Statutory guidance

How to complete the fees and commissions return (FAC-01) spreadsheet

Updated 27 October 2026

This guidance explains how to enter information into each column of the spreadsheet. You must follow the criteria for each field.

When filling out the spreadsheet you must complete:

• all mandatory fields
• conditional fields where you have the information

The mandatory and conditional fields are shown in the column headings.

You must not:

• change the structure of the spreadsheet
• enter data in row 1 — you must start at row 3
• copy data into a new spreadsheet — this will cause errors and your submission will fail
• change the format of any fields — for example, amounts must stay as numbers with 2 decimal places
• use unclear entries such as ‘ditto’, ‘not known’ or ‘see above’

If you need to paste data, use the ‘Paste special’ option and select ‘Values’.

Validation

The spreadsheet includes a validation tool to help you find errors.

Checks

The tool:

• highlights information that is missing or incorrectly formatted
• does not check the quality of the information

You may notice a delay when entering or correcting data because of the size of the file.

You must not change the file format as this may stop the validation from working.

Errors

If a column contains errors, row 1 will show:

• as highlighted
• the number of errors in that column
• the total number of affected cells
• the row number of the first error

The highlighting will clear when you fix all errors in that column.

You must fix all errors before submitting your return.

After you submit

HMRC will check your submission using information quality software.

If your file does not meet the required format:

• your return will be rejected
• it will be treated as outstanding
• you may receive a penalty

Payee’s name: column A

This is a mandatory field.

Enter the payee’s full name.

You must not use more than 250 characters.

Payee’s address: columns B to G

For these fields, do not include:

• ‘care of’ addresses
• line breaks
• punctuation or symbols

Column B

This is a mandatory field.

Enter the payee’s permanent residential address. Use columns C to F if you need more space.

For UK addresses do not include the postcode. Enter this in column G.

For non-UK addresses:

• include the country at the end

• enter the postcode equivalent if it is over 8 characters

• postcode equivalent with 8 characters or fewer, enter in column G

You must not use more than 255 characters.

Columns C to F

These are conditional fields.

Complete these fields if the payee has additional lines to their address that you cannot fit into column B.

You must not use more than 255 characters per column.

Column G

This is a mandatory field for UK addresses.

Enter the postcode for UK addresses.

For non-UK addresses, enter the postcode equivalent if it is 8 characters or fewer. Otherwise include it in the address fields.

You must not use more than 8 characters.

Total amount paid during year: column H

This is a mandatory field.

Enter the total gross payments received by the payee.

You must:

• use numbers only
• include 2 decimal places (for example, 999.00)

Do not include:

• currency symbols
• spaces or commas
• negative values

You must not use more than 20 characters.

Currency code: column I

This is a mandatory field.

Enter the 3 character ISO currency code (for example, GBP, EUR, USD). You can find the full list of currency codes on the ISO website.

You must not use more than 3 characters.

Includes VAT: column J

This is a conditional field.

Enter ‘Y’ if the reported payments are inclusive of VAT.

Enter ‘N’ if the reported payments are not inclusive of VAT.

If not known, leave blank.

You must not use more than one character.

Period end date: column K

This is a mandatory field.

Enter the date as DD/MM/YYYY. For example, 05/04/2026.

The date must:

• be the last day of the tax year the return is for
• be 10 characters long
• only contain numbers and ‘/’

Do not include spaces or other characters.

Payment description: column L

This is a mandatory field.

Enter a description of the service provided.

Entries such as Bacs, services, ditto or not known are not acceptable.

You must not use more than 255 characters.

Your company or organisation name: column M

This is a mandatory field.

Enter your organisation’s full name.

It must match the name on your Data Holder Notice.

If the name is wrong, email: DA.enquiries@hmrc.gov.uk.

You must not use more than 100 characters.

Payee source reference: column N

This is a conditional field.

Enter a unique reference for the record.

If you do not have one, create a simple reference for example 1, 2, 3.

You must not use more than 100 characters.

National Insurance number: column O

This is a conditional field.

Enter the payee’s National Insurance number if you have it.

Do not enter a temporary National Insurance number.

It must:

• be 8 or 9 characters
• follow this format: QQ123456A or QQ123456

Do not include spaces or other characters.

Check the National Insurance Manual for a list of valid letters and prefixes.

Leave this field blank if the National Insurance number is not known or does not apply.

You must not use more than 9 characters.

Unique taxpayer reference (UTR): column P

This is a conditional field.

Enter the payee’s UTR. It must:

• be a continuous 10-digit number
• not contain spaces or other characters

Leave this field blank if you do not have it.

You must not use more than 10 characters.

VAT registration number: column Q

This is a conditional field.

Enter the VAT number if known.

Leave blank if not known.

You must not use more than 12 characters.

Bank details: columns R to S

These are conditional fields.

Leave both columns blank if you do not have the bank details.

Column R

Enter the payee’s sort code.

This must:

• be a continuous 6-digit number. For example, 123456.
• not contain spaces or symbols

You must not use more than 6 characters.

Column S

Enter the payee’s account number.

This is usually an 8-digit number.

You must not use more than20 characters.

Email address: column T

This is a conditional field.

Enter the payee’s email address if you have it.

You must not use more than 100 characters.

Telephone number: column U

This is a conditional field.

Enter the payee’s telephone number if you have it.

You must not use more than 20 characters.

Free Format Fields: columns V to X

These are conditional field.

Only complete these if your data-holder notice tells you.

You must not use more than 100 characters per column.