PayrollDates
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Guide

When is payday this month? Every UK pay date to December 2027

Updated

Payday is the date your employer pays you; HMRC never sets it. Last working day: Monday 30 November, Thursday 31 December 2026, Friday 29 January 2027.

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Tax months run from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next, so a payday on the 1st to the 5th belongs to the previous tax month and its deadlines land a month earlier.

Pay HMRC by

22 December 2026

The 22nd of the next tax month for electronic payment, the 19th if a cheque has to reach HMRC by post.

Send your Full Payment Submission (FPS)On or before 25 November 2026
Tax month this payday falls in8
Employer Payment Summary (EPS) deadline19 December 2026
View what you owe in your HMRC account from10 December 2026

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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.

How these payday dates are worked out

  • Last working day: the last day of the month that is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a bank holiday in England and Wales.
  • The 25th: the 25th itself, or the working day before it when the 25th is a Saturday, a Sunday or a bank holiday. Some payrolls move to the working day after instead; the contract of employment or staff handbook says which.
  • Bank holidays are GOV.UK's own list, read on 22 October 2026, which runs to the end of 2028. No date here is taken from any employer: your payday is the date your employer sets, and these are the dates each rule gives.

Source: GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026)

Monthly pay dates 2026

Payday dates 2026 in England and Wales, computed from the calendar and GOV.UK's bank holidays
MonthLast working dayThe 25th, or the working day beforeWhy a date moves
January 2026Friday 30 JanuaryFriday 23 January31 January is a Saturday; 25 January is a Sunday
February 2026Friday 27 FebruaryWednesday 25 February28 February is a Saturday
March 2026Tuesday 31 MarchWednesday 25 MarchNeither date moves
April 2026Thursday 30 AprilFriday 24 April25 April is a Saturday
May 2026Friday 29 MayFriday 22 May31 May is a Sunday; 25 May is the spring bank holiday
June 2026Tuesday 30 JuneThursday 25 JuneNeither date moves
July 2026Friday 31 JulyFriday 24 July25 July is a Saturday
August 2026Friday 28 AugustTuesday 25 August31 August is the summer bank holiday, the Monday after a weekend
September 2026Wednesday 30 SeptemberFriday 25 SeptemberNeither date moves
October 2026Friday 30 OctoberFriday 23 October31 October is a Saturday; 25 October is a Sunday
November 2026Monday 30 NovemberWednesday 25 NovemberNeither date moves
December 2026Thursday 31 DecemberThursday 24 December25 December is Christmas Day

Source: GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026)

Payday dates 2027

Payday dates 2027 in England and Wales, computed from the calendar and GOV.UK's bank holidays
MonthLast working dayThe 25th, or the working day beforeWhy a date moves
January 2027Friday 29 JanuaryMonday 25 January31 January is a Sunday
February 2027Friday 26 FebruaryThursday 25 February28 February is a Sunday
March 2027Wednesday 31 MarchThursday 25 MarchNeither date moves
April 2027Friday 30 AprilFriday 23 April25 April is a Sunday
May 2027Friday 28 MayTuesday 25 May31 May is the spring bank holiday, the Monday after a weekend
June 2027Wednesday 30 JuneFriday 25 JuneNeither date moves
July 2027Friday 30 JulyFriday 23 July31 July is a Saturday; 25 July is a Sunday
August 2027Tuesday 31 AugustWednesday 25 AugustNeither date moves
September 2027Thursday 30 SeptemberFriday 24 September25 September is a Saturday
October 2027Friday 29 OctoberMonday 25 October31 October is a Sunday
November 2027Tuesday 30 NovemberThursday 25 NovemberNeither date moves
December 2027Friday 31 DecemberFriday 24 December25 December is a Saturday

Source: GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026)

Christmas payday 2026

December 2026's last working day is Thursday 31 December. Christmas Day is Friday 25 December and the Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December.

On the 25th rule, payday lands on Thursday 24 December, the working day before Christmas Day. An employer may choose to pay earlier in December than its usual rule gives; only the employer sets that date.

