You must report your payroll information - which includes all employees' pay, tax and deductions - to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) each time you pay them. This must include payments on standard paydays, and any additional payments or amounts recovered from the employee. You need to report the payment details of all employees you pay, no matter how much you pay them - even those earning below the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL), or those paid just once a year.
There are other reports you'll need to send in various other situations, for example if you want to recover statutory payments, you pay expenses or benefits, or provide a car.
You report your payroll information by submitting Full Payment Submissions (FPS) and Employer Payment Summaries (EPS). These submissions and other returns and reports are sent electronically by your payroll system to HMRC.
This reference table lists the information you need to send to HMRC in the FPS and EPS, and tells you where you can find guidance on how to obtain or calculate the information. It also summarises the other reports you need to send.
On this page:
HMRC has agreed a temporary relaxation of real time reporting to give some extra time to small businesses that pay weekly (or more frequently) but who only run their payroll (or use an agent to run their payroll) at the end of the month. This means that until 5 October 2013, employers with fewer than 50 employees, who find it difficult to report every payment to employees at the time of payment, may send information to HMRC by the date of their regular payroll run but no later than the end of the tax month (5th of the month). Read more about this temporary relaxation.
Relaxation of reporting arrangements for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees
Employer information you must include in every FPS and EPS
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
HMRC Office Number |
The HMRC office number. This is the first part of your employer PAYE reference and is three digits. You will find this number on a P6/P9 notice of coding or your Annual/Budget letter. |
Employer PAYE Reference |
Your employer PAYE reference number. This is the second part after the slash. You will find this number on a P6/P9 notice of coding or your Annual/Budget letter. |
Accounts Office Reference Number |
Your Accounts Office reference number - this can be found on your P30BC 'Payment booklet' or P30B 'Paying electronically'. It will be in the format 123PA00012345 (this reference is only an example and should not be used to make a submission). |
Related Tax Year |
The Income Tax year that this report relates to. |
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
| Employer's contracted-out number (ECON) | If you operate an occupational contracted-out scheme, enter your employer contracted-out number (ECON) - from your contracting-out certificate or your pension scheme administrator. You must show your current ECON if any employee has been in a contracted-out scheme at any time during the tax year. If you do not operate an occupational contracted-out scheme you must leave this field blank. If you are prompted for an ECON you must check to make sure you are using the correct National Insurance contribution category letter - for more information follow the link below. |
SA UTR |
Enter your Self Assessment reference (SA UTR) if applicable - for example, if you are an employer who is a sole proprietor or a partnership. |
COTAX reference |
Enter your Corporation Tax (COTAX) reference if applicable - for example, if you are a limited company. If you have more than one COTAX reference, enter the reference for the company that holds the employment contracts. |
When to report your payroll information
How to report your payroll information
Include this employee information in an FPS every time you pay them - make sure you verify your employee's information from an official source such as a birth certificate, driving licence or official documents from HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
National Insurance Number |
The employee's National Insurance number - if you know it. If you don't know it, don't put in a false or temporary number - instead, leave this field blank, but then you must complete the address field. |
Title |
The employee's title: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms or other title. |
Surname or Family Name |
You must include the employee's surname or family name. |
Forename or Given Name |
You must include the employee's forename or given name. |
Initials |
If you don't know your employee's full forename(s), enter the initial(s) of the forename(s) in the initials field. |
Second Forename or Given Name |
You may include the employee's second forename if they have one. |
Date of Birth |
You must include the employee's correct date of birth. |
Current Gender |
You must state the employee's current gender. |
Address |
You must provide the employee's address for every new starter or where the employee's National Insurance number is not known. Until the National Insurance number is known you must continue to provide the employee's address on every subsequent FPS for that employment. |
UK Postcode |
The postcode if the employee lives in the UK. |
Foreign Country |
If your employee's address is outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man then you must state their country here and include their address in the address fields. |
Payroll ID |
You can include a Payroll ID to make it easier for you to identify the employee, and HMRC will then use this number in correspondence with you. If the employee has two or more employments under the same PAYE scheme, you must fill in this field and use a different Payroll ID for each employment under the scheme. Also, if you re-employ a former employee in the same tax year, you must specify a different Payroll ID to distinguish this employment from the previous one. |
Payroll ID Changed Indicator |
Use this field to report that the Payroll ID has changed. If the Payroll ID has changed since the last FPS set the 'Yes' indicator and enter the old Payroll ID as well as the new one so that it's clear that this is the same employment. Do not set the 'Yes' indicator if you used a different Payroll ID when you re-employed a former employee as this is not the same employment. |
Old Payroll ID for This Employment |
If the Payroll ID used in this FPS has changed since the last submission, you must put the previous one here. |
Irregular Payment Pattern Indicator |
'Yes' if the employee is not paid on a regular basis for example:
HMRC will check if an employee has not been paid for a certain period of time and will treat them as having left that employment. Setting this indicator on every FPS submitted for that employee avoids that happening. For more information about when to use this indicator follow the link below to 'Using the irregular payment pattern indicator'. |
When a new employee starts, you don't separately notify HMRC. Instead, you must include this starter information in the FPS the first time you pay them.
