CWG2: further guide to PAYE and National Insurance contributions
Find out about detailed Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and National Insurance contributions for current and previous years if you're an employer.
Documents
Details
This guide covers how you deal with PAYE and National Insurance contributions in some less common situations.
You can find previous versions of the guide on the National Archives website.
Updates to this page
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The '2025 to 2026 employer further guide to PAYE and National Insurance contributions' has been updated at section 3.1.5.
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A new section 'Employees who work both in the UK and overseas' has been added to Chapter 4.6.
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The '2025 to 2026 employer further guide to PAYE and National Insurance contributions' has been added.
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The '2024 to 2025: Employer further guide to PAYE and National Insurance contributions' has been updated at sections 1.14, 3.9.7 and 3.9.8.
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HMRC no longer sends printed payment booklets (P30BC). This has been removed from 2024 to 2025: Employer further guide to PAYE and National Insurance contributions. 2019 to 2020: Employer further guide to PAYE and National Insurance contributions has been removed.
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You no longer need to tell HMRC if you want to pay a tax-free lump sum over £30,000 to an employee who cannot work due to disability, injury or ill health. New rules about making advance salary payments to employees have been added. Throughout the attachment for the 2024 to 2025 tax year, figures have been updated to reflect the new rate of employee National Insurance contributions.
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The 2024 to 2025 version of the CWG2 has been added.
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An example calculation has been updated in section 3.5.1 of the 2023 to 2024: Employer further guide to PAYE and National Insurance contributions.
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Pay intervals when working out PAYE using Tax Tables in section 1.7 of the 2023 to 2024 guide have been updated to clarify which weeks and months to use for each payment.
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The Social Security order between the UK and Isle of Man has been added to the bullet point list in section 4.5 of 2023 to 2024: Employer further guide to PAYE and National Insurance contributions.
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In section 2.2.5 the instructions around commutation payment where pension payments have not started (not crystallised) have been updated to use the BR code when no P45 is used.
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Department for Social Development (DSD) has been replaced with Department for Communities (DfC) in section 'Employers in Northern Ireland' of the introduction.
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The dates for week 53 have been added to the weekly chart in section 1.14 of the 2023 to 2024 version of the CWG2 guide.
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Details for PAYE and Class 1 National Insurance contributions on 8 May 2023 have been added to the 2023 to 2024 version of the CWG2 guide, and information on National Insurance contributions for the Health and Social Care Levy has been removed.
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Information on advance of salary and Real Time Information (RTI) reporting has been added to the 2023 to 2024 version of the CWG2 guide.
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In section 4.5 'Employees coming to or leaving the UK — treatment for National Insurance contributions purposes', Gibraltar has been added to the list of countries with which the UK has a social security agreement. 'Regulations (EC) No 883/2004 and 987/2009 and Regulations (EC) 1408/1971 and 574/1972' have been added to list of agreements and regulations that include employer obligations.
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The 2023 to 2024 version of the CWG2 has been added.
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The attachment for 2022 to 2023 has been updated for guidance about adjusting National Insurance contributions at section 3.7.5. Guidance about changes of gender at section 1.17 has also been updated.
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The 2022 to 2023 guide has been updated in sections 1.4, 1.6 and 3.9 with 2022 legislation changes.
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Guidance about different employer PAYE references for separate groups of your employees, the zero rate of secondary contributions for employers of armed forces veterans, and the zero rate of secondary rate contributions for employees working in a Freeport tax site has been updated on the 2022 to 2023 guide.
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The 2022 to 2023 guide has been updated to show the correct employment allowance at section 1.5.
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We have updated the 2022 to 2023 version of the CWG2 with sections 3.9.6 to 3.9.8.
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The 2022 to 2023 version of the CWG2 has been added.
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Information about the Convention on Social Security Coordination between the UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Swiss Confederation has been added to section 4.5 and if an employee does not give you a certificate showing they must pay another country has been added to section 4.5.1.
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European Free Trade Association countries have been added to the list in Section 4.5. The section has also been updated with information about agreements that include employer obligations. Section 4.5.1 has been updated with information about when employees must pay Class 1 National Insurance contribution.
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Information on the treatment of National Insurance contributions for employees coming to or leaving the UK and employers resident, present or having place of business in the UK has been updated in section 4.5.
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Social security agreements information has been updated in sections 4.5.1 and 4.5.2.
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The 2021 to 2022 version of the CWG2 and information about Tax and primary Class 1 National Insurance contributions on expenses and benefits paid by employer have been added.
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This page has been updated because the Brexit transition period has ended.
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Section 1.7 of the 2020 to 2021 version of CWG2 has been updated.
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Section 4.7 of the 2020 to 2021 version of CWG2 has been updated.
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Paragraphs 1.5, 3.8.4 example 1 and example 2, 4.7 and 5.5.1 of the 2020 to 2021 version of CWG2 have been amended.
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Section 1.8 and 3.1.5 example 3 of the 2020 to 2021 version of CWG2 has been updated
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Section 3.1.5 of the 2020 to 2021 version of CWG2 has been updated.
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The 2020 to 2021 version of the CWG2 has been added.
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Details of how to treat a regular payment made early for December 2019 have been added.
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Section 1.14 of CWG2 for 2019 to 2020 has been updated.
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Guidance CWG2 for 2019 to 2020 has been updated.
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Guidance CWG2 for 2019 to 2020 has been added to this page.
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The 2018 to 2019 guidance has had multiple updates to sections 2.2.6, 2.2.7 and 2.2.8.
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Section 1.21 of CWG2 for 2018 to 2019 has been updated.
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Update to section 5.14.7 'Employment income provided through third parties' about the 2019 loan charge.
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Updates to the 'Online filing' section to remove information about Electronic Data Interchange which is no longer available from 19 April 2018.
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Sections 5.11.2 and 5.11.4 in the 2018 to 2019 version of the CWG2 have been updated.
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Section 1.14 has been updated in the 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 versions of the CWG2.
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Guidance CWG2 for 2018 to 2019 has been added to this page.
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Section 5.13.2 Valuation of assets has been amended, the service for checking whether an amount on which employers propose to operate PAYE is reasonable is no longer provided.
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Section 2.2.5 Trivial commutation payments relating to registered pension schemes has been amended to clarify the details about commutation.
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The address to ask for a Tax Awards Scheme information pack has been changed.
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2017 to 2018 CWG2 has been added to this page.
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Change note on 16 August 2016 2:32pm is incorrect. It should read:- There are text amendments to Chapter 2, paragraphs 24a and 24b in the 2016 to 2017 version of the CWG2.
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Text amendments to Chapter 24A and B in the CWG2 pdf.
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2016 to 2017 version of the CWG2
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The employer helpbook CWG2 has been updated. Ch1 page 4: Amendment to who is treated as an employee for NICs purposes. Ch2 para 24a: Update to new pension flexibility.
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Ch1 para4: regulatory limit of no more than 50% of their pay extended to all tax codes. Ch2 para20: Update to pension scheme lump sum payments. Ch2 para24a: new Pension Flexibility.
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The 2015 to 2016 helpbook CWG2 has been published
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First published.