When is PAYE Due? HMRC Payment Deadlines & Dates

Most UK employers must pay their PAYE bill to HM Revenue and Customs by the 22nd of the following tax month when paying electronically.

When paying by cheque through the post, the payment must reach HMRC by the 19th of the following tax month.

Employers permitted to pay quarterly must normally make electronic payments by 22 July, 22 October, 22 January and 22 April. Postal payments must reach HMRC by the corresponding 19th of the month.

The important detail is that PAYE follows HMRC’s tax months, which run from the 6th of one calendar month to the 5th of the next. It does not simply follow calendar months.

For example, deductions relating to payments made between 6 June and 5 July 2026 generally fall within tax month three and are due electronically by 22 July 2026.

Key Takeaways:

PAYE is normally due by the 22nd of the following tax month when paid electronically and by the 19th when paid by cheque through the post.

Eligible employers whose monthly bill is usually below £1,500 may be able to pay quarterly, but they must continue reporting payroll information on or before each payday.

Employers should also distinguish between ordinary PAYE, Class 1A National Insurance on benefits and amounts due under a PAYE Settlement Agreement, as these liabilities can have different annual deadlines.

Payments must be allocated using the correct Accounts Office reference. Where a payment date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, employers should account for their chosen payment method’s processing time.

Late PAYE can result in daily interest, percentage-based penalties and additional charges where the amount remains outstanding for six or 12 months.

What is Included in an Employer’s PAYE Bill?

PAYE, or Pay As You Earn, is the system employers use to deduct Income Tax and National Insurance from employees’ earnings and report those deductions to HMRC.

An employer’s PAYE bill may include:

• Income Tax deducted from employees
• employee and employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions
• student loan and postgraduate loan deductions
• Construction Industry Scheme deductions
• Apprenticeship Levy payments, where applicable
• certain other National Insurance liabilities

The amount payable is generally based on the payroll information reported through the employer’s Full Payment Submission, less any valid reductions reported through an Employer Payment Summary.

Employers should therefore avoid treating the PAYE payment as a payment of employee Income Tax alone. The bill may contain several payroll-related liabilities collected together by HMRC.

When is Monthly PAYE Due?

For employers paying monthly, the standard electronic PAYE deadline is the 22nd of the tax month following the period in which employees were paid.

A tax month runs as follows:

• Tax month one: 6 April to 5 May
• Tax month two: 6 May to 5 June
• Tax month three: 6 June to 5 July
• Tax month four: 6 July to 5 August
• The same pattern continues until tax month 12, which runs from 6 March to 5 April

HMRC assigns each of these periods a tax-month number from 01 to 12. These numbers are also used when employers need to identify an early or late payment using an extended Accounts Office reference.

Monthly PAYE Deadline Example

Suppose a London business pays its employees on 30 June 2026.

The payment falls within the tax month running from 6 June to 5 July. The PAYE and National Insurance due for that payroll period must normally:

• Reach HMRC by 22 July 2026 if paid electronically
• Reach HMRC by 19 July 2026 if paid by cheque through the post

Because 19 July 2026 falls on a Sunday, an employer relying on a postal cheque would need to send it sufficiently early for it to reach HMRC before the weekend.

This demonstrates why employers should identify the tax month first and then calculate the payment deadline. Using the employee payday rather than the end of the calendar month prevents many deadline errors.

PAYE Payment Dates for the 2026/27 Tax Year

The following calendar covers the tax year from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.

PAYE tax period	Postal payment must reach HMRC	Electronic payment deadline	Weekend planning point
6 April–5 May 2026	19 May 2026	22 May 2026	Both dates are working days
6 May–5 June 2026	19 June 2026	22 June 2026	Both dates are working days
6 June–5 July 2026	19 July 2026	22 July 2026	The postal date is Sunday; plan for arrival by Friday 17 July
6 July–5 August 2026	19 August 2026	22 August 2026	The electronic date is Saturday; many payments should clear by Friday 21 August
6 August–5 September 2026	19 September 2026	22 September 2026	The postal date is Saturday; plan for arrival by Friday 18 September
6 September–5 October 2026	19 October 2026	22 October 2026	Both dates are working days
6 October–5 November 2026	19 November 2026	22 November 2026	The electronic date is Sunday; many payments should clear by Friday 20 November
6 November–5 December 2026	19 December 2026	22 December 2026	The postal date is Saturday; plan for arrival by Friday 18 December
6 December 2026–5 January 2027	19 January 2027	22 January 2027	Both dates are working days
6 January–5 February 2027	19 February 2027	22 February 2027	Both dates are working days
6 February–5 March 2027	19 March 2027	22 March 2027	Both dates are working days
6 March–5 April 2027	19 April 2027	22 April 2027	Both dates are working days

The 22nd remains the formal electronic payment date. However, where it falls on a weekend or bank holiday, cleared funds made through methods that operate only on working days should generally reach HMRC on the previous banking day.

