Running Payroll in the UK: RTI, PAYE and Deadlines
This guide is for UK employers. Once you have staff on the books, HMRC expects to hear from you every time you pay them, and it expects the tax you deduct to arrive on time. Here is how Real Time Information, PAYE payments and the yearly paperwork fit together, so the calendar never catches you out.
Key takeaways
- Register as an employer with HMRC before your first payday. You can register up to 4 weeks ahead.
- Send a Full Payment Submission (FPS) on or before every payday, and an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) by the 19th of the following tax month when you need one.
- Pay PAYE and National Insurance to HMRC by the 22nd of the next tax month if you pay electronically, or the 19th if you pay by post.
- Give payslips every payday, P60s by 31 May and P11Ds for benefits by 6 July, and keep payroll records for 3 years.
Many new employers assume payroll is a once-a-year job, like a tax return. In the UK it is the opposite. Under Real Time Information (RTI), you report pay and deductions to HMRC each time you pay someone, then pay over the tax and National Insurance on a fixed monthly cycle. Miss a step and HMRC's systems notice quickly.
This guide walks through the UK payroll cycle for a small business in the 2026/27 tax year, which started on 6 April 2026. It covers registration, the two RTI submissions, payment dates, what to give employees and what to keep. It is general information, not tax advice. Rates, thresholds and processes change, so check GOV.UK or speak to an accountant or payroll adviser before you rely on any detail. If you are new to employing people in general, our broader payroll basics guide covers the concepts; this one goes deeper on the UK calendar.
Before the first payday: get set up with HMRC
You cannot run UK payroll until HMRC knows you are an employer. Registration gives you an employer PAYE reference and an Accounts Office reference, which you will use for every submission and payment.
- Register as an employer. Do this before the first payday. HMRC lets you register up to 4 weeks before you pay anyone, and it can take time for your references to arrive, so do not leave it to the last week.
- Choose payroll software. You need HMRC-recognised software to send RTI submissions. HMRC Basic PAYE Tools is free for employers with fewer than 10 employees. Commercial options include BrightPay, Sage, Xero, IRIS and QuickBooks.
- Collect each employee's details. You need their full name, date of birth, address, National Insurance number and starting information, usually from a P45 from their last job or a starter checklist if they do not have one.
- Set up the pay schedule. Weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly or monthly. The schedule decides how often you send an FPS.
- Check workplace pension duties. Most employers must auto-enrol eligible staff. Your payroll software usually handles the contributions, but the duty is yours.
Common mistake
Paying someone "just this once" before registering. Even a single payment to an employee brings you into PAYE. Register first, then pay. Running payments outside payroll creates a backlog of corrections and can leave the employee with the wrong tax code.
How the tax month works
Almost every PAYE deadline is tied to the tax month, not the calendar month. A UK tax month runs from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next. So tax month 1 of 2026/27 ran from 6 April to 5 May 2026, tax month 2 from 6 May to 5 June, and so on.
This matters because the deadlines for your EPS and your payment are counted from the end of the tax month in which you paid staff. If you pay your team on 28 November 2026, that payday falls in the tax month running from 6 November to 5 December. The related deadlines then fall in December.
The two RTI submissions: FPS and EPS
RTI has two main reports. You will send one constantly and the other only when the situation calls for it.
Full Payment Submission (FPS)
The FPS tells HMRC what you paid each employee and what you deducted: tax, employee National Insurance, student loan repayments and so on. You must send it on or before each payday. If you pay weekly, that means a weekly FPS. If you pay monthly, it is monthly.
Include every employee you pay in that period, including anyone paid below the National Insurance thresholds. New starters and leavers are also reported through the FPS, so get their dates right.
Employer Payment Summary (EPS)
The EPS adjusts what you owe HMRC. You send one by the 19th of the following tax month when you need to, for example when you are reclaiming statutory payments such as maternity or paternity pay, when you are claiming the Employment Allowance, or when you made no payments to employees in a tax month. That last one is easy to forget: if you skip a month of pay, tell HMRC with an EPS, or it may estimate what you owe.
| Item | What it is for | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| FPS | Pay and deductions for each employee | On or before each payday |
| EPS | Reclaims, Employment Allowance, months with no pay | By the 19th of the following tax month, when needed |
| PAYE and NIC payment (electronic) | Tax, employee NI and employer NI owed for the tax month | By the 22nd of the next tax month |
| PAYE and NIC payment (by post) | As above | By the 19th of the next tax month |
| Payslips | Show each employee their pay and deductions | On or before each payday |
| P60 | Year-end summary of pay and deductions | To employees by 31 May |
| P11D | Benefits in kind, such as a company car | By 6 July |
Pro tip
Run your payroll two or three working days before payday, not on the day. That gives you time to spot a wrong hours figure or a missing starter, send the FPS on time and still pay people when they expect it.