Source: GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026)

Scotland and Northern Ireland

In Scotland, the summer bank holiday is the first Monday in August, and St Andrew's Day (30 November) is a bank holiday. So three last-working-day dates differ from the tables above:

Monday 31 August 2026 (not Friday 28 August); Friday 27 November 2026 (not Monday 30 November); Monday 29 November 2027 (not Tuesday 30 November). No date on the 25th rule moves.

Northern Ireland's two extra bank holidays are St Patrick's Day on 17 March and the Battle of the Boyne in July. Neither falls on either rule's date in 2026 or 2027, so its dates match England and Wales.

Source: GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026)

What payday sets for the employer

Payday starts HMRC's clock, not the other way round. The Full Payment Submission is due on or before payday.

The tax month the payday falls in runs from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next. It sets the deadlines in the month after: the EPS by the 19th, and PAYE payment by the 22nd (the 19th by cheque).

A payday of Monday 30 November 2026 sits in the tax month of 6 November to 5 December 2026. Its EPS is due by 19 December 2026 and its PAYE payment by 22 December 2026.

Source: gov.uk: pay your PAYE bill

Enter your own payday in the calculator to get every deadline that follows it, including the earlier date if you pay HMRC by cheque.

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Questions, answered directly

When is payday in September 2026?

Wednesday 30 September 2026 on a last-working-day payroll, and Friday 25 September on one that pays the 25th. Neither date is a weekend or bank holiday, so neither moves, in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as England and Wales. (GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026))

When is payday in October 2026?

Friday 30 October 2026 on a last-working-day payroll, because 31 October is a Saturday. Friday 23 October on one that pays the 25th, because 25 October is a Sunday. (GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026))

When is the next payday in the UK?

A last-working-day payroll pays on Monday 30 November 2026, Thursday 31 December 2026 and Friday 29 January 2027. A payroll on the 25th pays on Wednesday 25 November, Thursday 24 December and Monday 25 January 2027. Every month to December 2027 is in the tables here; your own payday is set by your employer. (GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026))

When is payday in November 2026?

Monday 30 November 2026 on a last-working-day payroll in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland it is Friday 27 November, because St Andrew's Day is Monday 30 November. On a payroll that pays the 25th it is Wednesday 25 November. Your own payday is the date your employer sets. (GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026))

When is payday in December 2026?

Thursday 31 December 2026 on a payroll that pays the last working day, and Thursday 24 December on one that pays the 25th, because Christmas Day is Friday 25 December. An employer may pay earlier in December than its usual rule; only the employer sets that date. (GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026))

When is payday in January 2027?

Friday 29 January 2027 on a payroll that pays the last working day, because 31 January is a Sunday, and Monday 25 January on one that pays the 25th. Your own payday is the date your employer sets. (GOV.UK, UK bank holidays (bank-holidays.json, read 22 October 2026))

What happens when payday falls on a weekend or bank holiday?

The employer decides: a pay rule may move payday to the working day before or to the working day after. The tables on this page apply the working day before. For HMRC, the employer still reports the usual payday on the Full Payment Submission even when it actually paid earlier or later. (gov.uk: running payroll, FPS)

Sources

This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:

  • The Employer Rates Thresholds carries 90 published figures read from 10 sources' own pages; the 61 published figures given by figure run from 7.55 to 125,140 GBP, read 11 November 2026.
  • The PAYE Deadline Calendar carries 8 published figures read from 5 sources' own pages, from 2 to 90 day, read 7 November 2026.
  • The RTI Penalty Schedule carries 9 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages; the 5 published figures given by employer size run from 100 to 400 GBP, read 7 November 2026.
  1. HMRC. Running payroll: FPS, EPS and paying HMRC
  2. HMRC. Pay your PAYE bill to HMRC
  3. HMRC, PAYE and payroll for employers: annual reporting and tasks
  4. HMRC, expenses and benefits: reporting and paying, including deadlines
  5. HMRC, what happens if you do not report payroll information on time
  6. HMRC, register as an employer
  7. HMRC, what to do when an employee leaves
  8. GOV.UK. UK bank holidays
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