How to register as an employer for PAYE
When you need a PAYE scheme, how to register with HMRC in time for your first payday, and the references that arrive when you do.
Last checked 22 August 2026
Before you start
Registration asks about the business and its first payday.
Your business details — legal structure, trading name, and address.
Your National Insurance number, or the company UTR for a limited
company.
The date of the first payday, or the date you took on your first
employee.
A Government Gateway account for the business.
Check whether you need a PAYE scheme
You must register as an employer if anyone you employ — including
yourself as a company director — is paid £125 a week or more (the
2026/27 lower earnings limit), gets expenses or benefits, has another
job, or receives a pension. If everyone is below that and has no other
job or benefits, you can pay them without a scheme, but you must still
keep payroll records.
Check and register on GOV.UK →Register before the first payday
Register in good time: you can't run payroll properly without your
references, and it can take up to 15 working days for them to arrive.
You can't register more than two months before you start paying people.
Deadline
Before your first payday — and allow up to 15 working days for your
references to come through.
Note the two references HMRC sends
Registration produces an employer PAYE reference (like 123/AB456) and
an Accounts Office reference (like 123PA00012345). The PAYE reference
goes on submissions and payslip paperwork; the Accounts Office
reference is what you quote when paying HMRC. Keep both with your
payroll records.
Enrol for PAYE Online
PAYE Online is where HMRC sends notices — tax code changes, late-filing
alerts, and generic notifications. Enrolment can post an activation
code, so set it up before the first payday rather than after.
Run payroll and file on or before payday
Every payday you send HMRC a Full Payment Submission showing who was
paid and what was deducted — on or before the day the money goes out,
not at the end of the month. Payroll software builds and files it from
the pay run.
Good to know
Missed or late Full Payment Submissions attract penalties once you
have more than one late month in a tax year, so make filing part of
the payday routine.
Don't forget workplace pension duties
Auto-enrolment starts on day one: staff aged 22 to State Pension age
earning over £10,000 a year (the 2026/27 trigger) must be put into a
workplace pension you contribute to. You also declare your compliance
to The Pensions Regulator within five months.
Common questions
Employer PAYE, in practice
I'm a director paying myself a small salary — do I register?
If the salary is £125 a week or more in 2026/27, or you take any
benefits, yes. Many one-person companies register anyway so the salary
builds a State Pension year through National Insurance credits.
Does a nanny or cleaner make me an employer?
Employing someone in your home — a nanny, carer, or housekeeper — makes
you an employer like any business if they earn above the limit, with
the same registration and payroll duties.
What do I pay HMRC, and when?
The tax and National Insurance you deducted, plus employer National
Insurance, normally by the 22nd of the following month when paying
electronically. Small employers owing under £1,500 a month can arrange
to pay quarterly.
What if I stop employing people?
Tell HMRC the scheme has no employees, or ask them to close it — filing
nil submissions is better than going silent, because silence triggers
estimated demands.
Related guides
Setting up the rest of the business.
How to register for Corporation Tax
The three-month window after your company starts doing business, what to register with, and the filing and payment dates that start running.Read the guide →
How to create a Government Gateway account
Set up the sign-in HMRC's online services use, pass the identity checks first time, and avoid ending up with two accounts.Read the guide →
First payday sorted, and every one after it.
Bookfolio runs your payroll and files the PAYE submissions HMRC expects on or before each payday, with payslips and the tax and National Insurance worked out for you.