Payroll deadlines for small businesses: a 2026/27 PAYE checklist

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Payroll deadlines apply throughout the year, whether you employ a small team or pay yourself a salary through a limited company. For an employer operating PAYE, the key steps are to register before the first payday, report pay through a Full Payment Submission on or before payday, and pay HMRC by the relevant payment deadline.

These are separate jobs. Producing payslips does not prove that HMRC has received the payroll report, and sending that report does not settle the tax bill. This guide explains how the dates fit together and gives you a practical process for keeping payroll organised in 2026/27.

The payroll deadlines to put in your diary

For a typical employer paying HMRC monthly, the timetable is:

Before the first payday: complete employer registration where PAYE registration is required.
On or before each payday: send the Full Payment Submission, known as an FPS, unless a specific exception applies.
By the 19th after the relevant tax month: send an Employer Payment Summary, or EPS, when required.
By the 22nd after the tax month: pay the PAYE bill electronically. Cheques sent by post must reach HMRC by the 19th.

A tax month runs from the 6th of one calendar month to the 5th of the next. Some employers have quarterly payment arrangements, but that does not turn payday reporting into a quarterly task. HMRC sets out the PAYE payment deadlines separately from the reporting requirements.

Before first payday: check registration and setup

Do not leave payroll setup until the morning you intend to pay someone. Where registration is required, register before the first payday; you cannot register more than two months before you start paying people. This can include a company employing only its director. See HMRC's employer registration guidance.

Registration depends on the circumstances, not simply whether an employee expects to owe Income Tax. HMRC's current PAYE introduction lists the triggers, including weekly pay of £96 or more, expenses and benefits, and certain other jobs, pensions or benefits. Payroll records are still needed if registration is not required.

Once registered, make sure the employer PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference are available to whoever runs payroll. Confirm the pay frequency, normal payday and who will supply staff information. HMRC's payroll setup checklist covers software, records, employee reporting and payment.

If the employer reference has not arrived by the first payday, follow HMRC's specific process: run payroll, retain the FPS and submit it late when you can. Keep evidence of the registration and explain the situation to your payroll adviser promptly. Waiting for the reference is not a reason to lose the underlying pay records.

On or before payday: send the FPS

The FPS tells HMRC about employees' pay and deductions. Send it on or before payday, including where your business pays HMRC quarterly. Once operating the scheme, report everyone you pay, including employees earning below the registration threshold. HMRC's FPS guidance explains the timing and information required.

Set a preparation cut-off ahead of payday. For example, if wages are due at the end of the week, ask for approved hours, overtime and staff changes early enough to review them. The cut-off is an internal control, not a replacement for the statutory deadline.

Check the payment date carefully. When the normal payday falls on a non-banking day, HMRC's reporting instructions use the normal payday. Moving cash early for a bank holiday is not a reason to guess the date field. If your pay arrangements are unusual, check the applicable guidance before submitting.

Save the submission result. A prepared report or a button marked “send” is not the same as confirmation that the report was accepted. If software reports an error, assign someone to resolve it and check the eventual submission outcome.

Payslips and salary payments also need checking

Employees and workers must receive payslips on or before payday. They need to show gross pay, deductions and net pay; hours must also be shown where pay varies with time worked. HMRC's payslip guidance sets out the requirements.

Before releasing payments, compare the approved payroll summary with the payment instructions. Look for unexpected changes in net pay, missing starters, leavers still included and unexplained deductions. Investigate differences rather than assuming the software output must be correct.

Agree who releases employee payments and who pays HMRC. Those may be different people. A short written division of responsibilities prevents the common situation where payroll has been calculated correctly but each person assumes someone else arranged the transfer.

When is an EPS required?

An EPS can reduce the amount due to HMRC, for example when reclaiming eligible statutory parental pay. It is also used for matters such as claiming Employment Allowance. These adjustments should follow the relevant eligibility rules; they are not automatic reductions just because the business is small.

If nobody is paid during a whole tax month, normally send an EPS instead of an FPS by the 19th after that month. For example, no employee payments between 6 October and 5 November 2026 would normally require a no-payment EPS by 19 November. HMRC's EPS guidance explains both reductions and periods without pay.

