Dealing with 'week 53' payments

In some tax years, the way dates fall mean that you’ll end up making one more payment than usual to your employees towards the end of the tax year. If you pay your employees weekly this would be a 53rd weekly payment, if you pay them fortnightly it would be a 27th fortnightly payment and if you pay them four-weekly it would be a 14th four-weekly payment.

These extra payments are known as 'week 53 payments'. If you still keep paper-based payroll records then you’ll need to record week 53 payments slightly differently from usual on them. And when you complete your Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s), you’ll need to record the fact that you’ve made a week 53 payment.

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The key changes for week 53 payments

PAYE tax is deducted slightly differently from week 53 payments but there is no difference for National Insurance contributions (NICs).

If you use commercial payroll software or the P11 Calculator in HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC's) Basic PAYE Tools package, week 53 payments are handled automatically.

But if you use a paper-based payroll, you’ll need to follow slightly different procedures from usual when recording the payment on your employee’s form P11 or equivalent record. For details, see the next two sections.

At the end of the tax year, when completing your Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s) you have to make an entry on your employee’s P14 to confirm that you have made a week 53 payment to them.

Almost all employers are required to file their Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s) online at the end of the tax year. From April 2011 almost all employers will also have to file certain in-year PAYE forms online, including the employee starter and leaver information contained on forms P45 and P46.

Find out about choosing a payroll system

Download Basic PAYE Tools from the Business Link website (Opens new window)

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Week 53 deductions for employees with a suffix tax code

The guidance in this section will help you if you operate PAYE using paper forms.

If the employee's tax code is a week 1/month 1 coding

There is no change. You can treat the extra payment as you would any other.

If the employee is on a cumulative code

Add up the total free pay up to and including week 52. If this amount:

  • equals or exceeds the total pay for the year (including the week 53 payment), do not deduct any PAYE tax from the week 53 payment
  • is less than the total pay for the year (including the week 53 payment), you must deduct PAYE tax. To find the 'free pay' adjustment for the payment, use Tax Tables A - for weekly pay use the Week 1 table, for fortnightly use Week 2, and for four-weekly use Week 4

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Week 53 deductions for employees with a K tax code

The guidance in this section will help you if you operate PAYE using paper forms.

If an employee has a K code you deduct PAYE tax from the combined total of:

  • the week 53 payment
  • the additional pay amount shown in Tax Tables A - using the Week 1 table for a weekly payment, Week 2 for fortnightly and Week 4 for four-weekly

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Completing form P14 when a week 53 payment has been made

You should enter one of following three numbers in the 'Payment in Week 53' field. (If you’re using a paper P14, you’ll find this box in the bottom right-hand corner):

  • '53' if you've made a 53rd weekly payment
  • '54' if you've made a 27th fortnightly payment
  • '56' if you've made a 14th four-weekly payment

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More useful links

Read about completing the paper form P11

Download CWG2, 'Employer Further Guide to PAYE and NICs' (PDF 492K)

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