Faster Payments may reach HMRC on the same or following day, including weekends and bank holidays.

Employers should confirm their bank’s limits and processing arrangements rather than assuming every electronic method is instantaneous.

What Happens When the 22nd Falls on a Weekend or Bank Holiday?

A common misconception is that every electronic payment can simply be initiated on the 22nd.

The requirement is generally for the payment to reach HMRC by the deadline, not merely for the employer to instruct its bank to make the transfer.

Where the 22nd falls on a weekend or bank holiday, cleared electronic payments should normally reach HMRC on the previous working day. Faster Payments are an important exception because they usually reach HMRC on the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays.

For the 2026/27 tax year, two standard electronic deadlines fall at a weekend:

• 22 August 2026, which is a Saturday
• 22 November 2026, which is a Sunday

An employer paying by Bacs, which usually takes three working days, should initiate the payment well before those dates.

An employer using Faster Payments may have more flexibility, but should still check bank transaction limits and confirm that the payment has been accepted.

Payments made through HMRC’s online card service are treated differently.

HMRC says it accepts a card payment on the date it is made, including weekends and bank holidays, rather than on the date the funds arrive in its account. Personal credit cards cannot be used, and charges can apply to corporate cards.

Can Small Employers Pay PAYE Quarterly?

Employers whose PAYE bill is usually less than £1,500 per month may be able to pay HMRC quarterly rather than monthly.

Quarterly payment is not necessarily automatic. HMRC advises employers to contact its payment helpline to establish whether quarterly payment is available to them.

The standard electronic quarterly deadlines are:

Quarter	PAYE period covered	Electronic deadline	Postal deadline
First quarter	6 April–5 July	22 July	19 July
Second quarter	6 July–5 October	22 October	19 October
Third quarter	6 October–5 January	22 January	19 January
Fourth quarter	6 January–5 April	22 April	19 April

HMRC’s current guidance and published examples confirm that qualifying employers with monthly liabilities below the threshold may pay in July, October, January and April.

Quarterly Payment Does Not Mean Quarterly Reporting

An employer paying PAYE quarterly must usually continue operating payroll and reporting employee payments every month or on every payday.

The Full Payment Submission must normally be sent on or before the date employees are paid, even where the employer is authorised to make payments to HMRC quarterly.

Employers using an automatic Direct Debit must also continue submitting monthly returns, while HMRC collects the accumulated amount every three months.

This distinction matters because an employer may meet the quarterly payment deadline but still face a separate compliance problem if payroll reports were not filed on time.

When Must the Full Payment Submission Be Filed?

The Full Payment Submission is generally due on or before the employee’s payday.

It reports details including employee pay, Income Tax, National Insurance and other payroll deductions. The reporting deadline is therefore different from the PAYE payment deadline.

After the FPS has been submitted:

• the employer can normally view the amount owed in its HMRC online account from the 10th of the following tax month;
• any Employer Payment Summary affecting the amount payable should generally be submitted by the 19th; and
• the remaining balance should be paid by the 22nd electronically or the 19th when paying by post.

A reliable payroll process should therefore track at least three separate dates: the employee payday, the EPS deadline where relevant, and the PAYE payment deadline.

What is an Employer Payment Summary?

An Employer Payment Summary is used to report information that may reduce the amount payable to HMRC or explain why no payment is due.

For example, an EPS may be needed where an employer is reclaiming eligible statutory payments or has not paid any employees during a tax month.

When no employees have been paid for at least one tax month, the employer must tell HMRC by submitting an EPS. It should generally be sent by the 19th of the month following the tax month concerned.

Without an EPS, HMRC may estimate the employer’s liability and issue a notice showing an amount it believes is due.

Employers expecting several months without employee payments can use an EPS to notify HMRC in advance for a period of between one and 12 months.

How Can an Employer Pay PAYE?

HMRC supports several PAYE payment methods. The most appropriate method depends on processing time, banking limits and how close the business is to the deadline.

Automatic Direct Debit

Employers enrolled for PAYE Online can set up a Direct Debit that allows HMRC to collect the amount shown by their payroll submissions.

HMRC normally collects an automatic Direct Debit shortly after the 22nd. Where a return is submitted after the 19th, HMRC may collect the payment four working days after the return is filed.

It tells the employer the collection date and amount at least three working days before taking the payment.

This option can reduce the risk of forgetting a manual transfer, although employers should still check that payroll submissions are accurate and that sufficient funds are available.

Online Bank Payment

An employer can approve a payment through its bank using HMRC’s online service. The payment is usually instant, although it can take up to two hours to appear in the bank account.