Do not confuse “no PAYE bill” with “nobody was paid”. Employees can receive pay while the amount payable to HMRC is nil. Check the actual payroll activity before deciding which report is needed.

A registered annual payroll scheme has different rules for unpaid months. If you pay everyone once a year in the same tax month, check the annual scheme rules rather than assuming an ordinary monthly scheme has become annual automatically.

Paying HMRC: amount, reference and arrival time

The payment calculation brings together the payroll liabilities and relevant EPS reductions. Check your HMRC account against the payroll records and resolve differences. If you usually owe less than £1,500 per month, you may be able to arrange quarterly payments with HMRC. The guidance on paying payroll liabilities explains this option.

Use the correct payment reference. HMRC generally requires the 13-character Accounts Office reference without spaces; early or late bank-transfer payments need additional period information. Check the current instructions for the method you use rather than copying a reference from an unrelated tax payment.

Allow for processing time. Faster Payments usually arrive the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays; Bacs normally takes three working days. Bank limits and cut-off times also matter. Read HMRC's payment-method guidance before relying on a last-minute transfer.

Record the amount, payment reference, period and bank confirmation in one place. Then check that the payment has been allocated correctly. A bank debit shows that money left your account; it does not by itself explain which PAYE period HMRC credited.

Worked example: an October 2026 payroll

Imagine a small employer with a normal payday of 30 October 2026 and a monthly PAYE payment arrangement. This is an illustrative timetable, not a calculation of any particular employee's deductions:

Before payday: gather staff changes, approve the payroll and arrange payslips and employee payments.
By 30 October: submit the FPS for that payday.
After 5 November: reconcile the tax month covering 6 October to 5 November.
By 19 November: submit any EPS needed for relevant reductions.
By 22 November: meet the electronic PAYE payment deadline, allowing for the chosen payment method.

The 22 November deadline is not permission to delay the October FPS until then. Keep the reporting and payment entries separate in your calendar, with named owners and reminders before each deadline.

Correct errors and keep an audit trail

If a report is wrong, establish what needs correcting before sending another submission. The process differs for incorrect pay, payment dates and employee details. For current-year pay or deduction errors, HMRC generally directs employers to correct the year-to-date figures in the next regular FPS. Other errors have different steps.

Follow HMRC's FPS and EPS correction guidance and your software's instructions. Repeating the original figures without understanding the correction process can create further problems. Keep a note of what changed, why and which submission corrected it.

Retain payroll records showing pay, deductions, reports, payments, relevant absences and tax-code notices. HMRC's general PAYE rule is three years from the end of the tax year concerned, but minimum-wage and statutory-leave records have separate requirements. Check the payroll record-keeping guidance before applying one deletion date to every employment record.

A practical payroll handover checklist

Before each pay run, send your payroll provider a clear update covering:

Approved hours, overtime, bonuses and agreed pay changes.
New starters, leavers and the relevant dates.
Sickness, family leave and other changes affecting pay.
New HMRC notices or questions raised by employees.
The intended payday and any unusual payment arrangements.

After processing, confirm who checks the summary, releases payments, sends the FPS or EPS and retains the submission evidence. Name a backup for holidays and absences so the process does not depend on one person's availability.

Outsourcing can help with administration, but the employer remains legally responsible for PAYE tasks. HMRC's guidance on using a payroll provider makes this clear. Agree the service scope and the information deadlines at the start.

Payroll support in Bromley, London and across the UK

Mysimplytax supports limited companies and employers with payroll and PAYE alongside wider accounting needs. Explore our limited company accounting services or our accounting support in London to see how payroll can fit into an ongoing service.

Whether you are taking on your first employee in Bromley, managing a London team or running a business elsewhere in the UK, contact Mysimplytax to discuss the support you need. Have your pay frequency, employee count and existing payroll arrangements ready for that conversation.

General information checked against HMRC guidance on 23 October 2026. The example is illustrative; specific reporting exceptions and payment arrangements depend on your circumstances.