Quick Answer: HMRC recognised payroll software is software that has passed HMRC’s technical tests to file PAYE data online via Real Time Information (RTI)—it confirms technical compatibility, not quality or endorsement. Recognition means the software can submit Full Payment Submissions (FPS) and Employer Payment Summaries (EPS) in the correct format. HMRC explicitly states it does not recommend one product over another and is not responsible for software problems.
Definition: HMRC recognised payroll software is software that has passed HMRC's technical test confirming it can submit PAYE data—Full Payment Submissions and Employer Payment Summaries—online in real time.
Figures checked against HMRC’s rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. The recognised software list was checked against GOV.UK on 21 October 2026, and HMRC last updated it on 16 October 2026.
HMRC-recognised payroll software is a product HMRC has tested and confirmed can report PAYE information online in real time, including Full Payment Submissions (FPS) and Employer Payment Summaries (EPS). HMRC publishes the list on GOV.UK, split into free software for employers with fewer than 10 employees and paid-for software. Recognition confirms compatibility, not quality.
Key facts:
- What does HMRC recognition mean? The software passed HMRC’s technical test for submitting PAYE data (FPS and EPS) online in real time.
- Does HMRC recognition mean the software is endorsed? No. Recognition does NOT cover security, calculation accuracy, service levels, or suitability for your business—HMRC explicitly states it cannot recommend one product over another.
- How do I verify recognition status? Search the GOV.UK recognised software list by the supplier’s registered legal name and check the “last updated” date.
- What is the free software cap? All free products are restricted to employers with fewer than 10 employees.
That single sentence about compatibility is the part almost every article on this subject leaves out—and it’s the part that costs buyers money. Recognition is a technical pass mark. It says a product can talk to HMRC’s Real Time Information gateway in the correct format. It says nothing about whether the software can handle your pension schemes, your pay frequencies, your TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment) population, or your month end.
This guide explains what recognition tests, what it doesn’t test, how to check whether your current product is still on the list, and what to look at once you have got past the list.
What does "HMRC recognised" actually mean?
When a software supplier wants its product to appear on the GOV.UK list, it puts the product through HMRC’s recognition process. HMRC runs test submissions through it, and if the product produces valid FPS and EPS submissions that HMRC’s systems accept, HMRC adds the supplier and product name to the published list.
And that’s it. Recognition is a data format and transmission test, nothing more.
Limitations of HMRC Recognition
HMRC recognition is narrowly focused on sending data. Here’s what it doesn’t test or guarantee:
- Security: HMRC doesn’t inspect a supplier’s data centres, penetration testing, or breach history.
- Calculation accuracy: HMRC checks that submissions are well-formed, but doesn’t certify that every statutory sick pay calculation or Scottish tax band in the product is right in every edge case.
- Service levels: Support quality, implementation quality, and uptime aren’t part of the test.
- Endorsement: HMRC says this plainly on the list itself: “HMRC cannot recommend one product or service over another.”
That disclaimer is worth reading twice, because it’s the reason a supplier’s presence on the list should be the first filter in your process—never the last. Around 142 suppliers and roughly 171 paid-for products currently sit on the list. They aren’t equivalent to each other in any respect other than being able to file an FPS.
In procurement terms, treat the list as an exclusion filter rather than a shortlist. If a product isn’t on it, stop, because it can’t file your RTI submissions and you’ll be in breach from your first payday. If it is on the list, you have confirmed one binary fact, and none of the dozen or so facts that decide whether the software survives your first year end. Everything past that filter is down to your own due diligence.
