PAYE and payroll for employers

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Keeping records

You must collect and keep records of:

Your records must show you’ve reported accurately, and you need to keep them for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to. HMRC may check your records to make sure you’re paying the right amount of tax.

There are different rules for keeping records to prove you have paid the correct minimum wage.

If you do not keep full records, HMRC may estimate what you have to pay and charge you a penalty of up to £3,000.

If your records are lost, stolen or destroyed

Tell HMRC as soon as possible if you do not have records and cannot replace them. You must also do your best to recreate them - HMRC may be able to help if you’re not sure how much you paid your employees.

You must tell HMRC if your final payroll report of the tax year includes figures that are:

  • estimated - that you want HMRC to accept as final
  • provisional - that you’ll update later with actual figures

Data protection

You must follow rules on data protection if your business stores or uses personal information.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Part of Get your business ready to employ staff: step by step

  1. Step 1 Decide what type of employee you need

    1. Check whether you need full time or part time staff
    2. Check the different types of employment status

  2. and Check you can afford to take on employees

    1. Check how much the National Minimum Wage is
    2. Find out how much National Insurance you need to pay for your employees
    3. Check how much sick pay your employees are eligible for
    4. Check how much you need to pay towards your employee's pension
    5. Check how much Maternity Leave you need to pay your employees
    6. Check how much Paternity Leave you need to pay your employees

  3. Step 2 Make your workplace safe and accessible for employees

    1. Prevent discrimination
    2. Make your workplace accessible for employees with disabilities or health conditions
    3. Keep employee information and data safe
    4. Fire safety
    5. Health and safety

    You also need to make checks when you recruit and employ someone.

    1. Find out what you need to check when you employ someone

  4. Step 3 Register as an employer and set up PAYE

    You need to register with HMRC so you can pay tax and national insurance for your employees.

    1. Register as an employer and set up PAYE
    2. Choose how to run payroll
    3. If you decide to run payroll yourself, choose payroll software

  5. Step 4 Check your responsibilities around workplace pensions

    1. Understand your pension responsibilities as an employer

  6. Step 5 Get Employers' Liability insurance

    1. Find out about Employers' Liability insurance

  7. Step 6 Recruit and employ staff

    1. Employ someone