Free tool
PAYE penalty calculator
Late with an FPS, or late paying HMRC? This gives you an estimate of the penalty, using HMRC's own tables. It won't replace the notice HMRC send you, but it will tell you roughly where you stand.
Late with an FPS, or late paying HMRC? This gives you an estimate of the penalty, using HMRC's own tables. It won't replace the notice HMRC send you, but it will tell you roughly where you stand.
Don't count a month where every payment on the FPS was within 3 days of payday, or your first FPS as a new employer if you sent it within 30 days of paying someone. HMRC don't charge for those.
If you run more than one PAYE scheme, each can be charged.
Enter each tax month's late or short payment. Tax month 1 runs from 6 April to 5 May. If you pay quarterly, use rows 1 to 4. Tick "Short" if you paid on time but not enough: HMRC treat a shortfall of £100 or less as paid in full. It doesn't help if you paid in full but late. The tool assumes the tolerance applies; it does not for some corrections sent after 19 April following the end of the tax year.
| Tax month | Paid late (£) | Short | Still unpaid after 6 months (£) | Still unpaid after 12 months (£) | Rate used |
|---|
HMRC also charge interest every day on late amounts. It isn't included here.
| Number of employees | Monthly penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 to 9 | £100 |
| 10 to 49 | £200 |
| 50 to 249 | £300 |
| 250 or more | £400 |
HMRC will not charge a penalty if:
Also on the page: "If you run more than one PAYE scheme, you can be charged penalties for each." A missing EPS in a month with no pay can also be penalised: "an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) when you did not pay any employees in a tax month".
"The first failure to pay on time does not count as a default."
| Number of defaults in a tax year | Penalty percentage applied to the amount that is late in the relevant tax month (ignoring the first late payment in the tax year) |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 1% |
| 4 to 6 | 2% |
| 7 to 9 | 3% |
| 10 or more | 4% |
Additional penalties: "If you’ve still not paid a monthly or quarterly payment in full after 6 months, you’ll be charged an additional penalty of 5% of the amounts unpaid." "A further penalty of 5% will be charged if you’ve not paid after 12 months." "These additional penalties apply even where only one payment in the tax year is late." And: "You’ll be charged a late payment penalty if you pay less than is actually due."
How the percentage is applied. The statute sets each default's rate by its own number in the tax year: "If the default is P's 1st, 2nd or 3rd default in relation to the tax year, P is liable, at the time of the default, to a penalty of 1% of the amount of tax comprised in the default." The 4th to 6th are 2%, the 7th to 9th 3%, the 10th and later 4%. This matches GOV.UK's "applied to the amount that is late in the relevant tax month". So the calculator charges each default at the rate for its own number, not the whole year at the highest band.
General information, not tax advice. Based on GOV.UK guidance and Finance Act 2009 Schedule 56 as saved on 20 October 2026. Rules can change. Your penalty notice from HMRC is the actual figure.
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