Recognised, approved, accredited, endorsed: what the four words mean
Buyers search all four terms, and vendors use them loosely. They aren’t interchangeable, and only one of them comes from HMRC.
| Term | Who grants it | What it actually means | Does HMRC use it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMRC recognised | HMRC | The product has passed HMRC’s technical test for filing PAYE data online in real time. Published on GOV.UK. | Yes. This is the only official term. |
| HMRC approved | Nobody | Common shorthand for “recognised”. HMRC doesn’t approve payroll software and doesn’t use the word for this list. | No |
| HMRC recommended | Nobody | Doesn’t exist. HMRC says clearly that it can’t recommend one product over another. | No |
| Accredited | A professional body, usually the CIPP | An independent assessment of payroll processes, staff competence, or a service, not of file formats. Cintra holds CIPP Payroll Assurance Scheme accreditation. | No, and it’s separate from recognition |
| Endorsed | Nobody | Marketing language. No government body endorses payroll products. | No |
If a vendor tells you it’s “HMRC approved”, it almost certainly means it’s HMRC recognised—which nearly every serious UK payroll product is. It’s the baseline every serious product clears, not something that sets one apart from another. And if a vendor implies HMRC recommends it, that claim simply doesn’t stand up.
Accreditation is a different and more informative signal, because bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals assess how payroll is actually run rather than whether a file validates.
Is your payroll software on the list?
The GOV.UK list is a plain table of nearly 150 supplier rows, with no search, filter, or sort. And it’s organised by the supplier’s registered legal name, while most people know the product name instead. Primo Payroll, for example, is listed under Accentra Technologies Ltd, so you won’t find it by scanning supplier names alone.
The checker below searches both. Type a product name or a supplier name, enter your headcount, and it’ll tell you whether the entry is on the free list or the paid-for list, and whether the free tier is open to you at your size.
How to check whether your payroll software is HMRC recognised
- Go to the GOV.UK recognised software page.
- Use your browser’s find tool to search for both the product name and the supplier’s registered legal name, as the list is organised by supplier (for example, Primo Payroll appears under Accentra Technologies Ltd).
- Check the product name matches exactly what you’re using.
- Check the “last updated” date at the top of the page to confirm the list is current.
- Review the update history at the bottom of the page for recent additions, amendments, or removals.
- If your software isn’t listed, HMRC hasn’t confirmed it can file your RTI submissions, so speak to your provider straight away and plan a switch before your next payday.
Is your payroll software still HMRC recognised?
Search a product name or a supplier name. Covers the full GOV.UK list, checked 21 October 2026 (HMRC last updated it on 16 October 2026).
Enter a name above, or browse the full list below.
Is HMRC recognition is permanent?
No, and it’s something almost nothing written about HMRC-recognised payroll software mentions: the list changes all the time. Suppliers are added when new products pass. Entries are amended when product or company names change. And entries are removed, which happens when a supplier stops maintaining a product or leaves the market.
The most recent update, on 16 October 2026, made one removal, three additions, and three amendments. The update before that, on 24 September 2026, made seven removals and one amendment, and on 25 August 2026 there were 16 amendments and two additions. In total, the list has been updated nine times so far in 2026. If your renewal conversation rests on “it’s HMRC recognised”, check that’s still true this quarter, not just when you signed.
When to re-check recognition status
- Before renewing your contract with your payroll software vendor.
- At the start of each tax year (April).
- After a vendor acquisition or product name change.
- If you notice your software has changed ownership or branding.
Free is a micro business option, not a small business one
Panel A: what is actually on the GOV.UK list
Counted from the GOV.UK recognised software list, verified 21 October 2026.
All 7 free products are capped at employers with fewer than 10 employees.
The list moves, so recognition expires in practice
Panel B: the GOV.UK change log
Updates recorded on 10 Feb, 11 Feb, 13 Mar, 27 Mar, 24 Apr, 3 Jul, 25 Aug, 24 Sep and 16 Oct 2026. The 16 October update included a removal, and the 24 September update made 7 removals.
Source for every figure above: the update history on the GOV.UK page "Find payroll software that is recognised by HMRC", read 21 October 2026.
Free versus paid: the fewer than 10 employees cap
HMRC splits the list into two tables, and the split isn’t about features. It’s about size. The free table comes with a clear condition: the software is recognised for businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Ten is a firm number, not a guideline. If you pay 10 people, you’re outside the free tier and need a paid-for product.
