{"id":200913,"date":"2026-09-04T15:56:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/?p=200913"},"modified":"2026-09-04T15:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:58:29","slug":"payroll-year-end-employers-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factorialhr.co.uk\/blog\/payroll-year-end-employers-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Payroll Year End: The Employer’s Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Payroll year-end closes one tax year and starts the next. It is the point in the year when employers close their payroll records for one UK tax year, make their final reports to HMRC, and prepare payroll for the next tax year.<\/p>\n

There are a few things you need to do: Your final Full Payment Submission (FPS) needs to be correct, employees who are still working for you at the end of the tax year need P60s, outstanding expenses and benefits need to be sorted out, and your payroll records and software need to be ready for 6 April.<\/p>\n

This payroll year end checklist takes you through the whole process in order, from checking your final pay period to getting the first payroll of the new tax year ready.<\/p>\n

What is payroll year-end?<\/h2>\n

Payroll year-end is the process of closing your payroll records for the UK tax year and preparing them for the next one.<\/p>\n

The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. This is separate from your company’s accounting year, so your payroll year-end always follows the tax year even if your financial year ends on another date. At year-end, employers need to confirm that employee pay and deductions have been reported correctly, send their final payroll report, prepare employee records for the new tax year and complete several follow-up tasks. HMRC<\/a> sets out the main year-end responsibilities, which we will walk through in this article.<\/p>\n

When is payroll year-end?<\/h2>\n

For the current 2026\/27 tax year, payroll year-end is 5 April 2027. The 2027\/28 tax year starts the following day, on 6 April 2027.<\/p>\n

The main payroll year-end deadlines are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Task<\/strong><\/td>\nDeadline<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Send your final Full Payment Submission (FPS)<\/td>\nOn or before the final payday of the tax year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Update employee payroll records<\/td>\nFrom 6 April<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Update payroll software<\/td>\nFrom 6 April, or earlier if instructed by your provider<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Give employees their P60<\/td>\nBy 31 May<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Report relevant expenses and benefits<\/td>\nBy 6 July<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pay Class 1A National Insurance on relevant benefits<\/td>\nBy 22 July electronically, or 19 July by post<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This means that your final payroll submission is tied to your employees’ last payday<\/strong> rather than to 5 April itself. HMRC says the final FPS should be sent on or before that payday.<\/p>\n

How many pay periods are in a year?<\/h2>\n

Before starting your payroll year-end process, check whether you have an extra pay period.<\/p>\n

How many pay periods in a year depends on how often employees are paid:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pay frequency<\/strong><\/td>\nUsual number of paydays<\/strong><\/td>\nPossible extra payday<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Monthly<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nNone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weekly<\/td>\n52<\/td>\n53<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fortnightly<\/td>\n26<\/td>\n27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Every four weeks<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

HMRC refers to an extra weekly payment as week 53. The equivalent extra fortnightly payment is reported as week 54, while an extra four-weekly payment is reported as week 56. Monthly payroll always has 12 monthly pay periods, so there is no month 13. Payroll software<\/a> should normally calculate the treatment of these additional payments.<\/p>\n

Payroll year end process at a glance<\/h2>\n

Before we go through the detailed payroll year-end checklist, the process can be boiled down to these stages:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Confirm your final pay period and whether an extra payday applies.<\/li>\n
  2. Check starters, leavers and employee records.<\/li>\n
  3. Review tax codes and HMRC notices.<\/li>\n
  4. Reconcile year-to-date payroll figures.<\/li>\n
  5. Process outstanding pay, deductions, benefits and corrections.<\/li>\n
  6. Review statutory payments, reclaims and employer allowances.<\/li>\n
  7. Run the final payroll and send the correct FPS or EPS.<\/li>\n
  8. Pay the final PAYE amount to HMRC.<\/li>\n
  9. Produce and distribute P60s.<\/li>\n
  10. Deal with expenses, benefits and Class 1A National Insurance.<\/li>\n
  11. Update payroll records, rates, tax codes and software for the new tax year.<\/li>\n
  12. Archive the old year and approve the first payroll of the new one.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    That\u2019s the payroll year-end process in broad terms. Now let\u2019s go through each step in more detail, including what to check, what to submit, and the deadlines to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

    Payroll year-end checklist: step-by-step<\/h2>\n

    With the overall process mapped out, you can work through each task in order. The steps below explain what to check, what to submit, and which payroll year-end deadlines to keep on your radar.<\/p>\n

    1. Confirm your final payroll and pay period<\/h3>\n

    The process of payroll at the end of the year starts with understanding your payroll calendar.<\/p>\n

    Identify the final payday falling in the tax year and check whether any employees paid weekly, fortnightly or every four weeks have an additional pay period.<\/p>\n

    If there is a week 53, week 54 or week 56 payment, make sure your software is set up to process and report it correctly. The correct tax week number must be included in the FPS.<\/p>\n

    If you have several payrolls<\/strong> under the same PAYE scheme<\/strong> reference, such as one weekly payroll and another monthly payroll, HMRC says<\/a> the end-of-year information should be included in your last report.<\/p>\n

    This is also a good point to confirm that your payroll calendar matches the actual payment dates<\/strong> used during the year.<\/p>\n

    2. Check starters, leavers and employee records<\/h3>\n

    The next step in your payroll year end checklist is a final sweep of employee data.<\/p>\n

    Check that every starter and leaver has been processed correctly, especially employees who joined or left close to year end. Review:<\/p>\n