Special payroll deadline for Christmas
If you pay staff early in December because of Christmas it’s important that you enter the information on your payroll submission correctly. What do you need to know to get this right?
PAYE and NI reporting
As an employer you’ll be aware of the deadline that applies for reporting payroll information to HMRC. In recent years HMRC has relaxed this where salaries are paid to employees earlier than their usual pay date over the Christmas period. HMRC has confirmed the concession will apply for the 2025 festive period and that it is now a “permanent easement”.
Enter the right date
If you pay your employees earlier than usual you should nevertheless show the normal payment date on your full payment submission (FPS). This isn’t just an administrative convenience for whoever operates your payroll, it’s important for any of your employees who claim universal credit (UC). Entering the actual rather than the normal date they are paid on the FPS can adversely affect their entitlement to the UC.
Example. You pay your employees on 19 December 2025 whereas you normally pay them on the last working day of the month, in this example that would be 31 December. On your FPS you should show the payment date as 31 December and submit the FPS to HMRC at any time on or before that date.
Related Topics
-
Electronic VAT return and payment due
-
Alternative education providers can protect VAT refund claims
HMRC has confirmed that some alternative providers of higher and further education can submit VAT refund claims following a Court of Appeal ruling, despite HMRC appealing the decision to the Supreme Court. What do you need to know?
-
Old IHT forms will be rejected
HMRC has stopped processing old versions of the Inheritance Tax IHT100 forms from 31 August 2026. Anyone reporting an IHT chargeable event involving a gift or trust will need to make sure they are using the correct forms. What do you need to know?