Work out your take-home pay
Income tax, National Insurance and net pay for any UK salary, 2026-27.
The UK tax year ends on 5 April, and every employer's final Full Payment Submission must reach HMRC on or before the last payday of that year [1]. Within eight weeks, by 31 May, every employee still on the payroll on 5 April must have a P60 [2].
Those two dates are the best known, but payroll year end is not a single event. It is a run of deadlines that starts with tax code notices in January and ends with PAYE Settlement Agreement payments on 22 October, more than six months after the year has closed [3] [4]. In between sit corrections, benefits reporting, Class 1A National Insurance and the first payrun of the new year on new rates.
Each step depends on the one before. A wrong year-to-date figure in the final FPS flows into the P60, a missed benefit flows into the P11D(b), and a tax code left with an old marker flows into April's payslips. Getting the order right matters as much as meeting each date.
This guide sets out the full payroll year end in sequence: preparation before 5 April, closing the year with the final FPS or EPS, corrections, P60s, expenses and benefits, PAYE Settlement Agreements, and opening the new tax year, with the rates that change on 6 April.
Key takeaways
- The final FPS is due on or before the last payday of the tax year and must carry the final submission marker; a final EPS replaces it when nobody was paid in the last period [1].
- Corrections made by 19 April use an additional FPS with "0" pay in the period; later corrections use an FPS with the correct year-to-date figures [1].
- P60s are due by 31 May for every employee working on 5 April [2].
- P11Ds, employee copies and the P11D(b) are due by 6 July, with Class 1A National Insurance payable by 22 July (19 July by post) [5].
- PAYE Settlement Agreement tax is due by 22 October (19 October by post) [4].
- From 6 April, employers apply new codes, drop week 1 and month 1 markers and move to the new rates [6].
The payroll year end calendar at a glance
The table pulls every recurring year-end date into one view. Dates refer to the tax year that has just ended unless stated otherwise [3] [5].
| When | Task | Source |
|---|---|---|
| January to March | HMRC issues new tax codes for the coming year | [6] |
| On or before the last payday | Final FPS with the final submission marker | [1] |
| 5 April | Tax year ends | [3] |
| From 6 April | New records, tax codes and software rates | [7] |
| 19 April | Last date for an EPS and for "additional FPS" corrections | [8] |
| 31 May | P60 to every employee working on 5 April | [2] |
| 6 July | P11D, employee copies, P11D(b) | [5] |
| 22 July (19 July by post) | Class 1A National Insurance payment | [9] |
| 22 October (19 October by post) | PAYE Settlement Agreement payment | [4] |
The earlier steps of this sequence are covered in more depth in the guide to payroll year end submissions.
Before 5 April: preparing to close the year
The weeks before the year ends are the cheapest time to fix errors, because a correction made inside the year flows through the normal payroll without extra submissions.
Review employee records and year-to-date figures
The year-to-date pay, tax and National Insurance on each employee's final FPS become the figures on the P60, and HMRC uses them to reconcile each employee's tax [1] [10]. Typical checks before the last payrun include National Insurance numbers and category letters, leavers who were never given a leaving date, starters whose previous pay was not entered, and student loan plans. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group also advises taking a full backup of payroll data after the last payroll of the old year and before starting the new one [8].
Week 53, 54 and 56
A tax year is 52 weeks plus one day, or two in a leap year, so weekly, fortnightly and four-weekly payrolls sometimes have one extra payday. GOV.UK tells employers on those frequencies that they may need a "week 53" payment in the final FPS, entered as tax week 53 for weekly pay, 54 for fortnightly and 56 for four-weekly [1]. The PAYE tax table routines specification sets separate rules for payments in weeks 53, 54 or 56 [11].
The effect is visible in figures produced by the Moonworkers payroll engine. A weekly employee paid £600 on a 1257L code has £71.60 of income tax deducted from the week 53 payment, the same as a week 1 calculation. Yet the extra payday lifts annual pay from £31,200 to £31,800, and annual tax on those totals rises from £3,724.20 to £3,844.20, a £120 increase that the week 53 deduction does not fully cover. GOV.UK confirms that HMRC sends a P800 to employees who owe tax after a week 53 payment [1] [10].
