PAYE Payment Deadlines for Employers: 19th or 22nd?

Employers must pay PAYE and National Insurance to HMRC by the 22nd of the next tax month if paying electronically, or by the 19th if paying by cheque through the post. Small employers who expect to pay under £1,500 a month on average can arrange to pay quarterly instead. This guide explains how the dates work, what the payment includes, and how to avoid the mistakes that lead to late payment charges.

Key takeaways

• Electronic payment: funds must reach HMRC by the 22nd. Cheque by post: the 19th.
• A tax month runs from the 6th to the 5th, not from the 1st to the last day.
• The next quarterly payment date is 22 October 2026, for the quarter ended 5 October 2026.
• Reporting and paying are separate. A Full Payment Submission tells HMRC what is owed. It does not pay it.
• Use the right payment reference, or the money may be allocated to the wrong period.

What is PAYE?

PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn. It is the system through which employers deduct Income Tax and employee National Insurance from wages before paying staff, and then hand those deductions to HMRC along with the employer's own National Insurance. If you run a payroll, including one where the only person paid is a director, you are responsible for calculating, reporting and paying your employers' PAYE bill on time.

What the payment includes

The amount you send to HMRC for each period is usually made up of:

• Income Tax deducted from employees' pay.
• Employee National Insurance (Class 1) deducted from pay.
• Employer National Insurance (Class 1) on those wages.
• Student loan and postgraduate loan deductions.
• Construction Industry Scheme deductions, if you are also a CIS contractor.
• The Apprenticeship Levy, for the large employers it applies to.

From that total you subtract anything you are entitled to recover or offset, such as statutory parental payments you can reclaim, the Employment Allowance if you qualify, or CIS deductions a limited company has suffered as a subcontractor. These reductions are claimed through an Employer Payment Summary.

Workplace pension contributions are not part of this payment. They go to your pension provider on that scheme's own timetable. See our guide to auto-enrolment duties.

How tax months work

The detail that catches most new employers out is that payroll runs on tax months, not calendar months. Tax month 1 runs from 6 April to 5 May, tax month 2 from 6 May to 5 June, and so on through to tax month 12, which ends on 5 April.

What matters is the date your staff are paid, not the period they worked. If you pay on the last working day of the month, wages paid on 30 September 2026 fall in the tax month 6 September to 5 October 2026, and the PAYE on them is due by 22 October 2026. If you pay on the 3rd of each month, wages paid on 3 October fall in that same tax month and are due on the same date.

Monthly vs quarterly payment

Quarterly payment eases cash flow and admin, but the bill is three times the size when it arrives. Put the money aside each month. Confirm the current threshold and how to apply on the GOV.UK guidance on paying HMRC.

Reporting is not the same as paying

Under Real Time Information you send a Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC on or before each payday. If you need to claim a reduction, or you paid no one in a tax month, you also send an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) by the 19th after the tax month ends. HMRC uses those reports to work out what you owe. Our guide to payslips and RTI reporting covers the detail, and HMRC explains it under reporting to HMRC.

None of that moves any money. Unless you have set up a Direct Debit for HMRC to collect the amount shown by your submissions, you must make the payment yourself.

Step by step: paying on time

1. Run payroll and send the FPS on or before payday.
2. Send an EPS if needed to claim reductions or report a nil month.
3. Take the amount due from your payroll software for the tax month or quarter. Many products label this the P32 or employer payment record.
4. Check your HMRC business tax account a few days later to see that HMRC's figure agrees with yours.
5. Pay using your 13-character Accounts Office reference. If you are paying early or late, add the four extra digits for the year and month, as HMRC describes on GOV.UK, so the payment is matched to the right period.
6. Allow clearing time. Faster Payments usually arrive the same or next day. Bacs takes around three working days. A new Direct Debit takes longer to set up.
7. Keep proof of payment with your payroll records.

Worked example (illustrative)

"Harbour Lane Coffee Ltd", an illustrative example, is a small cafe with a director and two part-time staff. Everyone is paid on the 28th of each month. Its monthly PAYE bill averages around £620, so the director arranges with HMRC to pay quarterly.

Wages are paid on 28 July, 28 August and 28 September 2026. All three paydays fall in the quarter from 6 July to 5 October 2026. The payroll software shows £640, £610 and £625 due for those three tax months, a total of £1,875. An FPS was sent on each payday. The director pays £1,875 by Faster Payments on Monday 19 October 2026 using the Accounts Office reference, comfortably ahead of the Thursday 22 October deadline, and saves the bank confirmation with the payroll reports.

The business and the figures are invented for illustration. Your own amounts will depend on your staff, their pay and their tax codes.

What if you pay late?

HMRC charges interest on PAYE paid late, and can charge late payment penalties that increase with the number of late payments in a tax year. The rates and bands change, so check the current figures on GOV.UK rather than relying on a number quoted elsewhere. Separate penalties can apply for late Full Payment Submissions.

If you know you cannot pay in full, contact HMRC before the deadline. Arranging time to pay in advance is always better than silence.

Common mistakes

• Working to calendar months. The period ends on the 5th, and it is the payday that determines which tax month wages fall into.
• Treating the 22nd as a send date. It is the date cleared funds must be with HMRC.
• Assuming the FPS pays the bill. It only reports it.
• Missing the EPS in a nil month. HMRC may estimate a bill and chase it.
• Using the wrong reference. Payments can sit unallocated while HMRC shows you as owing money.
• Forgetting December. If you pay staff early before Christmas, the reporting and payment dates still follow the normal rules. Check HMRC's guidance for that period.

How we can help

We run payroll for small employers and director-only companies: payslips, real time submissions, pension uploads and a clear note each month of exactly what to pay HMRC and by when. Payroll starts from £25 per month per employee on a fixed fee. See our Payroll service, view our pricing, or contact us.