UK payroll (PAYE) – from employer registration to year-end forms.
As soon as your UK company pays a salary – to staff or only to a director – it must operate PAYE: deduct income tax and National Insurance and report each payment to HMRC in real time.
What payroll involves
- Employer registration with HMRC before the first payday.
- RTI submissions – a Full Payment Submission on or before each payday.
- Income tax and National Insurance calculations and payments to HMRC.
- Payslips for employees.
- Year-end forms: P60 by 31 May, P45 for leavers, P11D for benefits.
- Pension auto-enrolment duties and declarations.
Director's salary
For small companies we often set a modest director's salary with the remaining profit paid as dividends – tax-efficient while protecting entitlement to UK state benefits.