That includes part-timers, casual workers, and anyone on a zero-hours arrangement who’s paid through your PAYE scheme. HMRC doesn’t express the cap in full-time equivalents, so the safest reading is the number of people on your payroll. Two part-timers count as two employees, and if a seasonal peak takes you to 10 or more, you’ll need paid-for software for that period.
| Aspect | Free recognised software | Paid-for recognised software |
|---|---|---|
| Number of suppliers on the GOV.UK list | 7 suppliers offer free recognised products | Around 140 suppliers offer paid-for recognised products |
| Headcount limit set by HMRC | Only recognised for employers with fewer than 10 employees | No headcount limit stated by HMRC |
| Typical capability | Usually FPS filing, EPS filing, and basic deductions only | Anything from single-scheme filing to full multi-entity payroll with advanced features |
| Support | Not tested or guaranteed by HMRC recognition | Not tested or guaranteed by HMRC recognition, so contract for it separately |
HMRC’s own product, Basic PAYE Tools, sits on the free list. It will file an FPS. It will not produce payslips, it will not handle pension deductions in a way any pension provider expects, and it becomes unworkable well before 10 employees. Treat it as a stopgap, not a payroll system.
HMRC recognised vs. not recognised: what's the difference?
| Factor | HMRC-recognised software | Non-recognised software |
|---|---|---|
| RTI filing | Tested and confirmed by HMRC to file FPS and EPS submissions correctly | No confirmation that it can file correctly, so submissions may fail or be rejected |
| GOV.UK listing | Appears on the official GOV.UK recognised software list | Doesn’t appear on the GOV.UK list |
| RTI compliance risk | HMRC has confirmed it can file your RTI submissions | If submissions aren’t accepted, you risk late filing penalties from your first payday |
| Security, accuracy, and support | Not tested or guaranteed by HMRC recognition | Not assessed by HMRC either |
| Suitability for your business | Not assessed by HMRC, so you’ll need your own due diligence | Needs your own assessment too, with the added risk of non-compliance |
What happens if you use non-recognised software?
Using payroll software that isn’t HMRC recognised carries real compliance risks:
- Failed RTI submissions: Your FPS submissions may be rejected, so your employees’ pay and tax data isn’t reported.
- Late filing penalties: If your FPS isn’t submitted on or before payday, HMRC can charge monthly penalties, starting at £100 for employers with 1 to 9 employees and rising with employer size.
- Impact on employees: Failed submissions can put employees out of step with their Universal Credit calculations, affecting their benefits.
- Very little time to fix it: Your FPS is due on or before payday, so there’s little room to put things right. You need recognised software in place before your first pay run.
Get the latest insights and best practice guides, direct to your inbox.
What recognition tests: real time reporting
Everything HMRC checks in the recognition process comes back to Real Time Information. Under RTI, you report pay and deductions to HMRC on or before every payday, rather than once a year. Recognised software has to build and send two things correctly.
The Full Payment Submission carries the pay, tax, National Insurance, student loan deductions, and statutory payment data for every employee paid in that run. It’s due on or before payday. Late FPS submissions can lead to penalties and, more practically, put employees out of step with their Universal Credit calculations.
The Employer Payment Summary carries what the FPS can’t: statutory payment recovery, Employment Allowance claims, the Apprenticeship Levy, CIS deductions suffered, and periods when you didn’t pay anyone. It’s due by the 19th of the following tax month. Your payment to HMRC is due by the 22nd if you pay electronically, or the 19th if you pay by cheque through the post.
If your average monthly payments to HMRC are expected to be less than £1,500, you can ask to pay quarterly instead. For more on what goes in each submission and when, see our guide to how RTI payroll works, or HMRC’s guidance on what payroll information to report.
