Guidance

Reporting employees' wages to HMRC when you've claimed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Find out how and when to report employees' wages to HMRC using the PAYE Real Time Information system.

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
23 April 2020
Last updated
20 May 2021 — See all updates

This guidance was withdrawn on

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ended on 30 September 2021.

You can:

If you’re claiming a grant through the scheme, the steps to do this are:

  1. Check if you can claim.

  2. Check which employees you can put on furlough.

  3. Steps to take before calculating your claim.

  4. Calculate how much you should claim.

  5. Claim for your employees’ wages.

  6. Report a payment in PAYE Real Time Information.

For periods from 1 May 2021, you can claim for employees who were employed on 2 March 2021, as long as you have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 2 March 2021, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee. You do not need to have previously claimed for an employee before 2 March 2021 to claim for periods from 1 May 2021.

From 1 July 2021, the level of grant will be reduced and you will be asked to contribute towards the cost of your furloughed employees’ wages.

All employers with a UK bank account and UK PAYE schemes can claim the grant. You do not need to have previously claimed for an employee before 2 March 2021.

If you’ve claimed a grant through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, you should check if you need to report payments on the PAYE Real Time Information system, as this will depend on whether you are using the grant to:

  • pay wages
  • reimburse wages that you’ve already paid

Under both circumstances you must deduct and income tax and employee National Insurance contributions on the full amount that you pay the employee, including any scheme grant and pay it to HMRC.

You must also pay HMRC the employer National Insurance contributions on the full amount that you pay the employee, including any scheme grant.

You must report these payments through a Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before the pay date.

If you’re using the grant to pay wages

Any grant paid to you, is to be used to pay wages to your furloughed employees and should be treated in the same way as any wage payment and is subject to all payroll deductions.

You should pay employees on their contractual payment date so that employees receiving Universal Credit are not affected.

The grant paid is included in pay reported to HMRC through your payroll filing software of a Full Payment Submission, on or before the date that it is paid to your employees.

If you have paid your employees and submitted your Real Time Information submission early

If you have already paid your employees before their contractual payment date, the next time you pay them, make sure it’s on their normal contractual payment date.

You should submit the Full Payment Submission on or before the date that you make the payment.

If you’re using the grant to reimburse wages already paid

If you have continued to pay your employees during a period of furlough, in advance of receiving any payments under the scheme, you do not need to make another Full Payment Submission for this amount. This is because the furlough grant is reimbursing the wages you have already paid out and already reported.

If you pay the full amount of an employee’s normal wage during furlough

If you choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant, that is your choice and at your own expense.

You must deduct and pay to HMRC income tax and employee National Insurance contributions on the full amount that you pay the employee.

You must also pay to HMRC the employer National Insurance contributions on the full amount that you pay the employee.

If you have not paid your employees’ wages yet

If you have not paid any of your employees any wage payments in a tax month

You must submit an Employer Payment Submission stating you have not paid any employees in that tax month. The Employer Payment Submission should be sent no later than 19th of the following tax month where possible. Do not submit a nil Full Payment Submission.

If you only pay your employees part of their normal wage until the grant payment is received

You must deduct and pay to HMRC income tax and employee National Insurance contributions on the full amount that you pay the employee.

You must also pay to HMRC the employer National Insurance contributions on the full amount that you pay the employee.

You must report these payments through a Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before the pay date.

You must only send a Full Payment Submission reporting the payments you actually made. When you pay the remaining wages to your employees after receiving the grant payment, you must send another Full Payment Submission showing that payment.

Updates to this page

Published 23 April 2020
Last updated 20 May 2021 + show all updates

  1. Claims for furlough days in May 2021 must be made by 14 June 2021.

  2. Claims for furlough days in April 2021 must be made by 14 May 2021.

  3. Claims for furlough days in March 2021 must be made by 14 April 2021.

  4. From 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021, you can claim for employees who were employed on 30 October 2020, as long as you made a PAYE RTI submission between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020.

  5. The scheme has been extended until 30 September 2021. From 1 July 2021, the level of grant will be reduced each month and employers will be asked to contribute towards the cost of furloughed employees’ wages. New information on claim periods from May 2021 added.

  6. Claims for furlough days in February 2021 must be made by 15 March 2021.

  7. Added translation

  8. Added translation

  9. Removal of paragraph relating to submission of another Full Payment Submission when employers continue to pay employees in advance of receiving any payments under the scheme.

  10. Added Welsh translation.

  11. Updated to remove reference to January review and reflect that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended to 30 April 2021.

  12. Guidance updated to reflect that 30 November claims deadline has now passed.

  13. The scheme has been extended. This guidance has been updated with details of how to claim for periods after 1 November 2020. 30 November 2020 is the last day employers can submit or change claims for periods ending on or before 31 October 2020.

  14. Added translation.

  15. Information call out updated to state that the scheme is being extended until 31 March 2021.

  16. Information call out has been updated to confirm that the guidance on this page reflects the rules for the period until 31 October 2020. This page will be updated to include the rules relating to the scheme extension shortly.

  17. Added translation

  18. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is being extended until December 2020.

  19. Information call out has been updated - the scheme is now closed. 30 November 2020 is the last date you can submit claims.

  20. The information call out at the top of the page has been updated with the changes to the scheme. 30 November 2020 is the last day employers can submit or change claims for periods ending on or before 30 October 2020.

  21. The information call out at the top of the page has been updated with the changes to the scheme from 1 September.

  22. Adjusted the wording to make clearer that both employee and employer National Insurance contributions have to be paid to HMRC on the full amount.

  23. Page updated with information that employee taxes and pension contribution payments must be paid directly to HMRC.

  24. Page updated with information about how the scheme is changing.

  25. Information in box at the top of the page updated with how the scheme is changing.

  26. Page updated with information about how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is changing.

  27. First published.

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