Every price we charge a client is on this page (wholesale rates for accountancy practices are on the Payroll Desk page). There is no VAT to add, nothing is quoted "on application", and your fee is fixed in writing before any work starts. We review fees at least once a year, or sooner if the work changes materially (for example your headcount), and we tell you in writing at least 30 days before a new fee applies.
Rates for the 2026/27 tax year. Setup is invoiced only once your scheme is actually live, not when you sign. And if HMRC have already opened your scheme, so you hold the employer PAYE and Accounts Office references, there is no setup fee at all: the fee pays for the application, and there is no application left to make. On an NI-only scheme your employees' income tax is paid through Self Assessment or a separate tax-only scheme, which is not in the NI-only fee. Take one employee whose income tax runs through a tax-only scheme beside the employer's NI-only scheme. The NI-only scheme is £157 a month and the tax-only scheme is £157 a month, so £314 a month for both.
The answer is scheme count rather than headcount.
A DPNI or DCNI scheme is registered to the employee, so three UK employees means three separate HMRC schemes, three PAYE references, three sets of real time filings and three year ends. Three employees therefore costs £471 a month, because it is genuinely three payrolls.
An NI-only scheme is registered to the employer, so one scheme covers the whole UK team. The same three employees costs £171 a month. Nothing is being discounted, there is simply one scheme instead of three.
Which direct scheme applies to you, a DPNI, a DCNI or an NI-only scheme, is not a choice: it follows the facts. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts. It turns mainly on where your business is based and whether your employer's National Insurance is due. For an employer with no UK address and no employer's National Insurance, HMRC's usual scheme is a DPNI. We set out your facts for HMRC before anything is set up.
Running UK PAYE in your company's own name is the other route, and that one is your choice. With no UK presence you don't have to run UK PAYE, but you can choose to, and it is priced in the table above.
Your fee covers running the payroll. It does not include the money that leaves your business anyway: salaries, employer's National Insurance where it's due, and pension contributions. Those cost the same whoever runs your payroll, and we will tell you what they come to before you commit.
A simple Self Assessment return is from £145. Self employed or landlord returns are from £200. Returns with dividends, property, foreign income or capital gains are from £375. An overseas employee's return with a complication, such as split year treatment, is also from £375. Registering you for Self Assessment, if you are not registered yet, is £35, and free if you are already a payroll client of ours. The exact fee is agreed before we start, never after.
The Director Bundle is from £85/mo for your company payroll and your own tax return, from the tax year the Bundle starts; earlier unfiled returns are priced separately. It has a 12-month minimum term. Anyone else on the payroll is £7 per extra payslip. Setup is from £100 for a new PAYE scheme, and nothing if HMRC have already issued your references. Company accounts and Corporation Tax are not included.
The UK First-Hire Pack is from £949 on your own UK PAYE scheme, for a UK or an overseas employer, and from £1,299 on an NI-only scheme. It covers the right-scheme check, the registration, the pension, onboarding and your payroll for the first three calendar months. It is only for a scheme in your company's own name, it is invoiced once your scheme is live, and no discounts apply to it. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.
We will not quote a headline price and add to it later. If the work turns out to be different from what we were told, we say so and re-quote before doing it, not afterwards.
We will not tie you in. The only minimum term is the Director Bundle's 12 months. If you want to leave, you give notice and we hand over cleanly, including your data in a form your next provider can actually use.
This page is general information, not tax, legal or employment advice, and reflects the published rates for the 2026/27 tax year. Your own position may differ, so please check it or get advice before acting.
Tell us where your business is based and how many people you are paying in the UK. We will tell you which scheme we expect to ask HMRC for and give you a fixed fee before you commit to anything.
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