guide to PAYE and NICs' if you're unsure.

View booklet CWG2 'Employer's further guide to PAYE and NICs' (PDF 770K)

Viewing an employee's completed P11 Summary

Each time you pay an employee during the tax year the P11 Calculator will work out the entries for their P11 and update the form for you. You can view any employee's P11 Summary at any time.

Backing up your records

If you use the P11 Calculator to work out and record your wages, HMRC recommends that you save the data regularly and back it up after each pay period – for example, to a CD-ROM, USB memory stick or a network drive.

Find out how to back up your P11 data

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Using the P11 Calculator to file online

You can file your Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s) online direct from the Employer CD-ROM if both of the following apply:

you have used the P11 Calculator to keep your employees’ payroll records throughout the tax year
you have nine or fewer employees at the end of the tax year (5 April)

This ability to file seamlessly online is a significant advantage of the P11 Calculator over paper-based payroll records now that almost all employers are required to file their Employer Annual Return online..

If you have more than nine employees you can still use the figures from your P11 Calculator records to file your return using a different online method, such as commercial payroll software or the free ‘Online Return and Forms – PAYE’ service on the HMRC website.

More about sending your Employer Annual Return online from the CD-ROM

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