New starter details you include in the first FPS for an employeeField name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Start Date |
The date the employment started. |
Starter Declaration |
The 'starter declaration' that your employee makes: A This is my first job since 6 April. Do not complete this declaration for new occupational pensioners or employees seconded to work in the UK - see sections below. |
Address |
You must include the employee's address, if this is the FPS for the first payment to them. |
UK Postcode |
The postcode if the employee lives in the UK. |
Foreign Country |
If your employee's address is outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man then you must state their country here and include their address in the address fields. |
Student Loan Indicator |
'Yes' if any of the following apply:
|
Passport number |
If you reviewed the employee's passport, as part of checking that they have the right to work in the UK, you must include their passport number here. |
If your new employee has been seconded to work in the United Kingdom while remaining employed by an overseas employer, on the first FPS you send for this employee you should indicate 'Yes' to whichever of the following apply; otherwise enter 'No'.
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Living in UK for 183 days or more |
'Yes' if the employee intends to live in the UK for 183 days or more. |
Living in UK for less than 183 days |
'Yes' if the employee intends to live in the UK for less than 183 days. |
Employee Working both in and out of the UK but Living Abroad |
'Yes' if the employee will be working both in and out of the United Kingdom but living abroad. |
Indicator of European Economic Area citizen |
'Yes' if the employee is a citizen of the European Economic Area. |
Indicator that this is an EPM6 (Modified) scheme |
'Yes' if this is an EPM6 (Modified) scheme. |
Employees coming to the UK from abroad
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Occupational Pension indicator |
'Yes' for the first and every payment of pension or income provided from a registered pension scheme (including annuities, income from drawdown arrangements and trivial commutation payments) to an individual. |
Annual Amount of Occupational Pension |
If you start making occupational pension (including annuity) payments to an individual and your pension scheme is registered with HMRC then the first time you pay them you must state the full annual amount of the pension. Do not pro-rata it from the start date. |
Employee Receiving Occupational Pension Because is a Recently Bereaved Spouse/Civil Partner |
'Yes' if the pension is being paid because they are a recently bereaved spouse or civil partner. |
Trivial commutation payment type |
Enter A, B or C for the type of lump sum paid in place of a small pension (other than other lump sum benefits and serious ill health): A. Trivial commutation lump sum (TCLS) |
Trivial commutation payment |
Enter the total amount of lump sum paid. You must also enter the taxable element of this amount in the 'taxable pay to date' and the 'taxable pay in this period' fields, and any non-taxable amount in the 'non tax or NIC payment' field. |
Payment to a non individual |
Indicate 'Yes' where payments are made to a body, such as personal representative, trustee or corporate organisation. |
Pension and annuity payments and PAYE
Information to report when anybody leaves your employmentField name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Date of Leaving |
When an employee leaves, include the date the employment ended in the last FPS you send for that employee. Also, if you close your PAYE scheme, specify the end of employment date for any remaining employees. |
Payment After Leaving Indicator |
If you make a payment to an employee after you have already sent an FPS with a leaving date for that employee indicate 'Yes' here in the FPS you send for that payment. Include the additional payment and the tax deducted in the respective pay and tax in this period fields and ensure the revised year to date figures include this additional payment. |
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Taxable Pay to Date |
The total taxable pay to date in this employment only, including any benefits that have been taxed through the payroll, including this payment. |
Total Tax to Date |
The total PAYE tax deducted to date in this employment only, including this payment. |
Total Student Loan Repayment Recovered to Date |
The total student loan repayments recovered in the year to date in this employment only, if any, including this payment. |
Pay Frequency |
Specify how often the employee is paid, which you will find on the employee's contract or statement of employment:
|
Payment Date |
The date the payment is made. If the regular payment date falls on a 'non-banking day' show the payment as having been made on the regular payday. |
Tax Week Number |
The tax week number applied to the payment. You must specify either this or the Tax Month Number. |
Tax Month Number |
The tax month number applied to the payment. You must specify either this or the Tax Week Number. |
Number of Earnings Periods Covered by Payment |
The number of earnings periods covered by this payment. Enter '1' if your employee is paid at regular intervals, for example, weekly, monthly, multiples of weeks or months. However, if your employee gets paid in advance or arrears for more than one earnings period, then you should indicate the number of earnings periods covered. For example, if your employee is paid one weeks' wage and two week's wages paid in advance for holidays, the number of earnings periods covered is three and you should enter '3'. |
