RTI — what exactly do I have to report to HMRC on or before each payday?

Congratulations on the new hires — and well done for registering as an employer early, that's exactly the right first step.

The Full Payment Submission is the heart of Real Time Information. Every time you pay your staff, on or before payday, your payroll software sends HMRC an FPS covering: each employee's pay for that period (salary or wages plus any other pay), the deductions you've made (Income Tax, employee National Insurance, student loan deductions and pension contributions), and the employer's National Insurance due on their earnings. Include everyone you pay, even someone earning under £96 a week. Starter and leaver details go through RTI too — a new starter is reported on their first FPS (use HMRC's starter checklist if there's no P45), and leavers are flagged when they go.

If you're a day or two late, send the FPS as soon as you can — there's a formal late-FPS process and HMRC will usually send a late filing notice first. But don't make a habit of it: HMRC can charge penalties for persistent late filing, and late or missing reports can affect your employees' Universal Credit and other income-related benefits, which is the part that really matters to them.

Most basic payroll software handles all of this automatically once the pay run is done — the main discipline is simply running it on time, every payday.

Dasiy's covered what goes in the FPS — here's the discipline side: the payday routine and what lateness costs.

A four-step payday checklist: first, submit the FPS on or before payday — the rule is about when you pay your staff, not when you pay HMRC. Second, check what you owe in your HMRC account from the 10th of the next month. Third, to claim anything back (statutory pay, or a month with no payments), send an Employer Payment Summary by the 19th. Fourth, pay HMRC by the 22nd (19th by post) and issue payslips.

On lateness, there's more leeway than most fear: no penalty if the FPS is late but every payment was within 3 days of payday (unless you're a regular late filer); your first failure in the tax year is excused; and a new employer's first FPS is fine within 30 days of paying. After that it's £100 a month for 1–9 employees, rising with headcount, issued quarterly. Spot a mistake? Send a corrected FPS as soon as possible; for extra payments after payday, send a separate FPS before the next regular report.