Most early-stage employers know they need to pay HMRC every month. The part that catches people out is the detail: the deadline is not when you send the payment - it is when HMRC receives it. Miss that distinction once and you may already be looking at a penalty. This guide gives you the exact dates, the small employer quarterly option, how bank holidays affect your deadline, and what happens if you are late.
When Is the PAYE Payment Due Each Month?
For most employers, the PAYE payment deadline is the 19th of the month following the end of the tax month - if you are paying by cheque. If you pay electronically, which almost all employers do, the deadline is the 22nd of the month.
The tax month runs from the 6th to the 5th. So for the tax month ending 5 May, your electronic payment must reach HMRC by 22 May. For the tax month ending 5 June, you have until 22 June, and so on.
Received, not sent
The 22nd deadline is the date your payment must arrive in HMRC's account - not the date you initiate the transfer.
Same-day Faster Payments usually clears on the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays.
CHAPS also clears the same working day.
BACS payments take 3 working days, so initiate them no later than the 19th of the month to ensure funds clear by the 22nd deadline.
Your PAYE payment covers Income Tax and National Insurance deducted from employees, plus any employer National Insurance contributions due for that pay period. When making the payment, you will need your Accounts Office reference number - a 13-character reference that identifies you to HMRC. It is different from your PAYE reference number and is printed on the letters HMRC sends about your payroll obligations.
The Small Employer Quarterly Payment Option: Do You Qualify?
If your average monthly PAYE liability is below £1,500, you can choose to pay HMRC quarterly instead of monthly. This is a legitimate arrangement - not a concession - and it can simplify cash flow management considerably for small employers.
The four quarterly deadlines are:
Tax months April to June: payment due by 22 July
Tax months July to September: payment due by 22 October
Tax months October to December: payment due by 22 January
Tax months January to March: payment due by 22 April
To check whether you qualify, look at your total PAYE liability over the previous year and divide by 12. If the monthly average is under £1,500, you are eligible. To pay PAYE quarterly, you should contact HMRC's payment enquiry helpline to arrange this before changing your payment pattern.
Do not simply start making quarterly payments without prior confirmation from HMRC, as this may trigger automated late-payment notices and penalties.
Growing out of quarterly payments
If your payroll grows and your average monthly liability moves above £1,500, you must switch back to monthly payments. Do not wait for HMRC to tell you - it is your responsibility to assess this and move to monthly payments from the start of the next tax year.
How to Pay HMRC: Bank Transfer, Direct Debit, and What Counts as On Time
The fastest and most common way to pay is by Faster Payments bank transfer. Most UK banks process Faster Payments instantly or within a few minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is the method most employers use because it gives you same-day confidence close to the deadline.
HMRC's PAYE bank details are:
Sort code: 08-32-10
Account number: 12001039
Account name: HMRC Cumbernauld
Payment reference: your 13-character Accounts Office reference number, followed by the year and month code
The payment reference format matters. For a payment covering the month ending 5 May 2026, you append 2702 to your Accounts Office reference (the 4-digit code represents the tax year ending and the tax month number - so '27' denotes the year ending 5 April 2027, and '02' is tax month 2). HMRC's website has a reference checker if you are unsure.
Note: a separate account (account number 12001020, account name HMRC Shipley, same sort code) is used for Class 1B NIC and penalties. Always verify current details on GOV.UK before making a payment, as HMRC can change account information.
You can also set up a Direct Debit through your HMRC online account. The advantage is that HMRC pulls the correct amount automatically, reducing the risk of wrong reference errors. The drawback is that you need to set it up in advance and it does not give you same-day flexibility.
Wrong reference = lost payment
A payment sent with an incorrect Accounts Office reference may not be allocated to your account. HMRC will hold the funds but your account may still show as underpaid. Always double-check the reference before confirming the transfer.
What Happens on Bank Holidays: How Deadlines Shift
When the 22nd falls on a bank holiday or weekend, the deadline moves back to the last banking day before the 22nd - unless you are paying by Faster Payments, which can clear on the same or next day including weekends and bank holidays. This is where employers get caught out. You cannot assume that because Faster Payments runs 24/7 you have until midnight on the 22nd regardless of what day it falls on.
In practice, HMRC's guidance confirms that for electronic payments, if the 22nd is not a banking day, your payment must clear by the last banking day on or before the 22nd. If 22 April falls on a weekend, your effective deadline moves back to the last banking day before the 22nd. In most years Easter bank holidays fall well before 22 April and do not affect this deadline - always check the specific calendar year.
