UK payroll and tax dates in 2027

Monthly PAYE and National Insurance is due on the 22nd of the month in 2027. Two of those dates fall on a weekend, because May 22 is a Saturday and August 22 is a Sunday. For a Sunday deadline on November 22, 2026, HMRC’s Employer Bulletin of October 21, 2026 says funds need to be cleared by Friday, November 20, unless the employer can arrange a faster payment. The Budget documents published on October 28, 2026 say the Class 1 lower earnings limit will be £133 a week in 2027 to 2028. They also set out mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind from April 6, 2027, in two phases, and a higher mileage rate above 10,000 miles and new van and fuel benefit charges from the same date. All of these still need legislation.

Three more dates need more than the 22nd rule. The P60 deadline of May 31 is a bank holiday, the July benefit dates still run on the old P11D process (report by July 6, pay Class 1A by July 22), and HMRC’s payrolling registration services open in November 2026, before the tax year ends.

When the 22nd falls on a weekend

HMRC’s monthly rule is “the 22nd of the next tax month”, and tax months run from the 6th to the 5th. A payment sent by post must reach HMRC by the 19th instead. HMRC’s PAYE overview and its page on paying HMRC give no rule for a deadline that falls on a weekend.

The nearest guidance is the October 2026 Employer Bulletin. It says the electronic payment deadline falls on Sunday, November 22, 2026. It adds that “you need to have funds cleared into HMRC’s account by 20 November 2026, unless you are able to arrange a faster payment.” That example covers a Sunday in 2026, gives no 2027 date, does not define a faster payment and says nothing about a Saturday deadline. HMRC’s page on other payment methods says Faster Payments “usually reach HMRC on the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays”. HMRC says a late payment may bring interest and penalties. For a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA), HMRC does set a weekend rule. The payment must reach HMRC on the last working day before the deadline, unless it goes by Faster Payments. Our view is to clear the May payment by Friday, May 21. Do the same for August by Friday, August 20.

The 19th has the same problem. In 2027 it is a Saturday in June and a Sunday in September and December. It sets the deadline for payments sent by post and for the Employer Payment Summary (EPS), which HMRC says is due “by the 19th of the following tax month” so that HMRC can apply reductions. HMRC’s pages on paying HMRC and on what payroll information to report give no weekend rule for either. With no rule published, our view is to send both by the Friday before.

Quarterly payers pay by the 22nd after the end of the quarter, and all four of those dates are weekdays in 2027. HMRC says employers who usually pay under £1,500 a month may be able to pay quarterly and should contact the payment helpline.

The final payroll report, April 19 and the P60 at year end

The 2026 to 2027 tax year ends on Monday, April 5, 2027. The next one starts on Tuesday, April 6. HMRC says to send the final Full Payment Submission (FPS) “on or before your employees’ last payday of the tax year”, so the deadline is your own last payday.

To correct the final figures, HMRC’s table says “By 19 April” for “an additional FPS with corrected year-to-date figures” and “After 19 April” for “an FPS showing the correct year-to-date amounts”. The table names no tax year, and the page’s only dated example is for 2025 to 2026. So Monday, April 19, 2027 is the same row applied to 2026 to 2027. HMRC prints no 2027 date.

HMRC says “You must give your employees a P60 by 31 May.” May 31, 2027 falls on a Monday. It is the Spring bank holiday across the UK. The P60 page states no bank holiday rule and does not move the date. Give P60s out by Friday, May 28. The other 2027 bank holidays are on UK Bank Holidays 2027 for Employers.

Benefits reporting in July 2027 still follows the old process

Reporting expenses and benefits for 2026 to 2027 is due by July 6, 2027 (a Tuesday). The same date applies to giving employees a copy of the information and to reporting the total Class 1A National Insurance owed. Class 1A is payable by July 22 (a Thursday), or by July 19 (a Monday) if paying by post. HMRC’s payrolling guidance confirms that in July 2027 “you will still need to pay the Class 1A National Insurance contributions” for benefits provided in 2026 to 2027 under the current P11D system.

A PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) for 2026 to 2027 has two dates. The application deadline is “5 July following the first tax year it applies to”, which is July 5, 2027 (a Monday). Payment is due by October 22 (a Friday), or by October 19 (a Tuesday) if paying by post. None of the July or October dates falls on a weekend or a bank holiday.

Payrolling of benefits from April 6, 2027 is announced and not yet law

The Budget’s overview of tax legislation and rates says the government will introduce legislation in Finance Bill 2026-27 to require employers to report and payroll most benefits in kind and taxable expenses through Real Time Information. Until Parliament passes the legislation, treat April 6, 2027 as an announced date.

