This guide explains the differences you will see in HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC's) PAYE Online for employers service when reporting your PAYE information in real time - and what you can continue to send and receive using PAYE Online.
Employers reporting their PAYE information in real time still need to use PAYE Online but will use fewer features.
You still submit reports online but these reports are sent directly to HMRC using your payroll software or HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools.
On this page:
Employers reporting their payroll information to HMRC in real time use fewer features of PAYE Online than they did previously - even though those features still exist for employers not yet operating PAYE in real time.
You still submit reports online but the reports are sent directly to HMRC using your payroll software or HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools.
You still need your PAYE Online login (User ID and password) because, although you can’t log in directly to PAYE Online to report, you need your login details when your payroll software sends your reports.
Employers reporting their payroll information to HMRC in real time use Full Payment Submissions (FPS), sent via their payroll, after entering their user id and password. These are sent every payday so there's no need for end-of-year returns (forms P14 and P35).
You cannot manually enter any payroll reports directly into PAYE Online to submit online (which you may previously have done) if your payroll software didn't file online.
All of the following reports and requests are sent directly to HMRC using your payroll software or HMRC's Basic PAYE tools:Even if you use commercial payroll software to run your payroll you might still want to use HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools to send some of these submission types - perhaps because your chosen payroll software doesn't let you do this. HMRC has guides you can download and use to follow the steps you need to take to do this.
Using Basic PAYE Tools alongside other commercial software
Please note you cannot send an NVR until you have started to send PAYE information in real time - wait two weeks after sending your first FPS before sending an NVR.
PAYE Online cannot be used to send:
New features allow you to view NVR notices - these are explained later in this guide.
You can continue to use PAYE Online to:
After completing the registration process you will be able to use PAYE Online through the login page for those services you need.
You can use PAYE Online to:
If you prefer, some PAYE Online features can be accessed in other ways:
Using HMRC's Business Tax Dashboard as an employer
Choosing HMRC recognised PAYE software
Software packages and other payroll options
The PDV is software you can download and install on your computer. When installed, it will download notices and messages from HMRC onto your computer for you to read. The PDV is particularly suitable if you receive a lot of codes and notices and you want to reorder the list.
The PDV doesn't support the other features of PAYE Online.
You can view these notices online:
National Insurance number Verification Replies - you'll receive one of these if you sent HMRC a National Insurance number Verification Request to check whether an employee's National Insurance number is valid, or to find the National Insurance number for an employee who didn't give you one.
Possible replies are:
National Insurance number Verification Notices - you might receive NOT messages after you report your payroll information by sending an FPS. For example, if you have taken on a new employee, HMRC will automatically check that the National Insurance number is shown and correct and send you an appropriate response - so you should always check your RTI notices after reporting your payroll information. You may also receive NOT messages if you've made an EAS to align HMRC's data with yours.
Possible replies are:
Notifying and getting new employee information right
First report - checking your payroll records match with HMRC's
Making sure you use the correct National Insurance number
Each year in February/March, HMRC issues P9 Tax codes and Student Loan notices for the new tax year. But the viewing feature normally shows you notices for the current tax year only - so if you want to see these notices before the next year starts on 6 April, you'll have to select the next 'Tax Year' and enter the appropriate dates.
You may have to separately make expenses and benefits returns yourself using PAYE Online at the end of the tax year, if your payroll software doesn't do it for you. For more information about sending these returns, follow the link below.
Completing forms P9D, P11D and P11D(b)
You may continue to use PAYE Online throughout the tax year to tell HMRC when you supply a company car, or withdraw one without replacing it, if your payroll software doesn't do this for you. If you choose to send form P46 (Car) when you replace a car with a different one, you must send this through PAYE Online, and not on paper.
The notices and reminders HMRC sends you can contain important information. It is important you check regularly to see whether any new ones have been sent to you.
HMRC recommends you set up email reminders and notifications using one of the options available in PAYE Online. This means you'll automatically get sent an email when there's something new for you to view.
You can view your payment position for all PAYE tax, National Insurance (including Class 1A) you owe, and the amount you've already paid, for the current and other tax years. The tax year 2010-11 is the earliest year you can view.
The tax position you will see is updated overnight Monday to Friday and will only reflect returns and payments that have reached HMRC's systems. For real time submissions, updates will be twice a month - on the 5th and 22nd. For information about making payments and the time you need to allow for payments to reach HMRC's systems please see the guidance on paying HMRC. It will also include any interest charges and show how monies have been reallocated or moved within your PAYE scheme.
Please note, PAYE late payment penalties will not be visible in PAYE Online until 2014-15. If you have a query about a late payment penalty notice you have received please contact the issuing office. You will find their contact details on the notice.
You can access this using 'View account' from within the 'At a glance' area.
If you've lost your User ID or password for PAYE Online, you'll find links on the HMRC Online Services homepage to step-by-step information explaining what to do.
The payroll information that you send online to HMRC using your payroll software, whether you have commercial software or HMRC's Basic PAYE tools, can be viewed from within the software itself. You can't retrieve it using PAYE Online, so you should always ensure you take backups of your payroll data.
The returns and forms that you send using PAYE Online are available for you to view using PAYE Online for a limited amount of time.
Each year around October/November, HMRC upgrades this online service and at the same time deletes records that are no longer required. HMRC deletes all records that are:
If you wish to keep any of these records for your own purposes, you should check the records held on PAYE Online and take the following action as appropriate:
After the annual upgrade, you won't be able to use the online service to access any records which have been deleted in line with the criteria above.
You also won't be able to access the online service at all while it is being upgraded. You can find out more about the 'Service availability' by following the link below.
