When hiring employees, one of the big things they look for is what benefits are on offer. It makes the job you’re offering much more competitive! This means that, these days, many employers have a variety of benefits they provide to their teams from medical insurance, memberships, and even company cars.
And when you offer your people great benefits, you need to know what the HMRC regulations are for providing those benefits, such as payrolling benefits and P11D forms.
What is a P11D form?
A P11D form is the official overview of expenses and benefits given to your employees, that you have submit to HMRC annually. It itemizes the additional benefits-in-kind and expenses provided to directors and employees beyond their regular salaries.
These perks, such as company cars or health insurance, aren’t subject to the usual payroll tax deductions. Instead, the P11D ensures that these benefits are properly accounted for and taxed accordingly.
Why is a P11D important?
First of all, submitting a P11D is a legal requirement. Beyond that, a P11D is important because it keeps everything accurate when it comes to taxes on perks and extra expenses given to employees. It’s like a checklist that makes sure all those benefits, like company cars or health insurance, get taxed properly, even if they’re not part of the regular paycheck deductions. This helps you and your teams stay on the right side of the law and ensures everyone pays their fair share of taxes.
Who needs to submit a P11D form?
You, as the employer, must submit a P11D form. P11D’s are to be completed after the payroll year has ended, and you get until the 6th July to submit it.
Just like any tax filings, HMRC can enforce penalties for late or incorrect submissions. If you miss the July 6th deadline immediate penalties might not apply. You’ll have roughly two weeks to rectify and submit your documents.
However, if July 19th arrives and your P11D remains outstanding, your company will face fines of £100 per month (or part thereof) for every 50 employees. Since July 6th is the official deadline, then that’s when you should file.
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Update to P11D from 2026
HMRC have recently announced that by April 2026, all employers must payroll any benefits rather than submit a P11D form, which is forecast to reduce the need for over 4 million P11Ds to be submitted each year. Read more about the upcoming changes here: Payrolling of Benefits in Kind to Become Mandatory from 2026
Are you ready for the switch to payrolling benefits?
Due to this change, it’s likely a good idea to look at what your payroll software or service can do now. This way, if you’re working with software or process which doesn’t allow for payrolled benefits, you have time to change to a more modern product ahead of the deadline!
Here at Cintra, our payroll software and outsourced payroll services are built to handle payrolling benefits. We’re also offering all our customers a payrolling benefits service—we’ll help you through the process and make sure you’re well-prepared for when it becomes a mandatory requirement.
Payroll Legislation Guide
The facts, figures, thresholds and allowances for 2024/25 spanning tax, National Insurance, pensions, statutory payments and more.