The first phase takes effect on April 6, 2027 (a Tuesday) for company cars and vans, car and van fuel, and medical benefits. All other benefits in kind follow from April 6, 2028, with the exception of employment-related loans and employer-provided living accommodation, which HMRC says remain voluntary. Employers do not need to register to payroll the mandatory benefits, and HMRC says it will automatically remove them from employees’ tax codes.

HMRC says benefits outside the mandate can still be payrolled voluntarily, that its registration service for 2027 to 2028 goes live in November 2026 and that registration closes on Monday, April 5, 2027. Existing registrations continue automatically for 2027 to 2028. An employer that does not want to continue has to withdraw its registration by April 5, 2027, and then keeps using P11D and P11D(b) forms for those benefits. From April 6, 2027, Class 1A on voluntarily payrolled benefits must be reported and paid through payroll in real time. Employers can also exclude eligible globally mobile employees from mandatory payrolling through a new service available from November 2026, and keep reporting them on forms P11D and P11D(b).

What changes for pay on April 6, 2027

In Annex A of the Budget overview, only the lower earnings limit moves among the Class 1 limits and thresholds. The overview says the remaining National Insurance limits and thresholds are maintained at 2026 to 2027 levels until the 2030 to 2031 tax year, and that the government will legislate through affirmative secondary legislation in early 2027. The same measure raises the Class 2 Small Profits Threshold to £7,355 a year, the voluntary Class 2 rate to £3.80 a week and the Class 3 rate to £19.05 a week.

Two more measures start on April 6, 2027. The approved mileage allowance payment rate for business mileage above 10,000 miles rises from 25p to 35p a mile, and the same change applies to the corresponding National Insurance disregard for relevant motoring expenditure. The van benefit charge, the van fuel benefit charge and the car fuel benefit charge multiplier are also uprated. The government says it will introduce each by statutory instrument later in the year.

The 2027 to 2028 column comes from the Budget overview (Annex A and measures 2.1 and 2.7), apart from the student loan row, which comes from the August 10, 2026 announcement. The 2026 to 2027 student loan figure and the £6,708 annual lower earnings limit come from HMRC’s employer rates page. The Class 1 table in Annex A prints weekly amounts only. The annual lower earnings limit for 2027 to 2028 appears in the text of measure 2.1, and no monthly figure is printed. Other 2027 employment dates sit on UK Employment Law Changes 2027, and the minimum wage is on UK Minimum Wage 2027: National Living Wage From April. For US dates, see Payroll Calendar 2027 (Biweekly and Semi-Monthly).

What we could not confirm

• HMRC’s rates and thresholds page for 2027 to 2028. The 2026 to 2027 edition was first published on January 30, 2026 and mentions no next edition.
• Statutory pay rates for 2027 to 2028, the Apprenticeship Levy rate and allowance, and the Class 1A rate. Annex A has no row for them, so a 2026 to 2027 figure is not a 2027 to 2028 figure.
• Student loan thresholds for 2027 to 2028 other than Plan 1. The August 10, 2026 announcement gives Plan 1 only.
• Scottish income tax bands for 2027 to 2028. Annex A has no table of them.
• The date Finance Bill 2026-27 is introduced. The Budget overview gives none.
• Whether the secondary legislation for payrolling is published. HMRC’s timeline puts the draft at “Autumn Budget 2026”, and this review did not confirm that it is out.
• A weekend rule for a Saturday 22nd or for the 19th, and a bank holiday rule for the P60. HMRC’s PAYE pages give none. Its PSA payment page says a payment due on a weekend or bank holiday must reach HMRC “on the last working day before it”, and its Class 1A page says “the last working day of the week”, each unless paid by Faster Payments.
• The 2027 to 2028 values of the van benefit charge, the van fuel benefit charge and the car fuel benefit charge multiplier. Measure 2.6 lists them, but this review could not match each figure to its label.

Your 2027 payroll plan

1. By December 2026, ask your payroll software supplier how it will report the first-phase benefits from April 6, 2027. Decide whether to register for voluntary payrolling of other benefits, or to withdraw, by April 5, 2027.
2. Put May 21 and August 20 (both Fridays) in your payment calendar as the dates to have funds cleared. Send the EPS and posted payments due on the 19ths that fall on a weekend by the Friday before.
3. At year end, send the final FPS on or before your last payday. Send any correction by April 19 and give P60s by Friday, May 28.
4. In July, run the 2026 to 2027 benefits process once more. Report by July 6, pay Class 1A by July 22 and make any PSA application by July 5.
5. For the first pay run of 2027 to 2028, load the £133 lower earnings limit once the regulations are made, and the £28,005 Plan 1 threshold. Check the 35p mileage rate and the van and fuel charges once their statutory instruments are made. Load every other 2027 to 2028 figure when HMRC publishes its page.

Put these dates into the HR Compliance Calendar 2027 this week, starting with the two weekend 22nds.

Written and reviewed by the HR Riant Editorial Team. General information, not legal advice.