In this section:
- PAYE: end of tax year checklist
- Finalising form P11 at the end of the tax year
- Completing the Employer Annual Return: P14s and P35
- A-Z list of expenses and benefits: short guidance
- Completing form P11D
- Completing form P9D
- Completing form P11D(b)
- Dispensation from expenses and benefits reporting
- Correcting PAYE errors
- Correcting errors in expenses and benefits reporting
- PAYE dates to remember this month
- PAYE Online login page
Finalising form P11 at the end of the tax year
At the end of the tax year, and by no later than 19 May, you must complete and send in the form P35 Employer Annual Return - together with a form P14 summary for each employee for whom you have completed a form P11 Deductions Working Sheet or equivalent record. In order to complete the forms P14 and P35, you'll first need to finalise the figures on each employee's form P11.
This guidance looks at both electronic and paper methods for finalising the P11 figures, including the benefits of using software.
On this page:
- Finalising form P11 using software or the P11 Calculator
- Key steps for finalising your P11 paper form
- PAYE (Pay As You Earn) - benefits of using software
- Help and advice
- More useful links
Finalising form P11 using software or the P11 Calculator
If you use commercial payroll software or HMRC's free P11 Calculator on the Employer CD-Rom, the software will automatically add up the final P11 figures you need, saving you time and reducing the likelihood of error. In some cases you can then seamlessly transfer the figures onto electronic versions of the P14 and P35 and file these forms online.
You'll need to check the features of your payroll package to see if automatic online filing is available to you - or read our related guidance on the P11 calculator. Filing end of year returns online direct from the P11 Calculator has been made available to some smaller employers from April 2008.
If you can't file online seamlessly, you can still transfer the P11 figures into electronic versions of the forms P14 and P35 and file these online using HMRC's PAYE Online service. To do this you'll first need to register and activate the service.
Read about the different types of payroll
software
Find out about using the P11 calculator
Read about PAYE Online for employers
More about completing the Employer Annual Return: P14s and P35
Key steps for finalising your P11 paper form
You should have been completing a form P11 or equivalent, week-by-week or month-by-month throughout the tax year for each of your employees. To finalise form P11 you now need to complete the following tasks:
- add up National Insurance contributions (NICs) entries in columns 1a to 1e
- record the employee's Scheme Contracted-out Number - where relevant
- add up any statutory payments/student loan deductions in columns 1f-1j
- complete the 'Pay and Tax totals' boxes - columns 3 and 6 at the bottom of the P11
Adding up NICs - columns 1a - 1e
Add up the entries in each of columns 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d and 1e and enter the total for each column in the corresponding column of the End of Year Summary section below, ready for transfer on to the form P14.
If you used the exact percentage method to calculate NICs
It is important to remember to round down the annual total of the earnings recorded in columns 1b and 1c to the nearest whole pound.
If you've used more than one NIC category letter during this employment
When completing column 1d you'll need to follow the steps below for each separate table letter per employee used:
- add all amounts of NICs not marked 'R'
- add all amounts of NICs marked 'R'
- take away (2) from (1)
- enter the figure reached at (3) in column 1d of the End of Year Summary section - if this is a minus amount mark the entry as 'R'
Refer to the table at the foot of the form that allows for multiple entries where required.
Recording an employee's contracted-out pension scheme number
If your employee is a member of any of the following listed pension schemes you must ensure you have entered the scheme contracted-out number in the boxes just to the right of the End of Year Summary section. The pension schemes are as follows:
- Contracted-out Money Purchase (COMP) scheme
- COMP Stakeholder Pension (COMPSHP) scheme
- The COMP part of your Contracted-out Mixed Benefit (COMB) scheme
Adding up Statutory Payments and Student Loan Deductions - columns 1f to 1j
Add up each of the entries in columns 1f, 1g, 1h, 1i and 1j and enter the totals for each in the corresponding box at the bottom of those columns.
Completing the section 'Pay and tax totals' boxes at the bottom of form P11
The boxes you will need to complete will depend on your employees' circumstances.
Employee worked for the whole tax year - 6 April to 5 April
Enter the final figures shown in columns 3 and 6 of the P11 at week 52 (or 53) or month 12 into the corresponding 'In this employment' and 'Total for year' boxes.
