Pay employers' Class 1A National Insurance
Direct Debit
You can set up a Direct Debit through your HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online account to either:
- pay your bill automatically
- make a single payment
You cannot use an existing Direct Debit for standard PAYE payments.
Pay your bill automatically
HMRC will automatically collect the payment from your bank account based on the amount in your return. You’ll only need to set the Direct Debit up once.
Set it up at least 4 working days before your payment due date.
HMRC will usually take the payment either:
- shortly after the 22nd of the month
- 4 working days after you file the return (if you file it after the 19th of the month)
HMRC will tell you the date and amount no later than 3 working days before the payment is collected. The payments will show on your bank statement as ‘HMRC SDDS’.
HMRC will automatically collect the payment from your bank account if you have a Variable Direct Debit for Employers’ PAYE in place.
Make a single payment
You’ll need to give a 17-character payment reference. This starts with your 13-character Accounts Office reference number.
You can find this on the letter HMRC sent you when you first registered as an employer.
Add the tax year you want to pay for and the digits ‘13’. If you do not do this, your payment will be allocated to the current tax year instead.
Example
Your Accounts Office reference number is 123PA00012345.
To make a payment for the 2023 to 2024 tax year, add the digits ‘2413’ to your reference number. Your 17-character reference is 123PA000123452413.
Allow 5 working days to process a Direct Debit the first time you set one up. It should take 3 working days the next time if you’re using the same bank details.
If you’ve not used your Direct Debit for 2 years or more, check with your bank that it’s still set up.