April is the month most affected because of Easter. The Easter bank holidays shift the effective deadline by up to four days in some years. Check the calendar at the start of each tax year and flag any months where the 22nd is a weekend or falls within a bank holiday period.
The practical fix
Aim to make your PAYE payment by the 19th or 20th of each month as a default. This gives you a buffer against bank holiday shifts, processing delays, and any late-running payroll calculations. The 22nd is the hard deadline - the 20th is your working target.
Late PAYE Payments: The Penalty Structure and How to Avoid It
HMRC charges automatic penalties for late PAYE payments. The first late payment in a tax year does not trigger a penalty - HMRC allows one default without charge. From the second late payment onward, penalties apply on a sliding scale based on how many defaults you accumulate in the tax year.
1st default in the tax year: no penalty
2 to 3 defaults: 1% of the amount that was late
4 to 6 defaults: 2% of the amount that was late
7 to 9 defaults: 3% of the amount that was late
10 or more defaults: 4% of the amount that was late
On top of these in-year penalties, HMRC can also charge interest on late payments from the date the payment was due. Penalties and interest compound if the issue is not resolved promptly. From April 2025 HMRC also restructured aspects of its penalty regime and that a late-payment interest rate of base rate plus 4% (currently 7.75% p.a.) now applies on top of these percentage charges.
If you miss a deadline, pay as soon as possible and do not wait for HMRC to chase. An unprompted payment minimises the interest charge. If you have a genuine reason for the delay - such as a banking failure or a serious illness - you can appeal a penalty through HMRC's online system, but this is not guaranteed to succeed and should not be relied on as a strategy.
The default counter resets annually
The penalty-free first default resets at the start of each tax year (6 April). This does not mean one free late payment is a safe strategy - repeated late payments attract escalating penalties and can trigger HMRC compliance attention.
How to Check Your PAYE Balance on HMRC Online
Before you make each payment, it is worth logging into your HMRC online account to check what is actually showing as owed. Your payroll software submits a Full Payment Submission (FPS) every time you run payroll, and HMRC's system updates to reflect what is due based on those submissions.
To check your balance:
Log in to your HMRC business tax account at tax.service.gov.uk
Select 'PAYE for Employers' from your account dashboard
Navigate to 'View what you owe' or the payment summary section
Check the amount shown matches what your payroll software has calculated
If there is a discrepancy between your payroll software total and what HMRC is showing, check whether your FPS submissions have cleared. A submission delay can mean HMRC's figure is out of date. Your payroll software should show the FPS submission status - look for confirmation that it has been accepted, not just sent.
If you have nothing to pay
If you ran payroll in a tax month but have no PAYE to pay - for example because employees were paid below the tax and NI thresholds - you still need to submit an FPS. You may also need to submit a nil Employer Payment Summary (EPS) so HMRC does not mark you as a non-payer.
Setting Up a Reminder System So You Never Miss a Deadline
The simplest systems are the ones that get used. A recurring calendar reminder set to the 18th or 19th of each month - two to three days before the hard deadline - gives you enough time to check the balance, confirm the FPS has been accepted, and make the payment without rushing.
At the start of each new tax year (6 April), spend five minutes reviewing the year's payment calendar. Identify any months where the 22nd falls on a weekend or bank holiday and note the adjusted deadline. April and May are the months most affected by Easter bank holidays - flag these early.
Monthly PAYE payment checklist
Payroll run and FPS submitted to HMRC
FPS status confirmed as accepted in your payroll software
PAYE balance checked in your HMRC online account
Payment reference confirmed (Accounts Office reference + year/month code)
Payment sent by the 19th-20th at the latest; confirmed as received before the 22nd
Bank holiday check done for this month's deadline
If your payroll software has an integrated payment reminder or direct HMRC payment function, use it - it reduces the chance of reference errors and keeps your payment record in one place. Many cloud payroll tools aimed at UK small employers include payment deadline reminders, though features vary by provider - check your chosen software's specification before relying on it for compliance alerts.
Cut Through the Noise - Get the BGE Newsletter
Get Practical Guidance You Can Use This Week
Ready to cut through the noise? Join the BGE newsletter for practical guidance, tool recommendations, and real-world insights for UK founders and business owners - delivered weekly to your inbox. No fluff, no spam, unsubscribe any time.
BGE newsletter
