Pay employers' PAYE
Printable version
1. Overview
You must pay your PAYE bill to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by:
-
the 22nd of the next tax month if you pay monthly
-
the 22nd after the end of the quarter if you pay quarterly - for example, 22 July for the 6 April to 5 July quarter
If you pay by cheque through the post, it must reach聽HMRC聽by the 19th of the month.
You may have to pay interest and penalties if your payment is late.
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
How to pay
You can:
- pay PAYE Settlement Agreements
- pay Class 1A National Insurance on work benefits that you give to your employees
- pay a PAYE late payment or filing penalty
- pay your PAYE bill using another payment method
What you鈥檙e paying
Your PAYE bill may include:
-
employee Income Tax deductions
-
Class 1A National Insurance on termination awards and sporting testimonials
-
Student Loan repayments
-
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions
-
your Apprenticeship Levy payments (starting from April 2017) if you, or employers you鈥檙e connected to, have an annual pay bill of more than 拢3 million
Payment booklets
HMRC no longer sends printed payment booklets.
You can still pay tax you owe from the tax year 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024 at your bank or building society using a payment booklet, if you already have one. To pay tax for the current tax year, you must choose another way to pay.
2. Pay by Direct Debit
You can set up a Direct Debit through your HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online account to pay your bill automatically.
HMRC will automatically collect the payment from your bank account based on the amount in your return (also called a Full Payment Submission (FPS)). You鈥檒l only need to set the Direct Debit up once.
Set it up at least 4 working days before your payment due date.
If you鈥檝e not used your Direct Debit for 2 years or more, check with your bank that it鈥檚 still set up.
Set up a Direct Debit
Before you start
You鈥檒l need to use your 13-character accounts office reference number as the payment reference. You can find this:
- in
- on the letter HMRC sent you when you registered as an employer (or sent to your accountant or tax adviser if they registered on your behalf)
You need to add extra numbers to your 13-character accounts office reference number each time you make:
-
an early payment (before the 6th of the tax month or quarter the payment is due)
-
a late payment (on or after the 5th of the tax month after the payment was due)
Your payment may be delayed if you use the wrong reference number.
When the payment will be taken
HMRC will usually take the payment either:
- shortly after the 22nd of the month
- 4 working days after you file the return (if you file it after the 19th of the month)
HMRC will tell you the date and amount no later than 3 working days before the payment is collected. The payments will show on your bank statement as 鈥�HMRC 厂顿顿厂鈥�.
If you pay quarterly, you should continue to submit a monthly return. HMRC will collect the total payment every 3 months.
When you cannot pay by Direct Debit
You must聽pay in a different way if you are:
- making payments of 拢20 million or more
- using an overseas bank account to pay your PAYE bill
- exempt from submitting your PAYE returns online
- an insolvency practitioner
- a Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) contractor who is not enrolled for PAYE online
You cannot set up a Direct Debit to automatically take payments for a聽PAYE penalty or PAYE聽Settlement Agreements.
3. Pay using another payment method
You鈥檒l need to use your 13-character accounts office reference number as the payment reference. You can find this:
- in
- on the letter HMRC sent you when you registered as an employer (or sent to your accountant or tax adviser if they registered on your behalf)
Pay your PAYE bill online
You can pay HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online by:
- approving a payment through your bank account using your online banking details
- debit or corporate credit card
You鈥檒l need your online banking details or your card ready before you start.
If you approve the payment using your online bank account
You can pay your PAYE bill directly using your online or mobile bank account. You鈥檒l need to have your banking details ready before you start.
You can select a date to pay, as long as it鈥檚 before your payment is due.
Check your account to make sure that the payment has gone out on the correct day. If the payment has not gone out as expected, speak to your bank.
The payment is usually instant but can take up to 2 hours to show in your bank account.
If you pay by debit or corporate credit card
There鈥檚 a fee if you pay by corporate credit card or corporate debit card. The fee is not refundable.
There鈥檚 no fee if you pay by personal debit card.
You cannot pay by personal credit card.
HMRC will accept your payment on the date you make it (even on bank holidays and weekends) - not the date it reaches HMRC鈥檚 account.
If you鈥檙e unable to pay your employers鈥� PAYE bill in full by card, you should use another payment method like a bank transfer.
Making an online or telephone bank transfer
You can make a bank transfer using Faster Payments,聽CHAPS聽or Bacs:
- from your online bank account
- by phoning your bank
You need to add 4 extra numbers to your 13-character accounts office reference number if you鈥檙e making an early or late payment.
If you鈥檙e paying from a UK bank account
You must pay into this HMRC account:
- sort code - 08 32 10
- account number - 12001039
- account name - HMRC Cumbernauld
If you鈥檙e from an overseas bank account
You can make a transfer from your overseas bank account by CHAPS.
You must pay into this HMRC account:
- account number (IBAN) - GB62 BARC 2011 4770 2976 90
- Business Identifier Code (BIC) - BARCGB22
- account name - HMRC Cumbernauld
Overseas payments should be in sterling and your bank may charge you if you use any other currency.