Aggregated Earnings Indicator |
'Yes' if you have added together the earnings from more than one job to calculate National Insurance contributions (NICs). |
Number of normal hours worked |
How many hours the employee normally expects to work in a week. If the hours vary from week to week, indicate what you think of as the employee's normal number of paid hours. If the employee is on paid leave, for example annual leave or sick leave, report the normal contracted hours worked: A Up to 15.99 hours If you consider 'A', 'B' or 'C' are not appropriate then indicate 'D'. For occupational pensioners indicate 'D'. |
Tax Code |
The tax code used for this payment. |
Week 1 / Month 1 Indicator |
'Yes' if the tax code is being operated on a non-cumulative basis. |
Bacs hash code |
You must include the hash cross reference if part or all the payments that this FPS relates to are paid by direct Bacs using your own Service User Number (SUN). This enables HMRC to match the payments by direct Bacs with the amounts on this FPS. If you pay by Bacs without using your own SUN you will not need the hash reference. |
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Taxable Pay in this Period |
The total pay to the employee that is taxable (even if no tax due) in this period, including any benefits in kind which you have taxed via the payroll. |
Benefits Taxed via Payroll |
The value of any benefits in kind this period on which PAYE tax has been operated and for which you have our prior agreement. You will still have to complete a form P11D at the end of the tax year. |
Tax Deducted or Refunded |
The amount of tax deducted or refunded in this pay period. |
Student Loan Deduction Recovered this period |
The value of any student loan deduction recovered in this pay period. |
Pay after Statutory Deductions |
Net pay this period after deductions of PAYE tax, NICs and student loan repayments only, excluding payments entered at 'Non Tax or NIC Payment' and deductions entered at 'Deductions from Net Pay'. |
Employee Pension Contributions |
Pension contributions paid under 'net pay arrangements' in this pay period. |
Deductions from Net Pay |
The amount of any deductions made from pay this period, after statutory deductions. |
Non Tax or NIC Payment |
Any payment made to the employee that is not subject to PAYE tax or NICs that has been sent with the 'salary' payment for this period. |
Items Subject to Class 1 NIC |
Items subject to Class 1 NICs but not taxed under PAYE regulations, excluding pension contributions, in this pay period. |
Employee Pension Contributions not Paid under a 'net pay arrangement' |
The amount of employee pension contributions paid but not under 'net pay arrangements' in this pay period. |
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Year to Date |
SSP paid to this employee year to date. |
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) Year to Date |
SMP paid to this employee year to date. |
Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) Year to Date |
OSPP paid to this employee year to date. |
Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) Year to Date |
SAP paid to this employee year to date. |
Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (ASPP) Year to Date |
ASPP paid to this employee year to date. If you have paid any, you should also include the following four fields from the ASPP claim form SC7, SC8, SC9, SC10 or equivalent. |
Partner Surname or Family Name |
You must include the name of the partner if you are including an ASPP payment in this FPS (you only need to send this information once). |
Partner Forename or Given Name |
You must include the forename if you are including partner details (you only need to send this information once). |
Partner Second Forename or Given Name |
You may include the partner's second forename (you only need to send this information once). |
Partner National Insurance Number |
Include the partner's National Insurance number if you know it (you only need to send this information once). |
| Benefits Taxed via Payroll year to date | The value of benefits in kind on which PAYE has been operated via the payroll, to date, in this employment, within the tax year. |
Employee Pension Contributions paid under 'net pay arrangements' year to date |
The amount of pension contributions your employee paid under the 'net pay arrangements', to date, in this employment, within the tax year. |
Employee Pension Contributions not paid under a 'net pay arrangement' year to date |
The amount of pension contributions that are not paid under the 'net pay arrangements', to date, in this employment, within the tax year. |
On Strike |
Indicate 'Yes' if your employee's pay has been reduced due to being on strike during this pay period. |
Unpaid absence |
Do not complete this field at present. |
Pay and deductions: the basics
Maternity, paternity, adoption, sickness
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
NI Category Letter |
The National Insurance category letter used in this pay period for the values below. In one FPS you can report up to four category letters per payment to an employee - so you can include this and the following fields up to four times. |
Gross earnings for NICs in this period |
