Payroll: annual reporting and tasks
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1. Overview
As an employer running payroll, you need to:
- report to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on the previous tax year (which ends on 5 April) and give your employees a P60
- prepare for the new tax year, which starts on 6 April
| What you need to do | When |
|---|---|
| Send your final payroll report of the year | On or before your employees鈥� payday |
| Update employee payroll records | From 6 April |
| Update payroll software | From 6 April, or earlier if the software provider asks you to |
| Give your employees a P60 | By 31 May |
| Report employee expenses and benefits | By 6 July |
2. Send your final payroll report
Send your final Full Payment Submission (FPS) on or before your employees鈥� last payday of the tax year (which ends on 5 April).
Put 鈥榊es鈥� in the 鈥楩inal submission for year鈥� field (if available) in your payroll software.
If you run more than one payroll under the same PAYE scheme reference (for example for employees you pay weekly and monthly), include the end-of-year information in your last report.
When to send an Employer Payment Summary (EPS)
You should send your final report in an EPS instead of an FPS if any of the following apply:
- you forgot to put 鈥榊es鈥� in the 鈥楩inal submission for year鈥� field in your last FPS
- your software does not have a 鈥楩inal Submission for year鈥� field on the FPS
- you did not pay anyone in the final pay period of the tax year
- you sent your final FPS early and you did not pay anyone for one or more full tax months in the last tax year
If you鈥檙e late sending your final report
From 20 April you can send an FPS to correct your 2023 to 2024 tax year payroll data by giving the year-to-date figures.
鈥榃eek 53鈥� payments
If you pay your employees weekly, fortnightly or every 4 weeks, you might need to make a 鈥榳eek 53鈥� payment in your final FPS of the year.
Your payroll software will work out 鈥榳eek 53鈥� payments for you.
In the 鈥楾ax week number鈥� field of your FPS, put:
- 鈥�53鈥� if you pay your employees weekly
- 鈥�54鈥� if you pay them fortnightly
- 鈥�56鈥� if you pay them every 4 weeks
HMRC will send a P800 form to any employees who owe tax following a 鈥榳eek 53鈥� payment.
If you make a mistake
If you find a mistake in your final FPS of the year, what you need to do depends on the type of mistake and when you find it.
| When | What to do | |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong payments or deductions | By 19 April | Send an additional FPS with corrected year-to-date figures, and enter 鈥�0鈥� in 鈥楶ay in this period鈥� |
| Wrong payments or deductions | After 19 April | Send an FPS showing the correct year-to-date amounts. |
| Wrong payment date | By 5 April | Send an additional FPS with the correct payment date - put 鈥�0鈥� in 鈥楶ay in this period鈥� and give the year-to-date figures |
3. Update employee payroll records
For each employee working for you on 6 April, you鈥檒l need to:
- prepare a payroll record
- identify the correct tax code to use in the new tax year
- enter their tax code in your payroll software
You should include in your payroll:
- all employees you pay in the tax year, no matter how much you pay them
- any employee who has worked for you in the current tax year (since 6 April) even if they鈥檝e already left
Using the right tax code
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will send you a:
- P9T form for any employees who need a new tax code
- P9X form with general changes for employees whose tax code ends with an 鈥楲鈥�, 鈥楳鈥� or 鈥楴鈥�
If you get a lot of tax code notices, it may be faster to use HMRC鈥檚 PAYE Desktop Viewer.
New employees
Use the information new employees give you (usually their P45) to work out their tax code.
4. Update payroll software
Follow your provider鈥檚 instructions to update your payroll software so it uses the latest rates and thresholds for:
- Income Tax
- National Insurance
- student loan repayments
Basic PAYE Tools
You must download and install Basic PAYE Tools again if you鈥檙e using a version before 14.2.14330.88. The version number displays in the bottom-left corner of the tool.
Versions 14.2.14330.88 and later of Basic PAYE Tools check for updates automatically, for example when the tax year changes or new rules come in.
5. Give employees a P60
Give a P60 to all employees on your payroll who are working for you on the last day of the tax year (5 April). The P60 summarises their total pay and deductions for the year.
You must give your employees a P60 by 31 May.
If you鈥檙e exempt from filing your payroll online, you can order copies of P60s from HMRC.
If you need to change a P60
Give your employee either a:
- new P60 marked 鈥榬eplacement鈥� - this can be paper or electronic
- letter confirming the change
6. Report expenses and benefits
You can report expenses and benefits using your payroll software, if it has this feature.
You must report expenses and benefits to HMRC by 6 July.
Paying HMRC
Pay any Class 1A National Insurance due on the taxable expenses and benefits you鈥檝e provided. Your payment must be received by 22 July (or 19 July if you鈥檙e paying by post).