How long it takes
Payments made by Faster Payments (online or telephone banking) will usually reach HMRC on the same or next day.
CHAPS payments usually reach HMRC the same working day if you pay within your bank鈥檚 processing times.
Bacs payments usually take 3 working days.
Check your bank鈥檚 transaction limits and processing times before making a payment.
Multiple PAYE schemes
Send an online CHAPS enquiry form if you want to make a single payment via CHAPS for multiple PAYE schemes.
HMRC鈥檚 banking address is:
Barclays Bank PLC
1 Churchill Place
London
United Kingdom
E14 5HP
Paying by cheque through the post
You can send a cheque by post to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you have fewer than 250 employees.
HMRC
Direct
BX5 5BD
You do not need to include a street name, city name or PO box with this address.
Allow 3 working days for your payment to reach HMRC.
What to include
Make your cheque payable to 鈥楬M Revenue and Customs only鈥�.
You鈥檒l need to write your 13-character accounts office reference number on the back of the cheque.
You鈥檒l also need to add 4 extra numbers to your 13-character accounts office reference number if you鈥檙e making an early or late payment.
Payslip
You can and include this with your cheque.
You can only use a payslip to pay by post. You cannot use this at a bank.
Do not fold the payslip or cheque or fasten them together.
You can include a letter with your payment to ask HMRC for a receipt.
4. Reference numbers for early and late payments
You need to add 4 extra numbers to your 13-character accounts office reference number if you鈥檙e making an early or late payment:
- by Direct Debit
- by making an online or telephone bank transfer
- by cheque through the post
You need to update the reference number each time you make an early or late payment.
If you鈥檙e , it will work out the numbers for you.
How to work out the extra numbers
Each month and quarter of the tax year is given a number. The 4 numbers you add to your 13-character accounts office reference number depend on whether you pay:
- monthly
- quarterly
- annually
This table shows the numbers you need to use for each month of the tax year.
Tax year month | Reference number |
---|---|
6 April to 5 May | 01 |
6 May to 5 June | 02 |
6 June to 5 July | 03 |
6 July to 5 August | 04 |
6 August to 5 September | 05 |
6 September to 5 October | 06 |
6 October to 5 November | 07 |
6 November to 5 December | 08 |
6 December to 5 January | 09 |
6 January to 5 February | 10 |
6 February to 5 March | 11 |
6 March to 5 April | 12 |
This table shows the numbers you need to use for each quarter of the tax year.
Tax year quarter | Reference number |
---|---|
6 April to 5 July | 03 |
6 July to 5 October | 06 |
6 October to 5 January | 09 |
6 January to 5 April | 12 |
If you pay monthly
The 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your 13-character accounts office reference number are:
- the last 2 numbers of the tax year your payment is for
- the number of the month of the tax year your payment is for
Example
If you鈥檙e making a payment for the month of 6 May to 5 June 2024, the 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your accounts office reference number are 2502. This is worked out as follows:
-
the tax year you鈥檙e paying for ends in 2025 = 25
-
the month you鈥檙e paying for (6 May to 5 June 2024) is the second month of the 2024 to 2025 tax year = 02
If you pay quarterly
The 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your 13-character accounts office reference number are:
- the last 2 numbers of the tax year your payment is for
- the number of the month of the tax year that the quarter ends on
Example
If you鈥檙e making a payment for the quarter covering 6 April to 5 July 2024, the 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your accounts office reference number are 2503. This is worked out as follows:
-
the tax year you鈥檙e paying for ends in 2025 = 25
-
the quarter you鈥檙e paying for (6 April to 5 July 2024) ends on the third month of the tax year = 03
If you pay annually
The 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your 13-character accounts office reference number are:
- the last 2 numbers of the tax year your payment is for
- the month of the tax year you paid your employees
Example
If you paid your employees on 8 October 2023, the 4 numbers you need to add are 2407. This is worked out as follows:
- the tax year you鈥檙e paying for ends in 2024 = 24
- the month you paid your employees (6 October to 5 November) is the seventh month of the tax year = 07
5. Check your payment has been received
Check your - it should update within 6 working days of making payment.
If you鈥檙e paying by post, you can include a letter with your payment to request a receipt from HMRC.
6. Tell HMRC no payment is due
You must tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you have not paid any employees for at least one tax month.
You can tell HMRC by filling in an Employer Payment Summary (EPS).
You must send it by the 19th of the month following the tax month when no employees were paid.
If you do not send an EPS, HMRC will send you a notice estimating how much you owe. You may have to pay a penalty.
Telling HMRC in advance
You can tell HMRC that you will not be paying any employees for between one month and 12 months by filling in an EPS.
Contractors in the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) who have no payments to make need to tell HMRC through a CIS return and a EPS. CIS contractors with payments to make only need to file a CIS return.