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PAYE/Class 1 National Insurance contributions - previous year reference checker

When you make a PAYE, Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) payment for a previous year you'll need to give an adapted form of your PAYE Accounts Office reference number. Your Accounts Office reference is 13 characters long, for example 123PA00045678. You can find this on:

  • your 'At a glance' page if you are registered for the PAYE for employers online service
  • the 'New employer registration and reference numbers' letter that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) sends you when you first registered as an employer
  • your payment booklet, if you still receive one
  • the letter HMRC send in place of a booklet

This checker will confirm that the reference is in the right format and gives you the right adapted reference number to use for a given year and ensures your payment goes direct to your account.

Step 1 - Enter your Accounts Office reference number

Step 2 - Select the year to which payment should be allocated


Step 3 - Check your Accounts Office reference number format

Press the 'Check Reference' button to check the format of your Accounts Office reference. If you need to start again, press on the 'Clear' button.


Result

From 6 April 2013 employers will no longer use month 13 for any end of year balancing payments. Any balancing payments will need to show month 12. You should only use month 13 to pay any Class 1A National Insurance you owe on your P11D (b).

To make an end of year balancing payment for PAYE/Class 1 National Insurance you need to use the following reference number:


When you make your payment please use the Accounts Office reference in the same format as shown, with no spaces. If you do not, your payment will take longer to go to your account.

Return reference checker start page

How to pay PAYE/ National Insurance contributions

Deadlines for paying PAYE/National Insurance contributions