HMRC DEADLINES · PAYE
The PAYE month. 22nd if you pay electronically.
PAYE has a tighter cadence than VAT or CT. Monthly RTI submissions, monthly payments, monthly opportunities to slip. This is the cycle, the deadlines, and the Class 1A and quarterly variations that catch employers out.
The basic cycle
Pay by the 22nd of the following month (electronic) or 19th (post).
PAYE and NIC for a given tax month are due to reach HMRC by the 22nd of the following month. That is, PAYE for tax month 1 (6 April to 5 May) is due by 22 May. The deadline shifts to the 19th if you pay by post or any non-electronic method.
"Electronic" includes Direct Debit, Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS, online banking, and debit card. Cheque counts as post and pulls the deadline back to the 19th. Direct Debit is HMRC's preferred route and the most reliable.
If the 22nd falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the payment must reach HMRC by the last working day before. This is the opposite of many other deadlines and catches employers out at month-ends that land on Saturdays.
What gets paid
Six things bundle into the PAYE payment each month.
- Income Tax. PAYE deducted from employees that month.
- Employee NIC. Class 1 primary contributions deducted from employees' pay.
- Employer NIC. Class 1 secondary contributions, payable by the employer at 13.8% above the secondary threshold.
- Student loan deductions. Plan 1, 2, 4, 5 and Postgraduate, deducted at the relevant thresholds.
- Apprenticeship Levy. 0.5% of pay bill, only if pay bill exceeds £3m, with a £15,000 allowance.
- Construction Industry Scheme deductions. For contractors with subcontractors, the 20% (or 30%) CIS withholding lands in the same monthly payment.
The quarterly option
Small employers can pay quarterly if average monthly liability is under £1,500.
Eligible employers (those whose total monthly PAYE, NIC, student loans and CIS averages under £1,500 across the year) can pay quarterly instead of monthly. The quarter ends 5 July, 5 October, 5 January and 5 April; payment is due by the 22nd (or 19th by post) of the month after.
You don't apply for this. You just pay quarterly and HMRC accepts it provided you genuinely qualify. RTI submissions remain monthly on the same on-or-before-payday basis.
If your headcount or pay grows past the £1,500 threshold mid-year, you must move to monthly payments at the start of the next tax year. There's no penalty for the in-year quarter you completed under the rule.
Class 1A and Class 1B
Two annual NIC deadlines sitting outside the monthly cycle.
Class 1A NIC. Employer's NIC on benefits in kind reported on form P11D. Due 22 July (electronic) or 19 July (post) following the tax year. If you provide company cars, private medical, employer loans, or other reportable BIKs, this annual lump sum lands in July and catches surprised finance teams every year.
Class 1B NIC. Settled under a PAYE Settlement Agreement covering minor or irregular benefits. Same deadline: 22 October following the tax year (electronic) or 19 October by post.
Both run on the standard PAYE late-payment regime. Interest at 8% per year, plus a percentage penalty if late beyond 30 days.
Late and missing payments
PAYE penalties scale with the number of slips.
For PAYE, HMRC operates a default percentage penalty system based on how many times you've missed a deadline in the tax year. The first late payment in a year is typically not charged. But every subsequent slip increases the percentage applied (1% for 2-3 slips, up to 4% for 11+ slips), levied on the unpaid amount in each late month.
Interest on late paid PAYE runs at 8% per year (Bank of England base rate plus 4) from the day after the due date until the day of payment. Same as VAT and CT.
The bigger risk for many employers isn't the penalty. It's the visibility. Repeated late PAYE flags the employer to HMRC's Business Payment Support Service for outreach, and for any commercial lender doing diligence the pattern reads as distress. One missed month is forgivable; three in a row makes the next funding decision harder.
Common questions
- Can I be on Time to Pay for PAYE?
- Yes. HMRC's online self-serve covers PAYE arrears under £100k within the past 12 months. Above that, call the Business Payment Support Service. PAYE arrangements typically go up to 12 months, sometimes longer where the case is properly evidenced.
- What's the deadline for filing the FPS?
- Full Payment Submission (FPS) is filed on or before each payday . Not after. Late filing earns penalty points if you have more than 9 employees. The threshold is 4 points; reaching it triggers a £200 penalty plus £200 for each subsequent late filing until you serve a clean 24-month period.
- What if I take on staff mid-month and miss the FPS?
- File the late starter as soon as possible on the next FPS using starter declaration A, B, or C. If they were paid on a date before you filed, the late filing creates a one-day exposure that's normally written off if it's a one-off.
- I'm a small employer paying quarterly. When is the next payment due?
- By the 22nd of the month following each quarter end (5 July, 5 October, 5 January, 5 April). So the quarter ending 5 January is paid by 22 January. The 22 January deadline is the brutal one . Same week as Self Assessment for many directors.
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