In this section:
- Understanding and using PAYE Online for employers
- Employer deadlines for filing PAYE online
- PAYE forms you can send or receive online
- How to register for PAYE Online
- PAYE Online login page
- EDI filing for large employers
Employer deadlines for filing PAYE online
Filing online is a simple, efficient and reliable way of sending your PAYE forms to us. Employers with 50 or more employees must already file some forms online. Employers with fewer than 50 employees aren't required to do so yet, but they can get a tax-free payment from us if they file online before it becomes a requirement.
On this page:
- If you have fewer than 50 employees
- If you have 50 or more employees
- How to claim a tax-free payment for early online filing
- How we determine how many employees you have
- More useful links
If you have fewer than 50 employees
Currently there are no forms that you must file online, but this will change over the next few years.
Your Employer Annual Return
Filing your Employer Annual Return - form P35 and form P14s - online is going to become a requirement for you, but not until at least 2010. However, we'll give you a tax-free payment if you begin to file your return online before then:
- £100 if you file your 2007-08 return, due by 19 May 2008
- £75 if you file your 2008-09 return, due by 19 May 2009
We calculate the number of employees in each business every year to see who qualifies for the tax-free payment in the following year. See the later section How we determine how many employees you have.
If you are using simplified PAYE procedures for domestic employees you are still eligible to claim the tax-free payment if you start filing your annual return - forms P37 and P12 - online by the dates above.
See below for details of how to claim a tax-free payment from us.
Forms P45 and P46
We expect that employers with fewer than 50 employees will have to file the following forms online from 6 April 2011:
- Form P45 Part 1 - when an employee leaves your business
- Form P45 Part 3 - when a new employee starts
- Form P46 - when an employee starts but has no P45 from previous employment
- Form P46 (Pen) - to be introduced in April 2009, this replaces forms P160 and PENNOT for sending us details of a new pension or annuity that you're starting to pay
Bear in mind that the forms above are just the ones that you will be required to file online. There's a much wider range of forms that you can file online if you choose to - see the link at the bottom this guide.
If you have 50 or more employees
You are already required to file your Employer Annual Return - form P35 and P14s - online. If you fail to file these forms online, you face a penalty charge of between £600 and £3,000, depending on the number of form P14s in your return.
Forms P45 and P46
From 6 April 2009 you will also be required to file the following forms online:
- Form P45 Part 1 - when an employee leaves your business
- Form P45 Part 3 - when a new employee starts
- Form P46 - when an employee starts but has no P45 from previous employment
- Form P46 (Pen) - to be introduced in April 2009, this replaces forms P160 and PENNOT for sending us details of a new pension or annuity that you're starting to pay
How to claim a tax-free payment for early online filing
If you have fewer than 50 employees you will be entitled to the tax-free payments outlined above if you file your 2007-08 or 2008-09 Employer Annual Return online. See the section below for details of when and how we count how many employees you have.
These tax-free payments only apply to end-of-year returns that you're required to make. If you file an unnecessary return to us you won't be eligible for a payment.
You will be given the tax-free payment once you have successfully filed your return online. It will be credited directly to your PAYE payment record. We will inform you once the tax-free payment has been credited to you. This information will generally be sent to you electronically, via our PAYE Online service.
You can then offset the payment against subsequent PAYE payments to us. If you aren't able to self-serve the payment in this way you can send us an email request for a cheque from us instead - the letter informing you of your payment will explain how to do this. The process of issuing a cheque to you can take some time, so self-serve the payment if you can.
More about filing the Employer Annual Return: P14s and P35
Further details about the process of claiming a tax-free payment
How we determine how many employees you have
Each year we use our computer records to assess the number of employees in each business. We do this by the end of November and write to employers by 30 December to tell them what size we think they are and whether they will need to file online for the following tax year.
For example, in November 2006 we assessed whether employers would have to file their returns for the 2007-08 tax year online.
We count all those employees, including directors, whom:
- you've told us - by sending a form P45 Part 3 or form P46, for example - have started work with you
- you haven't told us have left
You can appeal in writing if you believe that we have miscounted the number of employees you had on the day the count was carried out.
More useful links
How to file your PAYE forms online
PAYE forms you can send or receive online
Take me straight to the PAYE Online Service
More about the procedures for claiming your tax-free payment