The total amount of gross earnings subject to NICs in this period, including earnings under the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) and above the Upper Earnings Limit (UEL). Earnings which are disregarded for NICs should not be included. |
Gross earnings for NICs year to date |
The total amount of gross earnings subject to NICs to date within the tax year, including pay below the LEL and above the UEL. Earnings which are disregarded for NICs should not be included. |
Earnings at the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) Year to Date |
The year to date total amount of earnings at the LEL (where earnings are equal to or exceed the LEL). Do not include earnings that did not reach the LEL in any earnings period. |
Earnings Above LEL up to and Including the Primary Threshold (PT) Year to Date |
The year to date total amount of earnings above the LEL up to and including the PT. |
Earnings Above the PT, up to and Including the Upper Accrual Point (UAP) Year to Date |
The year to date total amount of earnings above the PT up to and including the UAP. |
Earnings above the UAP, up to and including the Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) Year to Date |
The year to date total amount of earnings above the UAP up to and including the UEL. |
Scheme Contracted-out number (SCON) |
You can find your SCON on your contracting-out certificate or from your pension scheme administrator. If you do not operate a contracted out Occupational Pension Scheme you must leave this field blank. If you are prompted for an SCON you must check to make sure that you are using the correct National Insurance contribution category letter - for more information follow the link below. |
National Insurance for employers: the basics
Rates and thresholds for employers 2013-14
National Insurance liability information to report for every paymentField name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Total of Employer's Contributions Payable in this pay period |
The employer NICs due on the employee's earnings above the Secondary Threshold (ST). |
Total of Employer's Contributions Payable Year to Date |
The total employer NICs due year to date. |
Employee Contributions Payable this Period |
The employee NICs due in this pay period. |
Employee Contributions Payable Year to Date |
The total employee NICs year to date. |
Field name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Director's NIC Calculation Method |
|
Week of Director's Appointment |
The tax week when the director was appointed, if it was after week 1 in the current tax year. |
If no payments to employees are made within a pay period, or you want to recover statutory payments, Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions suffered or NICs Holiday, you must send an EPS, including the employer information described at the start of this guide, and the information below as appropriate. If this is your first EPS since starting to send PAYE information in real time you must include the year to date figures for any recovered payments in the same tax year - and this first EPS must be sent when you've sent your first FPS or by the 19th of the following month.
Information to be included in an EPSField name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
No Payment for Period |
'Yes' if you have made no payments to employees or directors for an earlier period of one or more complete tax months and there was no FPS made. You must submit an EPS and indicate no payment is due and show dates in 'no payments due' fields after the end, but within 14 days of, the end of the tax month. For example, if you didn't pay anyone between 6 April and 5 May you should send the EPS between 6 May and 19 May. |
No payment dates from |
If you have set the 'No payment for period'
field to 'Yes', enter a start date of the 6th of the first
month in which no payments were made. |
No payment dates to |
If you have set the 'No payment for period'
field to 'Yes', enter the date of the last day in the preceding
tax month. This date must always be 5th as a tax month always
ends on the 5th of a calendar month. |
Period of inactivity from |
If you know - for a future period of one or more (but up to a maximum of six) complete tax months - you will have no paid employees or directors (so you won’t be making an FPS), you can send an EPS now to let HMRC know you won’t be sending an FPS for any of these future months. Enter the start date of the first tax month of your 'period of inactivity'. This date must be the 6th of the calendar month, as a tax month always starts on the 6th of a calendar month. You must complete the up to date position for one of the other sections - statutory payments, CIS deductions suffered, NICs Holiday, no payment dates or final submission for year - on the same EPS. If none of the other sections apply when sending the EPS re-enter one of the statutory payment recovered (year to date) figures you have previously submitted in this tax year or enter '£0' in 'SSP Recovered' field if no other figure is applicable. For example, if you know in July that you will have no paid employees or directors between 6 August and 5 December you should enter 6 August here, and complete one of the other sections - statutory payments, CIS deductions suffered, NICs Holiday, no payment dates or final submission for year - on the same EPS. |
Period of inactivity to |
