PAYE employer registration

Before the first pay day on which you pay anyone at or above the lower earnings limit (£129 a week in 2026/27), or anyone who has another job or receives a pension, or anyone who receives expenses or benefits, regardless of how much you pay them. Most businesses with any employee or salaried director need a scheme. You cannot register more than two months before the first payment.

Registration alone is £49. Registration with payroll software set up, the scheme references entered and the first employee or director added ready for the first run is £99. The £109 package adds a written explanation of your workplace pension duties and the scheme options. HMRC charges nothing to register.

HMRC usually issues the PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference within five working days of an online application, sometimes up to two weeks by post. You can run payroll before the references arrive but cannot submit to HMRC until you have them, so register at least two weeks before the first pay day.

If the salary is above the lower earnings limit, or you have other employment or pension income, yes. Even below the limit, a salary only counts towards your National Insurance record and is only deductible for Corporation Tax if it is reported through RTI, which requires a scheme. Almost every director taking a salary needs one.

Real Time Information: the requirement to report pay and deductions to HMRC on or before each pay day through a Full Payment Submission. It applies from the first payment under the scheme. Late or missing submissions attract monthly penalties from £100. Our payroll service files every submission on the pay date.

A reduction of up to £10,500 a year (2026/27) in the employer National Insurance a business pays. Most employers with employer NI liabilities qualify; companies whose only employee is a director do not. We check eligibility at registration and claim it through the first Employer Payment Summission if you qualify.

From the day your first employee starts you have duties under auto-enrolment: assess each worker, enrol eligible ones (aged 22 to State Pension age, earning over £10,000) into a qualifying scheme, pay minimum contributions and complete a declaration of compliance with the Pensions Regulator within five months. The £109 package explains your position; our £99 pension setup service implements it.

Register now and report the earlier payments. HMRC will expect the PAYE and National Insurance that should have been deducted, with interest and possibly penalties, reduced for voluntary disclosure. We register you, reconstruct the missed payments and deal with HMRC. Acting first is always cheaper than being found.

Yes. A sole trader taking on staff registers as an employer in their own name using their Unique Taxpayer Reference. The scheme operates exactly as a company's does. Sole traders cannot be their own employees, so they do not go on the payroll themselves.

The business's legal name and address, Unique Taxpayer Reference, company number if applicable, the date of the first payment, the number of employees expected, and the contact details of the employer. For a company, the directors' details. We gather it in one conversation.

Their P45 from the previous job or a completed starter checklist, National Insurance number, date of birth, address, bank details for payment and the agreed pay and hours. The starter information determines their tax code from the first payment. We process it as part of the £99 package.

Employer's liability insurance of at least £5 million, a written statement of employment particulars by the first day, right-to-work checks before the start date, a workplace pension scheme, and payment at or above the National Minimum Wage. We handle the payroll and pension and tell you plainly what the rest requires.