The feature checklist recognition does not cover
GOV.UK is unusually open about this. Its own page on finding payroll software warns that some products won’t let you produce payslips, record pension deductions, make pension payments, pay different people over different periods, or send an EPS or Earlier Year Update (EYU). Every one of those products can still be HMRC recognised. Work through this list for every product on your shortlist, and ask for a demonstration rather than a “yes” on a form:
| Requirement | What to actually check |
|---|---|
| Payslips | Compliant itemised payslips, including hours for variably paid staff, delivered digitally with access for leavers. |
| Pension deductions | Multiple schemes running side by side, relief at source and net pay arrangements, salary sacrifice, and employer and employee percentages that differ by group. |
| Pension payments and files | Output files your provider will actually accept without manual reformatting, plus contribution reconciliation. |
| Mixed pay frequencies | Weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly, and monthly populations under the same PAYE reference, with a combined FPS where needed. |
| EPS | Automatic population of statutory recovery, Employment Allowance, and periods of no payment. |
| Earlier Year Update and corrections | How the product handles prior-year corrections, and whether it produces an amended FPS or an EYU depending on the year. |
| Statutory payments | Calculated from average weekly earnings held in the system, not typed in from a spreadsheet. |
| Auto-enrolment | Assessment every pay period, postponement, opt-outs, refunds, re-enrolment cycles, and declarations. |
| Year end | P60s by 31 May, P11Ds and P11D(b) by 6 July, and Class 1A NICs paid by 22 July. |
| Payrolling benefits | Ready for mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind from April 2027. |
Statutory pay calculation
Statutory payments are where cheaper payroll software often quietly falls down, because the calculation depends on average weekly earnings across a relevant period, not just this month’s salary.
For 2026/27, Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week, or 80% of average weekly earnings if that’s lower. Statutory Maternity Pay is 90% of average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then the lower of £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings.
You can recover 92% of statutory parental payments (such as SMP), or 109% if you qualify for Small Employers’ Relief, with Class 1 National Insurance contributions of £45,000 or less in the previous tax year. Statutory Sick Pay can’t be recovered. Ask any vendor to show you the recovery figure flowing automatically onto the EPS. If someone has to work it out and type it in, that’s a manual control you’ll be maintaining forever. Our breakdown of SSP rates for 2026/27 covers the qualifying rules in more detail.
Auto-enrolment
Auto-enrolment is a legal duty enforced by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), and HMRC recognition has nothing to say about it. For 2026/27, the earnings trigger stays at £10,000, and qualifying earnings run from £6,240 to £50,270. Minimum contributions are 8% in total, with at least 3% from the employer.
Assessment needs to happen every pay period, not once a year, because a variably paid worker can cross the trigger in a single busy month. Software that can’t assess every period will leave you with missed enrolments, which are exactly the kind of failure TPR takes action on. Our guide to why auto-enrolment pensions matter walks through the full cycle of duties.
What the list cannot tell a mid-market employer
If you pay several hundred people or more, the recognised list won’t help you shortlist, because every product on it clears a bar you’ve already cleared. The questions that decide the outcome aren’t on GOV.UK at all:
- Multiple PAYE schemes and legal entities: Can you run them in one system, with consolidated reporting and correct, separate submissions for each reference?
- Mixed pay frequencies in one population: Weekly operatives and monthly office staff under one employer, without two disconnected payrolls.
- Public sector pension schemes: The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and the Teachers’ Pension Scheme have their own tiering, banding, and monthly data return formats, and most products don’t handle them natively.
- Salary sacrifice: Correct ordering against National Minimum Wage limits, and correct treatment for pension, car, and cycle schemes.
- Off-payroll working: Deemed employees reported through payroll and flagged correctly on the FPS.
- TUPE populations: Bringing in a transferred group mid-year with continuous service, protected terms, and the right year-to-date position.
- Retro pay and backdated pay awards: Common in the public sector and in unionised environments, and painful in software that can’t recalculate earlier periods.
Put these to vendors as scenarios rather than a feature list. Show me a weekly and a monthly population under one PAYE reference, filed on the same FPS. Show me an LGPS return coming out of the system without a spreadsheet in the middle. Show me a backdated pay award applied across 400 people for six months. Vendors tend to say yes to feature questions, but a scenario has to be demonstrated, so you get a more honest answer.
Whichever vendors you shortlist, ask them the security questions HMRC recognition doesn’t: where is the data hosted, which certifications do you hold and can you evidence them, how do you handle a breach, and what happens to my data when the contract ends?
