Correcting Payroll Filed to HMRC

The procedure depends on whether the adjustment affects pay figures, employee personal data, statutory allowances, or a closed tax year.

Step-by-Step Guidance by Correction Category

1. Adjusting Pay or Deductions in the Current Tax Year

Under RTI regulations, HMRC tracks payroll via cumulative Year-to-Date (YTD) figures.

• Edit the gross pay, pension, or tax figures on the affected payslip within your payroll software.
• Re-save the pay period so the software recalculates PAYE tax and NI automatically.
• You do not need to resubmit the historical period immediately; HMRC’s records update automatically when the revised YTD figures transmit on your next FPS.

2. Adjusting Pay or Deductions for Prior Tax Years

Errors discovered after the tax year has closed (after 19th April following the 5th April year-end) cannot be corrected via regular current-year FPS submissions.

• Access the prior tax year in your payroll software.
• Apply the adjustments to the relevant pay period(s).
• Transmit a dedicated prior-year FPS correction submission to HMRC to update the closed year's final records.

3. Correcting National Insurance (NI) Categories

If an employee was assigned the wrong NI category letter (e.g., Letter A instead of Letter H for an apprentice, or Letter M for an under-21 employee):

• Update the category letter on the employee's profile.
• Re-calculate historical payslips chronologically from the point the error occurred so that employer and employee NI primary/secondary contributions recalculate accurately
• Transmit the corrected YTD totals on your next FPS.

4. Adjusting Employer Payment Summary (EPS) Data

For corrections such as updating Employment Allowance claim status, recoverable statutory payments (SMP/SPP) deductions suffered:

• Update the relevant company or payroll settings.
• Submit a revised EPS for the corresponding tax month.