If a K code was used:
- to complete the 'Pay' boxes on the left, enter the final figure shown in column 3 at week 52 (or 53) or month 12 into the corresponding 'In this employment' and 'Total for year' boxes
- to complete the 'Tax deducted' boxes on the right - add up the entries in column 7 and enter the total into the corresponding 'In this employment' and the 'Total for year' boxes
Employee started work during the past tax year, still worked for you at 5 April and you know their previous pay and tax details
Complete the three boxes 'In previous employments', 'In this employment' and 'Total for year' as follows:
- first enter in the 'In previous employments' boxes the previous pay and tax figures shown on the form P11
- then complete the 'In this employment' boxes according to the basis on which PAYE has been operated - as described below
If PAYE was operated on a cumulative basis:
- enter the final figures shown in columns 3 and 6 of the P11 at week 52 (or 53) or month 12 into the corresponding 'Total for year' boxes
- subtract any 'In previous employment' figures from the 'Total for year' figures and put the result in the corresponding 'In this employment' boxes
If PAYE was operated on a week 1/month 1 basis:
- add up all the amounts in columns 2 and 7 of the P11 for this employment and enter the totals in the corresponding 'In this employment' 'Pay' and 'Tax deducted' boxes
- add together the 'In previous employment' and 'In this employment' for each column and put the result in the 'Total for year' boxes
If a K code was operated on a cumulative basis:
- to complete the 'Pay' boxes on the right enter the final figure shown in column 3 of the P11 at week 52 (or 53) or month 12 into the 'Total for year' box
- subtract any 'In previous employment' figures from the 'Total for year' figures and enter the result in the 'In this employment' box
- to complete the 'Tax deducted' boxes on the right add up the column 7 entries for tax you have deducted and enter this figure in the 'In this employment' box
- add tax deducted in the 'In previous employment' box to the tax you have deducted 'In this employment' figure and put the total in the 'Total for year' box
If a K code was used on a week 1/month 1 basis:
- add up all the amounts in columns 2 and 7 of the P11 for this employment and enter the totals in the 'In this employment' 'Pay' and 'Tax deducted' boxes
- add together the 'In previous employment' and 'In this employment' figures for each column and put the result in the 'Total for year' boxes
If the employee started work for you during the tax year and you don't know their previous pay and tax details
Complete the 'In this employment' boxes only as follows:
- if PAYE was operated on cumulative basis enter the final figures shown in columns 3 and 6 of the P11 at week 52 (or 53) or month 12 into the corresponding 'In this employment' boxes
- if PAYE was operated on a week 1/month 1 basis add up all the amounts in columns 2 and 7 of the P11 and enter the totals in the corresponding 'In this employment' boxes
If you operated a K code:
- to complete the 'In this employment' 'Pay' box follow the relevant cumulative or week 1/month 1 guidance as described in the previous two bullets above
- to complete the 'In this employment' 'Tax deducted' box add up the entries in column 7
Get a completed P11 form (back)
Next steps once your form P11 is finalised
Once you have completed your P11 form, you are ready to complete your employees' forms P14 and your end of year return.
Even if you complete the paper P11 you can still file your end of year returns online using PAYE Online for Employers once you've registered and activated this service.
How to complete the Employer Annual Return: P14s and P35
Read more about PAYE Online for employers
PAYE (Pay As You Earn) - benefits of using software
If your business is still using paper PAYE forms, we recommend moving to payroll software which will enable you to save time and reduce the potential for error. It will also help you meet important deadlines for all employers to file PAYE online.
There are many commercial payroll software packages available as well as HMRC's free P11 calculator on the Employer CD-Rom.
Employers with 50 or more employees must file the Employer Annual Return (forms P14 and P35) online now. If you have fewer than 50 employees you don't have to file online until at least 2010, but you can get a tax-free payment if you do so sooner. There are separate deadlines for filing forms P45/P46 online.
Order the Employer CD-ROM from the HMRC website
Read about choosing a payroll system
Find out about using the P11 Calculator
Employer deadlines for filing PAYE online
Help and advice
You can find quick answers to the most commonly asked questions about finishing the tax year by following the link below.
Finishing the tax year – frequently asked questions
If you still can't find the information you need, you can ask a question through our email query service.
Send an email query about PAYE at the end of the tax year
