As a small business owner, your payroll year-end is a crucial time to finalise payroll records for the tax year. It’s all about reporting your total payments and deductions to HMRC, ensuring everything is squared away before stepping into a new tax year.
Key Steps to a Smooth Payroll Year-End:
- Check When Your Payroll Ends – Typically, the year-end date is 5 April. Ensure you submit reports to HMRC on or before your final pay day of the year.
- Confirm Leavers – Keep accurate records of all employees to ensure all leavers have been noted. This step is essential before you submit your Full Payment Submission (FPS) or Employer Payment Summary (EPS).
- Conduct Your Final Pay Run – Complete your final pay run with a payment date between 6 March and 5 April. Send the final FPS and, if necessary, EPS by 19 April.
- Finalise Your Payroll Year-End Process – Most payroll software will assist with year-end processing. Make sure to handle any corrections or claims by 19 April.
- Prepare and Distribute P60s – Provide all employees with P60s by 31 May. This document summarises their earnings and tax paid over the year.
- Check Tax Codes – Ensure uplifts and amendments have been made, these are usually automatic through your payroll software if not , they may need to be entered manually.
- National Insurance Employers Allowance – Check you meet the eligibility criteria and submit the Real Time Information (RTI) confirmation, information is available on the government website here.
- National Minimum Wage limits – Run a check to ensure that all your employees still meet the minimum wage limits, rates and thresholds for employers are available here.
By following these steps, you’ll smoothly close out your payroll for the tax year and be ready to tackle the new one.
Keep track of those all-important deadlines by transferring the following into your calendar:
- 5 April 2025: 2024/25 tax year-end
- 5 April: The last day to update your employee payroll records and your payroll software
- 6 April: The new tax year for 2025/26 begins
- 19 April: The deadline for the final submission of the 2024/25 tax year
- 22 April: The deadline for month 12 PAYE
- 31 May: The deadline to send your employees their P60s
- 6 July: The deadline to report on expenses and benefits (using your payroll software if applicable)
- 6 July: The deadline to submit your P11D and P11D(b) forms
- 22 July: The deadline for payments of class 1A National Insurance Contributions on benefits in kind to HMRC (If you’re not using digital systems, the deadline is 19 July)
