Pay employers' PAYE

1. Overview

You must pay your PAYE bill to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by:

• the 22nd of the next tax month if you pay monthly
• the 22nd after the end of the quarter if you pay quarterly - for example, 22 July for the 6 April to 5 July quarter

If you pay by cheque through the post the deadline is the 19th of the month.

What you’re paying

Your PAYE bill may include:

• employee Income Tax deductions
• Class 1 and 1B National Insurance
• Student Loan repayments
• Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions
• your Apprenticeship Levy payments (starting from April 2017) if you, or employers you’re connected to, have an annual pay bill of more than £3 million

You pay your Class 1A National Insurance bill separately.

PAYE Settlement Agreements are also paid separately.

Ways to pay

Make sure you pay HMRC by the deadline. You may have to pay interest and penalties if your payment is late.

The time you need to allow depends on how you pay.

Same or next day

• online or telephone banking (Faster Payments)
• CHAPS

3 working days

• by debit or credit card online
• Bacs
• at your bank or building society (cash or cheque)
• at the Post Office (debit card, cash or cheque)
• Direct Debit (if you’ve already set one up)
• by cheque through the post

5 working days

• Direct Debit (if you haven’t set up one before)

If the deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, make sure your payment reaches HMRC on the last working day before it (unless you’re paying by Faster Payments).

Payment booklets

You’ll need a payment booklet from HMRC to pay at your bank or building society, at the post office or by post. If you don’t have one, ask HMRC to send it to you.

If you’re no longer using your payment booklet, you can ask HMRC to stop sending it.

HMRC will automatically stop sending your payment booklet if you make 2 or more electronic payments in a year.

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