Enter the date of the last day of your period of inactivity. This date must be the 5th of the relevant calendar month as a tax month always ends on the 5th of a calendar month. For example, if you know in July that you will have no paid employees or directors between 6 August and 5 December you should enter 5 December here. Where the period of inactivity runs to the end of the tax year, 5 April, remember to set the ‘Final Submission for Year' indicator to 'Yes' if this is the final report for the year. |
SSP Recovered (Value of Statutory Sick Pay recovered year to date) |
The total amount of SSP you have recovered year to date. |
SMP Recovered (Value of Statutory Maternity Pay recovered year to date) |
The total amount of SMP you have recovered year to date. |
OSPP Recovered (Value of Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay recovered year to date) |
The total amount of OSPP you have recovered year to date. |
SAP Recovered (Value of Statutory Adoption Pay recovered year to date) |
The total amount of SAP you have recovered year to date. |
ASPP Recovered (Value of Additional Statutory Paternity Pay recovered year to date) |
The total amount of ASPP you have recovered year to date. |
NIC Compensation on SMP (Value of NIC Compensation on Statutory Maternity Pay year to date) |
Any compensation you are entitled to claim in addition to the SMP you have recovered year to date. |
NIC Compensation on OSPP (Value of NIC Compensation on Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay year to date) |
Any compensation you are entitled to claim in addition to the OSPP you have recovered year to date. |
NIC Compensation on SAP (Value of NIC Compensation on Statutory Adoption Pay year to date) |
Any compensation you are entitled to claim in addition to the SAP you have recovered year to date. |
NIC Compensation on ASPP (Value of NIC Compensation on Additional Statutory Paternity Pay year to date) |
Any compensation you are entitled to claim in addition to the ASPP you have recovered year to date. |
CIS Deductions Suffered (Value of CIS deductions suffered year to date) |
If you are a limited company that has had CIS deductions made from payments received for work in the construction industry, enter the total amount of CIS deductions suffered year to date. |
NICs Holiday |
The total amount of employer Class 1 NICs you are entitled to withhold in the tax year to date. Only applies to employers who have successfully applied for the Regional Employer NICs Holiday for New Businesses scheme. |
When you send your final payroll report for the tax year, for most employers this will be on or before 5 April when you make the final payment of earnings for the tax year, or your final report because the PAYE scheme is closing - whether it is an FPS or EPS - you must ensure that you complete the information listed below. If you send in more than one FPS, for example for weekly and monthly employees, include the end-of-year information in whichever is the last FPS or EPS for the year, regardless of which payroll or employees it relates to.
Information you must report once only in the last FPS or EPS of the yearField name |
What you must put in this field |
|---|---|
Ceased Indicator |
'Yes' if this is the last report for this PAYE scheme because it is closing - and then you must include the information below. Also enter the leaving date in the date of leaving field for all your employees. |
Date scheme ceased |
If you have entered ‘yes’ in the ceased indicator field enter the date if you have ceased as an employer and you are paying your employees for the last time. The date must be in the year to which your final submission relates. |
Final Submission for Year |
'Yes' if this is the final report for the year - and then you must include the following information. This field is not completed if the PAYE scheme has ceased. |
Free of Tax Payments |
'Yes' if you made any payments to any employees while they were employed by you where you paid their tax on their behalf. Otherwise indicate 'No'. |
Expenses and Benefits |
'Yes' if anyone, other than you, paid expenses or provided benefits to any of your employees during the year as a result of the employee working for you, and while they were employed by you. Otherwise indicate 'No'. |
Employees Out of UK |
'Yes' if anyone employed by a person or company outside the UK worked for you in the UK for 30 or more days in a row. Otherwise indicate 'No'. |
Employees Pay to Third Party |
'Yes' if you have paid any of an employee's pay to someone other than the employee, for example, paying school fees directly to a school - but note that this does not include Attachment of Earnings Orders, payments to the Child Support Agency and Salary Sacrifice arrangements. Otherwise indicate 'No'. |
Forms P11D and P11D(b) are due? |
'Yes' if any completed forms P11D and P11D(b) are due for the year. Otherwise indicate 'No'. |
Service Company |
'Yes' if you are a service company - 'service company' includes a limited company, a limited liability partnership or a partnership (but not a sole trader) - and have operated the Intermediaries legislation (Chapter 8, Part 2, Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA), sometimes known as IR35). Otherwise indicate 'No'. |
Chapter 8 ITEPA on the National Archives website (Opens new window)
You may need to send reports if you provide expenses or benefits - see the link at the end of this section. You must submit a P46 (Car) when you first provide an employee with a car which is available for private use, and again when you either provide them with an additional car or withdraw their car without replacing it.
Completing forms P9D, P11D and P11D(b)