Paying HMRC: dates, methods and quarterly payments
Every tax month, you pay HMRC the income tax and employee National Insurance you deducted, plus your own employer National Insurance, minus anything you are reclaiming. Electronic payments must reach HMRC by the 22nd of the next tax month. If the 22nd falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the payment needs to arrive by the last working day before it, unless you use a method that clears the same day.
Small employers have one useful option. If you expect to pay HMRC less than £1,500 a month on average, you can ask to pay quarterly instead of monthly. That reduces the number of payments, but you still send an FPS every payday. Quarterly paying only changes when the money goes over, not how often you report.
Worked example
Imagine Maple Lane Florist, a made-up shop with two part-time staff paid monthly on the last Friday. In November 2026, payday is 27 November, inside the tax month from 6 November to 5 December. The owner runs payroll on 24 November, checks the figures, and sends the FPS that afternoon. Nothing needs reclaiming, so no EPS is due. The PAYE bill for that tax month must reach HMRC electronically by 22 December. In December the owner pays a seasonal temp too, so the December FPS includes a new starter, and the January payment covers all three.
Employer National Insurance and the Employment Allowance
Your payroll cost is more than wages. For 2026/27, employer National Insurance is 15% on each employee's earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year, or £96 a week. There is no upper limit for employers. Employees also pay their own National Insurance, deducted from their pay, at 8% on the main band.
Many small employers can cut that bill with the Employment Allowance, which takes up to £10,500 a year off employer National Insurance. The old £100,000 eligibility cap was removed from April 2025, so more businesses now qualify. One important exception: a company whose only employee paid above the secondary threshold is a director cannot claim. You claim the allowance through your payroll software, which sends it on an EPS.
What you give employees, and when
Payroll is not only about HMRC. Your employees have rights to information too.
- Payslips: every employee gets one on or before payday, showing gross pay, deductions and net pay. Where pay varies with hours worked, the payslip should show the hours. Electronic payslips are fine if staff can access and print them.
- P60: a summary of the tax year's pay and deductions for everyone still employed on 5 April. Give it by 31 May.
- P45: when someone leaves, give them a P45 so their next employer can use the right tax code.
- P11D: if you provide taxable benefits, such as a company car or private medical insurance, report them on a P11D by 6 July unless you payroll the benefits instead. Employees get a copy or the details.
Records, corrections and year end
Keep payroll records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to. That includes pay, deductions, reports sent to HMRC, payments made, statutory pay and any benefits. HMRC can ask to see them, and you will need them to answer employee questions about past pay.
Mistakes happen. If you spot an error in an FPS, you can usually correct it in your next regular FPS for the same tax year. Errors in a previous tax year may need a different process. Your software's help pages and GOV.UK explain the options, and an accountant can sort out anything complicated.
Year end is lighter than it sounds. Your final FPS of the tax year should be marked as the last one, then you produce P60s, update tax codes for the new year when HMRC sends them, and apply any new rates and thresholds from 6 April. Good software does most of this for you, but check that it has been updated.
Running payroll yourself
- Low cost, especially with free HMRC Basic PAYE Tools for under 10 staff
- You see every figure and learn the system
- Easy for simple, salaried teams
Where it gets harder
- Variable hours, statutory pay and benefits add complexity
- Deadlines do not move when you are on holiday
- Errors are yours to correct with HMRC
Monthly UK payroll checklist
- Collect hours, overtime, starters and leavers a few days before payday
- Check every rate is at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage
- Run payroll and review totals against last month
- Send the FPS on or before payday
- Issue payslips on or before payday
- Send an EPS by the 19th if you are reclaiming, claiming Employment Allowance or paid nobody
- Pay HMRC by the 22nd of the next tax month (19th by post)
- Pay pension contributions to your provider on time
- File the records where you can find them for at least 3 years
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to run payroll if I only pay myself as a director?
If you pay yourself a salary through a limited company, that salary normally goes through PAYE, so you register and send FPS reports like any employer. Many directors take a small salary and dividends, but the right mix depends on your circumstances. An accountant can advise.
What happens if I send an FPS late?
HMRC can issue penalties for late FPS submissions and charge interest and penalties on late payments. There are some limited allowances, but the safest plan is to treat payday as a hard deadline for the FPS. Check GOV.UK for the current penalty rules.
Is HMRC Basic PAYE Tools enough for a small business?
It handles core RTI submissions for employers with fewer than 10 employees and is free. It does not do everything commercial software does, such as pension uploads, employee portals or automated payslip emails, so compare features before deciding.
Can I pay HMRC quarterly?
If you expect to pay less than £1,500 a month on average, you can ask HMRC to pay quarterly. You must still send an FPS on or before every payday.
Related reading
The bottom line
UK payroll runs on a simple, strict rhythm: register before payday, send an FPS every time you pay, send an EPS by the 19th when you need one, and get the money to HMRC by the 22nd. Add payslips, P60s by 31 May, P11Ds by 6 July and three years of records, and you have covered the core duties.
Put every date in your calendar, run payroll a few days early, and use software that keeps up with each new tax year. When anything looks unusual, check GOV.UK or ask a payroll professional before payday rather than after.