Common misconceptions
There are a few common myths about what HMRC recognition actually means:
- Myth: HMRC recognition means HMRC recommends the software. Fact: HMRC says clearly on the GOV.UK list that it “cannot recommend one product or service over another.”
- Myth: HMRC-recognised software has been security tested by HMRC. Fact: Recognition only tests whether the software can submit PAYE data in the correct format. HMRC doesn’t inspect data centres, penetration testing, or security practices.
- Myth: If software is HMRC recognised, the calculations must be accurate. Fact: HMRC checks that submissions are well-formed, but doesn’t certify that every statutory payment calculation or tax band in the product is right in every scenario.
- Myth: Once software is recognised, it stays recognised. Fact: The GOV.UK list is updated regularly. The 24 September 2026 update alone removed seven entries. Always check current status before renewing.
- Myth: “HMRC approved” and “HMRC endorsed” mean the same as “HMRC recognised”. Fact: HMRC doesn’t use “approved” or “endorsed” for payroll software. “Recognised” is the only official term, and it refers only to technical compatibility testing.
The easy question, answered.
So, where does that leave you? Recognition tells you one thing, and one thing only: a product can talk to HMRC’s systems in the right format. That’s worth checking, and worth checking again at renewal rather than assuming it still holds, as the list changes more often than most buyers realise. But it’s a starting point, not a verdict.
The real evaluation happens after that. It’s whether the software handles your pension schemes properly, copes with your pay frequencies, and produces a payslip you’d actually want to hand someone. None of that shows up on GOV.UK’s list, and no amount of “HMRC recognised” in a vendor’s marketing changes it.
A lot of buyers don’t realise this until they’re a few months into a live product and finding the gaps the hard way. That’s why it’s worth running the checker above first, then judging the rest on what the software can actually do for your payroll, not on the one box every serious product has already ticked.
Cintra People Payroll is HMRC recognised, and it’s built to handle payslips, pension deductions, statutory pay, mixed pay frequencies, and more. If you’d like to see how that works in practice, our payroll team would be happy to walk you through it.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does HMRC recognised actually mean?
A. It means the product has been tested by HMRC and confirmed to submit PAYE data online in the correct format, including Full Payment Submissions and Employer Payment Summaries. It is a technical compatibility test. It is not a security audit, not a guarantee that calculations are correct in every case, and not a comment on support, implementation or service quality.
Q. How do I check my payroll software is still recognised?
A. Search the GOV.UK recognised software list for the supplier's registered legal name rather than the product brand, because HMRC lists suppliers by legal entity. Check the "last updated" date at the top of the page and the update history at the bottom. Check at least once a tax year, and always before a contract renewal.
Q. What happens if my payroll provider is removed from the list?
A. Removal means HMRC no longer recognises that product for filing PAYE data. Your existing submissions are not retrospectively invalid, but you cannot rely on the product for future filings, and you need a replacement in place before your next payday. Because an FPS is due on or before payday, there is no grace period to plan around. Suppliers do get removed: the 30 October 2025 update to the list included one removal alongside 3 amendments.
Q. Can I use free HMRC recognised software if I have 12 employees?
A. No. The free table on GOV.UK is recognised for businesses with fewer than 10 employees. At 12 employees you need a paid-for product. The count includes part time and casual staff paid through your PAYE scheme.
Q. Can HMRC advise on payroll software?
No. HMRC's position on the recognised list is explicit: "HMRC cannot recommend one product or service over another. We're also not responsible for any problems you have with software you've bought." HMRC can tell you whether a product is recognised and can help with PAYE queries, but it will not compare products, advise on suitability or intervene in a dispute with a vendor.
Q. Does HMRC have free payroll software?
A. Yes. HMRC publishes its own free product, Basic PAYE Tools, on the free section of the recognised list, alongside nine free products from commercial suppliers. All of them are recognised only for employers with fewer than 10 employees. Basic PAYE Tools will file an FPS and an EPS but does not produce payslips or handle pension files, so most employers outgrow it quickly.
