Guide
Monthly payroll submission deadline: FPS, EPS and penalties
Updated
The FPS deadline moves with your business, not the calendar, which is why it is most often missed. It is payday filing: the report goes on or before each payday.
Email me this result
We will send you these figures and a link back to them. One email, nothing else unless you tick the box.
How this calculator works
- Tax months run from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next. A payday on the 1st to the 5th sits in the previous tax month, so every deadline below moves a month earlier (gov.uk: running payroll).
- The FPS must be sent on or before your employees' payday. Enter your usual payday even if you paid earlier or later, for example because payday fell on a bank holiday (gov.uk: FPS).
- PAYE is due by the 22nd of the next tax month if you pay monthly. If you pay by cheque through the post, it is the 19th (gov.uk: pay your PAYE bill). This calculator assumes a monthly scheme.
- An EPS is due by the 19th of the following tax month for HMRC to apply a reduction, such as statutory parental pay, the Employment Allowance or CIS deductions. It is also how you tell HMRC you paid nobody in a tax month (gov.uk: EPS).
- If you usually pay less than £1,500 a month, you may be able to pay quarterly instead. Payment is due the 22nd after the quarter ends, for example 22 July for the 6 April to 5 July quarter. You arrange it through HMRC's payment helpline (gov.uk).
- Dates are the statutory deadlines. Allow clearing time for your payment method: gov.uk warns that interest is charged daily and a penalty may follow if payment is late or short.
The FPS submission deadline: on or before payday
gov.uk: Send the FPS on or before your employees' payday, even if you pay HMRC quarterly instead of monthly.
You enter your usual payday, not the date you actually paid. So if you pay early because payday is a bank holiday, you still report the regular payday (gov.uk: FPS).
You can send an FPS before payday, for example if payroll staff are on leave, but not so early that details change afterwards. You cannot send reports for a new tax year before March.
When you may report after payday
| Situation | When to report |
|---|---|
| Employee gives no P45 and is paid under £96 a week, or has worked for you under a week | Within 7 days of paying them |
| Payday falls on a non-banking day, for example a weekend or bank holiday | The next banking day, entering the regular payment date and late reporting reason code G |
| An ad hoc payment outside the regular payroll | In your next regular FPS, or an additional FPS |
| Pay cannot be calculated in advance because it depends on the day's work | Within 7 days of paying the employee |
| Certain non-cash payments | As soon as possible within 14 days of the end of the tax month, or when you deduct tax and NI if earlier |
| You have not received your employer PAYE reference yet | As soon as possible after you receive it, with late reporting reason code G |
The reason code matters. gov.uk: put the reason for reporting after payday on the FPS for each late submission, or HMRC may treat it as an ordinary late report.
Late filing penalties
HMRC does not charge a penalty if the FPS is late but all reported payments are within 3 days of payday. Employers who regularly file inside that window may be contacted or considered for a penalty.
There is also no penalty for a new employer who sends a first FPS within 30 days of paying an employee. Nor is there one for the first failure in a tax year (this easement does not apply to registered annual schemes).
| Number of employees | Monthly penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 to 9 | £100 |
| 10 to 49 | £200 |
| 50 to 249 | £300 |
| 250 or more | £400 |
Penalties are charged per PAYE scheme, so an employer running more than one scheme can be penalised for each. HMRC issues penalty notices quarterly, and no interest is charged if you pay within 30 days of the notice (gov.uk).
The EPS: by the 19th
- Send an EPS by the 19th of the following tax month for HMRC to apply any reduction to what your FPS says you owe.
- You need one to reclaim statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, neonatal care, parental bereavement or shared parental pay; to claim the Employment Allowance, once each tax year; to reclaim CIS deductions as a limited company; or to report the apprenticeship levy.
- Send an EPS instead of an FPS if you paid nobody in a tax month. If you do not, HMRC may estimate what you owe with a specified charge and may charge a penalty.
- You can tell HMRC in advance about a period of inactivity of between one and 12 months by entering dates in the EPS.
HMRC will close a new employer's PAYE scheme if no report is sent and no payment made within 120 days (gov.uk). Nil months still need an EPS.