Tax code notices for the new year
HMRC tells employers between January and March about new tax codes for the coming year; where a code is not changing, HMRC sends nothing and the employer carries it forward [6]. Individual changes arrive as P9T notices, while a P9X form carries general changes for codes ending in L, M or N [7]. These notices should be loaded but not applied until the first payday on or after 6 April. The M1 tax code guide explains why non-cumulative markers in particular must not roll over.
Closing the year: the final FPS or EPS
HMRC needs to know that the employer has finished reporting for the year. That signal travels on either the last FPS or a final EPS.
The final submission marker
The final FPS goes to HMRC on or before the employees' last payday of the tax year, with "Yes" in the "Final submission for year" field where the software has one [1]. The normal FPS rule still applies: every FPS is sent on or before payday, and it includes everyone paid in the period, even those earning less than £96 a week [12]. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group notes that HMRC will usually accept a final FPS until 19 April [8].
When a final EPS replaces the FPS
A final EPS carries the year-end marker instead when the FPS was sent without it, when the software has no such field, or when nobody was paid in the final pay period [1]. The EPS is also where employers reclaim statutory payments: 92% of Statutory Maternity Pay and the related family payments, or 109% for employers that qualify for Small Employers' Relief by paying £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance [13]. The EPS deadline is 19 April [8].
Corrections before and after 19 April
The table summarises how HMRC wants errors in the final FPS corrected [1].
| Error found | Deadline | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong payments or deductions | By 19 April | Additional FPS with corrected year-to-date figures and "0" in "Pay in this period" |
| Wrong payments or deductions | After 19 April | FPS showing the correct year-to-date amounts |
| Wrong payment date | By 5 April | Additional FPS with the correct date and "0" in "Pay in this period" |
After 19 April HMRC accepts only an additional FPS for corrections, for up to six tax years [8]. GOV.UK's guidance on payroll errors covers the general correction rules, including mistakes found in earlier tax years [14]. An employer that discovers an error months later therefore does not reopen the closed year; it reports the corrected year-to-date position, and HMRC's reconciliation picks up the difference for each affected employee [10].
Penalties for late reporting
Late FPS penalties are charged monthly and scale with the number of employees. HMRC does not charge for the first failure in a tax year, or where all payments on a late FPS fall within 3 days of payday [15]. Employers that file late must give a late reporting reason on the FPS [16].
| Number of employees | Monthly late filing penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 to 9 | £100 |
| 10 to 49 | £200 |
| 50 to 249 | £300 |
| 250 or more | £400 |
Source: GOV.UK [15].
After 5 April: P60s by 31 May
The P60 is the employee's certificate of pay and deductions for the whole tax year in that employment.
Who receives a P60 and when
Employers must give a P60 to every employee on the payroll who is working for them on 5 April, by 31 May [2]. Employees who left during the year receive a P45 instead [8]. Replacement P60s are marked "replacement" and can be paper or electronic [2].
Producing P60s at scale
Payroll software normally produces P60s automatically from the final FPS figures, and blank P60s are not available from GOV.UK [8]. Employees use the P60 to check their tax and to prove income, which is one reason the figures must match what HMRC holds [17] [10]. The guide to what a P60 contains walks through every box. Employers using HMRC-recognised payroll software for SMEs generate them from the same records that fed the final FPS, which removes the risk of a mismatch.
Expenses and benefits: 6 July and 22 July
Benefits in kind have their own year-end cycle, separate from the FPS.
P11D, P11D(b) and Class 1A National Insurance
Employers complete a P11D for each employee who received taxable expenses or benefits that were not payrolled, and a P11D(b) to report the Class 1A National Insurance due [18]. All three obligations share 6 July: the P11Ds, the copies for employees and the P11D(b) [5]. Class 1A must then reach HMRC by 22 July, or 19 July when paying by post [9]. A late P11D(b) costs £100 per 50 employees for each month or part month it is late [5]. The detail is in the P11D deadline guide.