The employer can select a payment date before the bill becomes due and should check that the money leaves the account on the chosen date.

Faster Payments

Faster Payments made through online or telephone banking usually reach HMRC on the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays.

Businesses should still check their bank’s daily or per-transaction payment limit. A large PAYE bill may exceed the Faster Payments limit offered by a particular bank or business account.

CHAPS

A CHAPS payment will normally reach HMRC on the same working day where it is made within the bank’s processing cut-off time.

CHAPS may be useful for high-value or urgent payments, but banks may charge a fee and impose their own submission deadlines.

Bacs

Bacs payments normally take three working days to reach HMRC.

Employers using Bacs should therefore arrange payment several working days before the 22nd, particularly when a weekend or bank holiday falls near the deadline.

Debit or Corporate Credit Card

Employers can pay through HMRC’s online card service using an accepted debit or corporate credit card.

A personal debit card does not attract an HMRC fee, while a non-refundable fee applies to corporate debit and corporate credit cards.

Personal credit cards are not accepted. HMRC treats the payment as made on the date of the card transaction, including at weekends and on bank holidays.

Cheque through the Post

Employers with fewer than 250 employees may pay by sending a cheque to HMRC.

The cheque must reach HMRC by the 19th; posting it on the 19th is not sufficient. The employer must include the correct Accounts Office reference and allow enough time for delivery and processing.

Which PAYE Payment Reference Should Be Used?

Most PAYE payments require the employer’s 13-character Accounts Office reference number, entered without spaces.

The reference can normally be found:

• in the employer’s HMRC online account
• on the letter HMRC issued when the business registered as an employer
• in records held by the accountant or payroll adviser who completed the registration

Using the wrong reference can delay allocation of the payment and may make HMRC’s records appear to show an unpaid liability.

References for Early or Late PAYE Payments

Employers making an early or late payment may need to add four extra numbers to the Accounts Office reference.

Those numbers identify the tax year and tax month or quarter to which the payment relates. HMRC’s online payment service can calculate the extra numbers automatically.

This is particularly important where several PAYE periods are outstanding. Sending one payment with an incomplete or incorrect reference could result in it being allocated to the wrong period.

How Do You Check Whether HMRC Received the Payment?

Employers can check their PAYE Online account to see whether HMRC has received and allocated a payment.

HMRC advises that the online account should normally update within six working days of payment. An employer paying by post can include a letter asking HMRC to provide a receipt.

Businesses should retain:

• payment confirmations
• bank statements
• payroll reports
• FPS and EPS submission receipts
• the payment reference used
• correspondence with HMRC

These records can help resolve situations where a payment has left the employer’s bank account but has not been matched to the expected PAYE period.

What Happens if PAYE is Paid Late?

HMRC may charge both late-payment interest and penalties when PAYE is not paid in full and on time.

The first failure to pay on time during a tax year does not count as a default for the standard percentage-based penalty. However, this does not mean the first late payment is consequence-free.

Daily interest can still build up, and additional penalties can apply where the amount remains unpaid for six or 12 months.

PAYE Late-payment Penalty Rates

Ignoring the first late payment in the tax year, HMRC’s standard penalty percentages are:

Number of defaults in the tax year	Penalty applied to the late amount
1 to 3 defaults	1%
4 to 6 defaults	2%
7 to 9 defaults	3%
10 or more defaults	4%

The percentage is applied to the amount that was late for the relevant tax month or quarter.

Where a monthly or quarterly liability remains unpaid after six months, HMRC can charge an additional penalty of 5% of the unpaid amount.

A further 5% penalty can apply if it remains unpaid after 12 months. These additional penalties can apply even where there was only one late payment during the tax year.

PAYE Late-payment Interest

HMRC charges daily interest on unpaid amounts from the due date until payment.

As at 20 July 2026, HMRC’s published late-payment interest rate for the main taxes and duties is 7.75%, effective from 9 January 2026. Interest rates can change because HMRC’s rate is linked to the Bank of England base rate.

Employers should check the current rate when calculating the likely cost of an overdue liability rather than relying permanently on the rate quoted here.

What Should You Do if You Cannot Pay PAYE on Time?

A business that cannot pay should contact HMRC as early as possible rather than ignoring the liability.

HMRC may agree a payment plan that allows the tax debt to be paid in instalments. It will consider whether the proposed arrangement is affordable. If no arrangement can be agreed, HMRC may require the outstanding amount to be paid in full.

A payment plan does not automatically erase interest, penalties or the underlying liability. Employers should establish:

1. the exact PAYE periods outstanding
2. whether all FPS and EPS reports are correct
3. how much can be paid immediate
4. what monthly instalment the business can realistically afford
5. whether other HMRC liabilities are also overdue

Directors should seek qualified accounting, tax or insolvency advice where unpaid PAYE reflects a wider cash-flow or solvency problem.

