P11D: reporting employee benefits, and where to find yours

Who needs it

• Employers who provided taxable expenses or benefits to an employee or director and didn't payroll all of them: one P11D per employee.
• Employers who payrolled every benefit for an employee don't send a P11D for that employee, but still send a P11D(b).
• Employees don't file a P11D. You receive your figures from your employer and may need them for a Self Assessment return.

What you need before you start

• The type and value of each taxable expense or benefit for each employee, for the tax year (6 April to 5 April).
• Each employee's full name, date of birth and National Insurance number.
• Your PAYE Online login (fewer than 500 employees) or payroll software that files P11Ds (500 or more).
• The Class 1A National Insurance total, which goes on the P11D(b) sent alongside.

How to file P11D

1. 1List every taxable expense and benefit you provided in the tax year, and note which were payrolled.
2. 2For each employee with benefits that weren't payrolled, complete a P11D: online through PAYE Online if you have fewer than 500 employees, or through payroll software if you have 500 or more.
3. 3Complete the P11D(b) for the Class 1A National Insurance you owe on all expenses and benefits.
4. 4Submit both by 6 July after the end of the tax year, and give each employee a copy of their information by the same date.
5. 5Pay the Class 1A National Insurance by 22 July (19 July if you pay by cheque).

What a P11D reports

HMRC's rule is that you must report taxable expenses or benefits you provide to employees. You do that either through payroll during the year or on a P11D after the year end. The P11D lists each benefit and its value for one employee, such as a company car, health insurance or an interest-free loan.

Every employer that provides taxable benefits also reports the Class 1A National Insurance it owes, on form P11D(b). The two are filed together.

Minor items can sometimes be covered instead by a one-off payment under a PAYE Settlement Agreement, which has its own deadline of 22 October.

Payrolling, and the change from April 2027

If you payroll an employee's benefits, the tax is collected through their pay during the year and you don't send a P11D for them, provided every benefit was payrolled. You register for payrolling before the start of the tax year it applies to; you can't change how you report benefits for the current year.

HMRC's payrolling guidance says mandatory payrolling starts on 6 April 2027, and that HMRC will remove estimated benefit adjustments from tax codes before then. If you payroll, you must tell employees in writing by 1 June after each tax year which benefits were payrolled and what was not.

Online, and when paper is allowed

P11Ds are filed online. With fewer than 500 employees you use HMRC's PAYE Online service; with 500 or more you use payroll software.

HMRC only accepts paper forms if you've stopped trading. If you stop mid-year you can't file online until the tax year ends, so you (or an insolvency practitioner) can post paper forms with a covering letter saying you stopped trading in the current year. They go to P11D and P11D(b), HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1WE.

If you're an employee looking for your P11D

Your employer might send HMRC a P11D if you had benefits in kind. If they take the tax on those benefits from your pay instead, they won't send one, and they'll write to explain how that works.

To get your figures, ask your employer for a record of what they reported on the P11D, including the value of each benefit. If they can't give you one, HMRC's P11D page links to a way of contacting HMRC. You may need the figures for the employment page of a Self Assessment return.

Correcting a P11D

To fix an error, report an earlier year or notify a change, complete both the P11D correction form and the P11D(b) correction form online. The P11D correction must include all the benefits for that employee, not just the one that changed, and the P11D(b) correction shows the total Class 1A owed, not the difference.

HMRC may charge a penalty if inaccurate information is given carelessly or deliberately and leads to too little tax being paid.

Common mistakes

• Posting a paper P11D while still trading. HMRC accepts paper forms only if you've stopped trading.
• Sending a correction that shows only the benefit that changed. HMRC asks for all of that employee's benefits on the P11D correction form.
• Assuming payrolling means nothing is due at the year end. You still send a P11D(b) for the Class 1A National Insurance.
• Forgetting to give employees their copy by 6 July. The deadline for the copy is the same as the deadline for HMRC.

What P11D looks like