In this section:
- Paying your employees
- The national minimum wage
- Payroll calculations and records: an introduction
- Using commercial software or HMRC’s P11 Calculator
- Setting up and using the Employer CD-ROM P11 Calculator
- Completing the paper form P11
- Calculating student loan deductions
- Payroll giving: an introduction for employers and pension providers
- PAYE record keeping
- Correcting payroll errors
Completing the paper form P11
You complete a form P11 Deductions Working Sheet or equivalent payroll record for each employee to record their pay and deductions for tax, National Insurance contributions (NICs), and any student loan repayments or statutory payments.
This guide sets out the steps involved in updating a paper form P11. However, you can also keep your payroll records in an electronic format, using commercial payroll software or the free P11 Calculator on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Employer CD-ROM.
Almost all employers are now required to file their Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s) online at the end of the tax year, and a significant advantage of keeping electronic payroll records is that it allows you to transfer your P11 payroll figures automatically to your annual return. If you use paper P11s you can still file online, but you'll need to copy the figures across manually.
To work out the figures you need when updating a paper form P11 you can use either HMRC’s PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and NICs calculators or manual tax tables.
On this page:
- Benefits of switching to electronic PAYE records
- Where to get the paper P11
- Information you'll need to set up the P11
- What you need to record each pay period
- Working out the figures you'll need for the paper P11
- Finalising the P11 at the end of the year
Benefits of switching to electronic PAYE records
If you’re currently completing paper P11s for your employees, HMRC recommends that you switch instead to keeping electronic payroll records by using either commercial payroll software or HMRC’s free P11 Calculator on the Employer CD-ROM.
These software tools complete many of your payroll calculations automatically for you and they make filing your Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s) online easier – a significant benefit now that almost all employers are now required to file their Employer Annual Return online.
If you decide to continue keeping paper P11s you must still file your Employer Annual Return online, but to do this you’ll have to manually transfer the figures from your paper forms across to the software or online service you use to file your return.
More about filing your Employer Annual Return online
Find out about choosing a payroll software system
Read about using commercial payroll software or the P11 Calculator
Where to get the paper P11 Deductions Working Sheet
You can:
- download or order multiple copies of the P11 online
- print out copies from the Employer CD-ROM
- order copies from HMRC’s 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)
(HMRC will send you the Employer CD-ROM when you first register as an employer. Thereafter you'll receive an updated CD-ROM in February each year, and again in May to reflect any Budget updates. You can also order a copy from HMRC’s Employer Orderline.)
Order form P11 or the Employer CD-ROM online
Information you'll need to set up the P11
You'll need to set up the P11 Deductions Working Sheet with basic employee and employer details. Enter the details in the boxes at the top of the P11 as follows:
- Box A - employer name (the name of your business).
- Box B - the name of your HMRC Office, and your employer PAYE reference. You'll find these on the letter HMRC sent you when you registered as an employer. Your employer PAYE reference is also on your payslip booklet P30BC or P30B letter.
- Box C - employee's surname.
- Box D - employee's first two forenames.
- Box E - employee's National Insurance (NI) number.
- Box F - employee's date of birth.
- Box G - employee's works or payroll number (if applicable).
- Box H – employee’s gender
- Box I - the date the employee started working for you, if this was in the current tax year.
- Box J- the date the employee stopped working for you, if this was in the current tax year.
- Box K - tick this box if you need to make student loan deductions from the employee's pay.
- Box L - employee's tax code.
- Box M - employee's amended tax code and the week or month when the amended code was applied (if applicable).
If any employee information is missing
If your employee doesn’t have all the information you need to set up the P11, read the related guidance ‘Taking on a new employee’.
Download an example of how to set up a P11 deductions working sheet (PDF 145K)
Find out how to register as an employer
What you need to record each pay period
Each time you pay an employee you'll need to record their pay and deductions details in the different columns on their P11 Deductions Working Sheet.
- Entries for NICs go in Columns 1a to 1f
- Statutory payments in Columns 1g to 1j.
- Student loan deductions go in Column 1k.
- Entries for PAYE go in Columns 2 to 8.
These entries are separated as follows:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Column 1a | Earnings at the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) (where earnings are equal to or more than the LEL) |
| Column 1b | Earnings above the LEL up to and including the Earnings Threshold (ET) |
| Column 1c | Earnings above the ET up to and including the Upper Accruals Point (UAP) |
| Column 1d | Earnings above the UAP, up to and including the Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) |
| Column 1e | The total of employee's and employer's contributions, marking any minus amounts with 'R' |
| Column 1f | Employee's contributions due on all earnings above the ET |
| Column 1g | Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) |
| Column 1h | Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) |
| Column 1i | Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) |
| Column 1j | Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) |
| Column 1k | Student Loan Deductions (SLD) |
| Column 2 | Pay in the week or month, including statutory payments (SSP/SMP/SPP/SAP) |
| Column 3 | Total pay to date |
| Column 4a | Total ‘free pay’ to date (as shown by Tables A) |
| Column 5 | Total taxable pay to date (the amount in Column 3 minus the amount in Column 4a or Column 3 plus Column 4b as applicable) |
| Column 6 | Total tax due |
| Column 7 | Tax deducted or refunded in the week or month, marking refunds with 'R' |
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Column 4b | Total additional pay to date (as shown by Tables A) |
| Column 6a | Tax due at the end of the current week or month, marking refunds with 'R' |
| Column 6b | The regulatory limit of 50 per cent of the amount in Column 2 |
| Column 8 | Tax not deducted owing to the regulatory limit |
The final unnumbered column is for your own use. You can use it to record net pay. This is pay (from Column 2) minus deductions - it's the amount your employee actually gets each week or month.
You can find out more about how to record information on P11 in HMRC’s Employer Helpbook E13, 'Day-to-Day Payroll'.
View Employer Helpbook E13 'Day-to-Day Payroll' (PDF 521K)
Working out the figures you'll need for the paper P11
You can work out the various figures for tax and NIC either using the free tax and NIC calculators available on the HMRC website or the Employer CD-ROM, or manually using the tax and NICs tables. Read our related guidance to check the detail – follow the links below.
Calculating PAYE deductions for the paper P11
Calculating NICs for the paper P11
How to calculate and record student loan deductions
Which line of the P11 to start from
The P11 looks like a spreadsheet. It has rows that correspond with the tax weeks or months. The month number is on the far left hand side of the spreadsheet and the week number is in the column next to it.
To make sure you enter the information in the right line, you'll need to find out which tax week or month corresponds with that particular pay day. You can find this information in the table that's included in HMRC’s Employer Helpbook E13, 'Day-to-Day Payroll'. Because PAYE operates on a cumulative basis, it's important to use the correct week or month - this will determine the allowances due to your employee and the tax that's payable.
Go to Employer Helpbook E13 'Day-to-Day Payroll’
Finalising the P11 at the end of the year
At the end of the tax year you'll need to complete the P11 by:
- adding up the totals for statutory payments and student loan deductions
- completing the end of year summary for NICs purposes
- working out the pay and tax totals for the year
You'll need this information to complete your Employer Annual Return ( P35 and P14s).
Read about how to finalise your P11 at the end of the tax year
