How to pay PAYE online: reference, bank details and timings

How do you pay PAYE online?

You pay employer PAYE to HMRC by Direct Debit, by approving a payment through your online bank account, by bank transfer (Faster Payments, CHAPS or Bacs) or by debit or corporate credit card. Every method needs your 13-character Accounts Office reference as the payment reference, with no spaces.

The bill is due by the 22nd of the next tax month if you pay monthly. A cheque must reach HMRC by the 19th. If you pay quarterly, it is due by the 22nd after the quarter ends. The full calendar is in our PAYE payment dates guide. This guide covers how to pay, what reference to use and what to do when something goes wrong. The source is GOV.UK: pay employers' PAYE.

What you are paying

The amount is not just income tax. Your PAYE bill can include:

• employee Income Tax deductions
• Class 1 and Class 1B National Insurance
• Class 1A National Insurance on termination awards and sporting testimonials
• Student Loan repayments
• Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions
• Apprenticeship Levy, if you or connected employers have an annual pay bill of more than £3 million

The figure to pay is what you reported on your Full Payment Submission (FPS) for the previous tax month, less any reductions on an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) sent before the 19th. Sign in to your HMRC online account to see what you owe. Our RTI guide explains the FPS and EPS.

Your Accounts Office reference

Your Accounts Office reference is 13 characters long, for example 123PX00123456. HMRC's own design guidance gives 123PX00123456 and 123PX0012345X as examples of the format.

You can find it:

• in your HMRC online account, if you have enrolled for PAYE online
• on the letter HMRC sent when you registered as an employer, or to your accountant or tax adviser if they registered you

It is not the same as your employer PAYE reference (the one that looks like 123/AB45678). The PAYE reference goes on payroll reports. The Accounts Office reference goes on payments. See how UTR, National Insurance and PAYE references differ. Do not put spaces between the characters when you pay.

Payment methods and how long each takes

Allow for the slowest step in your method. These timings come from GOV.UK.

If you cannot pay in full by card, use another method such as a bank transfer. Direct Debit is not available if you pay more than £20 million, use an overseas bank account, are exempt from filing PAYE returns online, are an insolvency practitioner or are a CIS contractor not enrolled for PAYE online.

Direct Debit: how it works

Direct Debit is the lowest-effort method once it is live. You set it up in your HMRC online account. HMRC then collects the amount in your return automatically, so you do not need to work out a reference each month.

• HMRC usually collects shortly after the 22nd, or 4 working days after you file the return if you file after the 19th.
• HMRC tells you the date and amount no later than 3 working days before collection.
• If you pay quarterly, you still submit a monthly return. HMRC collects the total every 3 months.
• If you have not used the Direct Debit for 2 years or more, check with your bank that it is still set up.

HMRC bank details for bank transfers

To pay by Faster Payments, CHAPS or Bacs from a UK bank account, GOV.UK publishes these details. Check them on the GOV.UK payment page before you pay, in case they change.

From an overseas bank account, pay by CHAPS in sterling to IBAN GB62 BARC 2011 4770 2976 90, BIC BARCGB22, account name HMRC Cumbernauld. Your bank may charge you if you send another currency.

Deadlines in brief

• Monthly: the 22nd of the next tax month. The tax month runs 6th to 5th.
• Quarterly: the 22nd after the quarter ends, for example 22 July for the 6 April to 5 July quarter. GOV.UK says that if you usually pay less than £1,500 a month you may be able to pay quarterly, and to contact the payment helpline to find out. See the quarterly option explained.
• Cheque by post: must reach HMRC by the 19th.

If you did not pay any employees in a tax month, tell HMRC with an EPS by the 19th of the following month. Without one, HMRC sends a notice estimating what you owe and you may have to pay a penalty.

Early or late payments: the extra four digits

If you pay early or late, you must add 4 digits to the end of your 13-character reference. This applies to Direct Debit, bank transfers and cheques. The paying-in service on GOV.UK works the digits out for you.

• An early payment is one made before the 6th of the tax month or quarter the payment is due.
• A late payment is one made on or after the 5th of the tax month after the payment was due.

The 4 digits are the last two digits of the tax year the payment is for, then the number of the tax month.

Monthly example. You are paying for 6 November to 5 December 2026. That is month 08 of the 2026 to 2027 tax year, so add 2708 to your reference.

Quarterly example. You are paying for 6 October 2026 to 5 January 2027. Use the number of the month the quarter ends in (09), so add 2709.

If you pay annually, use the last two digits of the tax year and the number of the month in which you paid your employees. Update the digits every time you make an early or late payment.

You used the wrong reference or paid for the wrong period

The wrong reference can delay your payment or send it to a different tax bill you owe. This is the usual reason an employer pays on time and still gets a reminder.

1. Check your HMRC online account. It should update within 6 working days of making a payment.
2. If the money is not allocated where you expected, check the reference you used against the table above.
3. If it paid the wrong bill, call the HMRC employer helpline on 0300 200 3200 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) and ask for the payment to be moved. Have your Accounts Office reference to hand. GOV.UK also has a guide to correcting payments to HMRC.

Keep the bank record of the payment and the date you made it. It is your proof if HMRC sends a penalty notice.

What happens if you pay PAYE late

HMRC charges interest daily on unpaid PAYE from the due date until you pay. It also charges late payment penalties on amounts not paid in full and on time. The first late payment in a tax year does not count as a default.

If a monthly or quarterly payment is still not paid in full after 6 months, there is an extra 5% penalty on the unpaid amount, and another 5% after 12 months. You have 30 days from the date on a penalty notice to pay or appeal. See GOV.UK: late payment penalties for PAYE and our guide to appealing a penalty.

If you cannot pay in full, contact HMRC before the due date rather than after. See GOV.UK: if you cannot pay your tax bill on time.

Paid too much? Claim a PAYE refund

You may have overpaid if you paid for the wrong tax year, paid the same bill twice, paid an estimated amount in advance, or your payments did not allow for credits such as statutory pay you could reclaim, corrected reports or student loan deductions. Compare what you paid with what your tax account says you owed before you claim.

• Check your business tax account first. If HMRC holds credit, it may already have written to you.
• Claim online by signing in with your HMRC details, one tax year at a time. Agents use their agent services account. You can also claim by post, marked "Employers PAYE Overpayment".
• You need your PAYE reference, business bank details, the estimated overpayment, the tax year and why you overpaid.

HMRC offsets the amount against your PAYE bill for the current year first. If you owe nothing, it can offset against an earlier PAYE bill or other taxes you owe, such as Corporation Tax. You only get a refund if you owe HMRC nothing. This route is for previous tax years. It is not for refunding an employee in the current tax year. Full rules are on GOV.UK: claim a refund if you have paid too much PAYE.