Are Class 1A National Insurance and PAYE Settlement Agreements due on the same date?

Not always. Some annual employer liabilities have separate payment dates and should not be confused with ordinary monthly PAYE.

Class 1A National Insurance on benefits

Class 1A National Insurance due on taxable work benefits for the previous tax year must generally be paid by:

• 22 July when paying electronically
• 19 July when paying by post

For benefits provided during the 2025/26 tax year, the electronic payment deadline was 22 July 2026. Employers that do not payroll the relevant benefits were also required to submit their P11D and P11D(b) information by 6 July 2026.

PAYE Settlement Agreements

Tax and Class 1B National Insurance due under a PAYE Settlement Agreement must generally be paid by:

• 22 October after the end of the relevant tax year when paying electronically; or
• 19 October when paying by post.

The application deadline for a PSA is normally 5 July following the first tax year to which it applies.

These dates should be placed separately in the employer’s compliance calendar because they do not replace the normal monthly or quarterly PAYE deadlines.

A practical PAYE deadline process for employers

Businesses can reduce the risk of late payments by building PAYE into a documented monthly payroll routine.

A practical process is to:

1. Confirm the employee payday: Identify which HMRC tax month includes that payday.
2. Submit the FPS on or before payday: Retain the electronic submission receipt.
3. Submit any EPS by the 19th: Include recoverable statutory payments or notify HMRC that no employees were paid where relevant.
4. Check the PAYE Online balance: Investigate unexpected differences before the payment date.
5. Choose the payment method: Allow three working days for Bacs and check bank limits for Faster Payments.
6. Use the correct reference: Add the required period identifier for an early or late payment.
7. Check weekends and bank holidays: Move the internal deadline earlier where cleared funds must arrive before a non-working day.
8. Verify allocation: Check the online account after payment and retain supporting records.

The best internal deadline is often earlier than HMRC’s legal deadline. For example, a business paying by Bacs could approve the transfer by the 17th or 18th rather than waiting until the 22nd.

Conclusion

So, when is PAYE due? For most UK employers, the answer is the 22nd of the following tax month for electronic payments or the 19th for payments made by cheque through the post.

The deadline alone is only part of the compliance process. Employers must also file payroll reports on time, use the correct payment reference, account for bank-processing times and distinguish monthly PAYE from annual liabilities such as Class 1A National Insurance and PAYE Settlement Agreements.

Maintaining a payroll calendar with earlier internal cut-off dates is one of the simplest ways to avoid preventable interest and penalties.

Frequently asked questions

Is PAYE due on the 19th or the 22nd?

PAYE is generally due by the 22nd when paying electronically. A cheque sent through the post must reach HMRC by the 19th.

Is PAYE due every month?

Most employers pay PAYE monthly. Employers whose PAYE bill is usually below £1,500 per month may be allowed to pay quarterly after checking their position with HMRC.

When is quarterly PAYE due?

Quarterly electronic PAYE payments are generally due on 22 July, 22 October, 22 January and 22 April. Postal payments must reach HMRC by the corresponding 19th.

Does PAYE have to reach HMRC by the 22nd?

Yes. For most electronic methods, the key requirement is that cleared funds reach HMRC by the deadline. Processing times vary: Faster Payments usually arrive on the same or next day, CHAPS on the same working day and Bacs in three working days.

What if the PAYE deadline falls on a Sunday?

Payments that depend on banking working days should normally reach HMRC on the previous working day. Faster Payments may reach HMRC during weekends, but employers should confirm their bank’s processing arrangements and payment limits.

Do I still submit an FPS if I pay PAYE quarterly?

Yes. An FPS must normally be submitted on or before every employee payday, even when the employer pays HMRC quarterly.

What should I do if no PAYE payment is due?

Where no employees have been paid for at least one tax month, submit an Employer Payment Summary by the 19th of the following month. Otherwise, HMRC may estimate the amount it believes is due.

Important: This article provides general information for UK employers and does not constitute individual tax, accounting or legal advice. HMRC rules and interest rates can change. Check current official guidance or consult a qualified adviser about your circumstances.

Source Links

HMRC – Pay employers’ PAYE
https://www.gov.uk/pay-paye-tax

HMRC – Paying HMRC through payroll
https://www.gov.uk/running-payroll/paying-hmrc

HMRC – Reporting payroll information
https://www.gov.uk/running-payroll/reporting-to-hmrc

HMRC – Other PAYE payment methods
https://www.gov.uk/pay-paye-tax/pay-using-another-payment-method

HMRC – Reference numbers for early or late PAYE payments
https://www.gov.uk/pay-paye-tax/reference-numbers-early-late-payments