The Difference Between
RTI, FPS, and EPS

Understanding Real Time Information:

Under HMRC’s Real Time Information (RTI) framework, UK employers must send payroll data electronically to HMRC every time staff are paid, rather than filing a single report at the end of the tax year.

RTI is the umbrella term for the entire real-time reporting system. Within RTI, employers use two primary submission types: Full Payment Submission (FPS) and Employer Payment Summary (EPS).

Full Payment Submission (FPS)

Under HMRC’s Real Time Information (RTI) framework, UK employers must send payroll data electronically to HMRC every time staff are paid, rather than filing a single report at the end of the tax year.

What an FPS Includes:

• Employee identification, tax codes, and National Insurance category letters.
• Gross pay, taxable pay to date, and tax deducted to date.
• Employee National Insurance contributions and student loan repayments.
• Employee pension contributions.
• New starter details (e.g., P45 information) or leaver dates.

Employer Payment Summary (EPS)

An EPS handles overall employer-level adjustments that cannot be tied to an individual employee's payslip on an FPS.

• Claiming Employment Allowance:
  Notifying HMRC that your organisation is claiming (or stopping a claim for) the Employment Allowance.
• Reclaiming Statutory Payments:
  Declaring recoverable amounts for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), or Shared Parental Pay (ShPP), along with small employers' relief compensation.
• No Payments Made (Nil Returns):
  Notifying HMRC that no employees were paid within a given tax month (6th to 5th of the following month), preventing HMRC from estimating a liability bill.

Key Deadlines & Submission Timelines

• FPS Deadline:
  Must be filed on or before the actual date employees are paid. Filing late can trigger automatic HMRC RTI late-filing penalties.
• EPS Deadline:
  Must be filed by the 19th of the month following the end of the tax month (e.g., an EPS for the tax month ending 5th May must be submitted by 19th May) so HMRC can adjust your payment total due by the 22nd.