Payrolled benefits and mandatory payrolling
Payrolling a benefit removes the need for a P11D for that benefit, but the employer must still calculate Class 1A and submit a P11D(b) [19]. GOV.UK states that its online payrolling service is closed to new registrations and can only be used by employers registered before 6 April 2026 [19]. Under revised plans reported by the ICAEW, company car, van, fuel and medical benefits become subject to mandatory payrolling from April 2027, with most other benefits not in scope until April 2028 [20]. For those benefits, the P11D cycle moves into the monthly payroll.
PAYE Settlement Agreements
A PAYE Settlement Agreement lets the employer pay the tax and Class 1B National Insurance on minor, irregular or impracticable benefits in one annual sum. The application deadline is 5 July following the first tax year it applies to, and payment is due by 22 October, or 19 October by post [4] [5].
Opening the new tax year
The first payrun after 6 April is the point where last year's set-up becomes this year's errors if nothing is changed.
Tax codes and markers
For each employee working on 6 April, the employer prepares a payroll record, identifies the correct code and enters it into the software [7]. The week 1 or month 1 part of any code must not be carried into the new year, and HMRC's P9X for codes from 6 April 2026 states that the emergency code is 1257L for all employees [6] [21].
Rates and thresholds that change
Employers follow their software provider's instructions so that payroll uses the latest income tax, National Insurance and student loan rates [22]. The table lists the main 2026-27 figures an April payrun depends on, taken from GOV.UK [23] [24] [25] [26].
| Item | 2026-27 figure |
|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £12,570 |
| Employer NI rate above the £5,000 secondary threshold | 15% |
| Employee NI main rate, £12,570 to £50,270 | 8% |
| National Living Wage (21 and over), from 1 April 2026 | £12.71 an hour |
| Statutory Sick Pay | £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings |
| Plan 2 student loan threshold | £29,385 |
| Postgraduate Loan threshold and rate | £21,000 at 6% |
The minimum wage changes on 1 April, five days before the tax year, so an April payroll covering late March and early April can straddle two rates [25]. Statutory Sick Pay rules also changed on 6 April 2026 and are set out on GOV.UK [27].
Employment Allowance and pension duties
Eligible employers can reduce their annual National Insurance liability by up to £10,500 through Employment Allowance [28]. The claim is made by putting "Yes" in the Employment Allowance indicator on an EPS, and the allowance stops at the end of the tax year [29]. The Employment Allowance EPS guide explains the mechanics. Separately, every three years employers must put certain staff who have left the pension scheme back into it, which often coincides with a year-end review [30].
Year end for bureaux and software platforms
For a single employer, year end is a handful of submissions. For an accountant running dozens of schemes, it is the same sequence multiplied, with every client's final FPS, P60 run and P11D(b) on the same few dates [3] [5].
Batching the sequence
A multi-client payroll dashboard that shows which schemes have sent a final FPS, which still need a final EPS and which have P60s outstanding turns the calendar above into a checklist. HMRC-recognised software sets the final submission marker, week 53 tax week numbers and new-year codes automatically, which is where most avoidable year-end errors arise [1] [6].
Platforms embedding payroll
HR, workforce and accounting platforms that offer payroll through a REST API for UK payroll inherit the same calendar for every customer. The final submission flag, P60 generation and new-year rate changes are handled by the engine, so the platform only exposes the outputs to its users rather than rebuilding each year-end routine [11] [12].
Test April payslips on the new rates
Before the first payrun of the new tax year, an employer can test any salary against the 2026-27 income tax and National Insurance rules with the Moonworkers UK salary calculator.
£ per month
e.g. 1257L, S1257L, BR, D0
S = Scotland · C = Wales · W1/M1 = non-cumulative
Enter a salary or hourly rate above
About this calculator
This calculator gives you a close estimate of your UK payroll deductions for 2026-27, using HMRC's exact percentage method with periodised thresholds. It handles the three tax territories, K codes with the 50% regulatory limit and its carry-forward, weeks 53, 54 and 56, the cumulative and W1/M1/X bases, student and postgraduate loans, and pension contributions on qualifying earnings. It still won't match your payslip to the penny in every case: it does not cover in-year tax code changes, payrolled benefits in kind, NI deferral across more than one employment, directors on the annual earnings period, or employer-level annual adjustments such as the Employment Allowance and the apprenticeship levy. Powered by the same engine as the Moonworkers Payroll API.
Frequently asked questions
Why might the result differ from my payslip?
This calculator uses your current gross pay and tax code to produce an estimate. K-code carry-forwards and weeks 53, 54 and 56 are handled, and the Year-to-date section reproduces a specific period exactly. What your employer may apply that this does not: a mid-year tax code change, benefits in kind processed through payroll, or NI deferral across more than one employment. For most employees on a standard tax code the difference is negligible.
What tax code should I enter?
Use the tax code shown on your most recent payslip or the PAYE Coding Notice (P2) from HMRC. If you're not sure, 1257L is the standard code for most employees resident in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Use S1257L for Scotland or C1257L for Wales if you pay Scottish or Welsh income tax.
Which NI category applies to me?
Most employees use Category A. Use M if you are under 21, H if you are an apprentice under 25, or C if you are over State Pension age. Your employer is responsible for assigning the correct category — if in doubt, check your payslip.
Which student loan plan am I on?
Your plan depends on when and where you studied. Plan 1 covers students who started before September 2012. Plan 2 is for English and Welsh students who started from September 2012 to July 2023. Plan 5 applies to English students who started from August 2023. Plan 4 covers Scottish students. You can check your plan at gov.uk or on your payslip.
What is the YTD cumulative PAYE mode?
HMRC's standard method calculates income tax on your total earnings to date each period, then subtracts tax already paid. If you're mid-year and want to see exactly what tax should be deducted in a specific period, expand the Year-to-date section and enter your running totals from previous periods only.
Conclusion
Payroll year end is less a deadline than a relay. The final FPS hands accurate year-to-date figures to the P60, the P60 hands them to the employee and to HMRC's reconciliation, and the benefits cycle runs alongside until July, with PAYE Settlement Agreements trailing into October. Most year-end problems are not missed dates but errors carried from one leg to the next: an unreported leaver, a week 53 payment, a marker left on a tax code.
The calendar itself is changing. Mandatory payrolling of the main benefits from April 2027 moves part of the July cycle into monthly payroll, and real-time reporting already means HMRC sees most of the year's figures long before 5 April. As more of the cycle runs continuously, the practical test of a payroll system is whether year end feels like an ordinary payrun with a flag set, rather than a separate project.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline for the final FPS of the tax year?
The final FPS is due on or before the employees' last payday of the tax year, which ends on 5 April, and must carry the final submission marker [1]. HMRC will usually accept a final FPS until 19 April [8]. Corrections after that date go on a later FPS with the correct year-to-date figures.
What happens if nobody was paid in the last pay period?
The employer sends a final EPS instead of an FPS to tell HMRC that reporting for the year is complete [1]. The same applies when the final FPS was sent without the marker. The EPS deadline is 19 April [8].
Do employees who left before 5 April get a P60?
No. A P60 goes only to employees working for the employer on 5 April, and must be issued by 31 May [2]. Employees who left earlier in the year received a P45 when they left, which shows their pay and tax to the leaving date [8].
When must Class 1A National Insurance be paid?
Class 1A on benefits for the previous tax year must reach HMRC by 22 July, or 19 July if paying by post [9]. The amount is reported on the P11D(b) by 6 July [5]. Where the deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the payment must arrive by the last working day before it unless sent by Faster Payments.
