Payroll calendar 2026

Planning the year ahead?

Setting up and being responsible for running payroll means ensuring everything gets done on time. That includes meeting critical deadlines. And not only routine monthly deadlines, but also key dates throughout and at the end of the tax year.

Planning your annual payroll schedule in advance will save you enormous headaches. Consider, for example, the classic pinch points. When does your business get busy? When do most of your employees take annual leave? Mapping this against your payroll deadlines is crucial. For example, how can you plan cover for your payroll processing if your main admin is on leave?

UK bank holidays are another pitfall, as they will disrupt BACS payment timings. A payday falling on a bank holiday Monday means you will have to complete your entire payroll run and file your payment submissions earlier than usual, to avoid complaints from your staff.

So, why not use our 2026 calendar to plot out your entire year? Block out your processing periods, plan for the bank holidays, and create a clear schedule for both monthly and year-end tasks. With a little forward planning, everything is bound to go smoothly, and you can make other more strategic efforts for your business.

Why is a payroll calendar important for your business?

A payroll calendar can  be far more than just a schedule of pay dates. It can be the blueprint for your entire pay operation, guaranteeing compliance, precision, and happy employees.

For any employer, paying your team on time, month after month, is fundamental. It builds trust and morale. But the back-end is complex, since you’re not just making payments, you’re also acting as a tax collector for HMRC, and an administrator for pension schemes.

A well-maintained calendar payroll system prevents chaos. It stops the mad rush at the end of the month, and ensures you never miss a critical HMRC deadline.

Miss your payment date for PAYE, or file your Full Payment Submission (FPS) late, and you’ll face automatic penalties and interest charges. For a growing business, these are costs you just can’t bear.

Our calendar will help you map out all your key payroll processing periods, from gathering all the necessary data through to making the final payments.

What are the key steps in a typical monthly payroll cycle?

Most UK businesses run a monthly payroll. While the exact schedule can vary, the cycle of tasks is the same. Let’s use a typical end-of-month payroll as an example.

The cycle kicks off around mid-month with your data cut-off. This is the crucial deadline for finalising all details for the current pay period. It means adding any new employee starters, importing all variable pay data (using hourly reports, perhaps in CSV format), and logging all statutory leave.

Once this data is locked in, the main payroll processing begins. This is where your payroll software can calculate gross pay, all tax and National Insurance deductions and pension contributions, and generate a draft payroll report for review.

After the report is approved, it’s time to make the payments. First, you’ll generate the final payslips, which employees might access via a self-service portal, and then submit your BACS payment file to your bank. Remember, payments made in this way will take around 3 working days, so make sure you take this into account and file in advance of payday.

On payday itself, your most important job (besides paying your employees!) is to file your Full Payment Submission (FPS) report with HMRC. This must be done either on or just before the payment date. The FPS tells HMRC exactly what you are paying each employee, and what deductions you’ve made in that tax period. This is the cornerstone of the Real Time Information (RTI) system.

The final deadlines for the month actually fall in the next month. Your payment to HMRC for all the PAYE tax and NI deductions you made is due by the 22nd (or the 19th if you pay via post). This same date, the 22nd, is also the legal deadline to file your pension contribution report, and make the corresponding payment to your pension provider.

What about weekly or bi-weekly payroll schedules?

Running a weekly or bi-weekly payroll calendar follows the exact same principles, but the cycle is dramatically compressed.

If you run a weekly payroll, you are performing this entire cycle—data cut-off, processing, paying, and filing your FPS—every single week. This means 52 pay periods a year. It’s a huge admin burden without a very efficient system or powerful automated payroll software.

A bi-weekly payroll calendar (paying every two weeks) means 26 pay periods. This is common in sectors with a high number of hourly workers, with managing the constant flow of data the main challenge.

What are the key steps in a typical monthly payroll cycle?

Most UK businesses run a monthly payroll. While the exact schedule can vary, the cycle of tasks is the same. Let’s use a typical end-of-month payroll as an example.

The cycle kicks off around mid-month with your data cut-off. This is the crucial deadline for finalising all details for the current pay period. It means adding any new employee starters, importing all variable pay data (using hourly reports, perhaps in CSV format), and logging all statutory leave.

Once this data is locked in, the main payroll processing begins. This is where your payroll software can calculate gross pay, all tax and National Insurance deductions and pension contributions, and generate a draft payroll report for review.

After the report is approved, it’s time to make the payments. First, you’ll generate the final payslips, which employees might access via a self-service portal, and then submit your BACS payment file to your bank. Remember, payments made in this way will take around 3 working days, so make sure you take this into account and file in advance of payday.

On payday itself, your most important job (besides paying your employees!) is to file your Full Payment Submission (FPS) report with HMRC. This must be done either on or just before the payment date. The FPS tells HMRC exactly what you are paying each employee, and what deductions you’ve made in that tax period. This is the cornerstone of the Real Time Information (RTI) system.

The final deadlines for the month actually fall in the next month. Your payment to HMRC for all the PAYE tax and NI deductions you made is due by the 22nd (or the 19th if you pay via post). This same date, the 22nd, is also the legal deadline to file your pension contribution report, and make the corresponding payment to your pension provider.

H2 What about weekly or bi-weekly payroll schedules?

Running a weekly or bi-weekly payroll calendar follows the exact same principles, but the cycle is dramatically compressed.

If you run a weekly payroll, you are performing this entire cycle—data cut-off, processing, paying, and filing your FPS—every single week. This means 52 pay periods a year. It’s a huge admin burden without a very efficient system or powerful automated payroll software.

A bi-weekly payroll calendar (paying every two weeks) means 26 pay periods. This is common in sectors with a high number of hourly workers, with managing the constant flow of data the main challenge.

What are the major annual payroll deadlines?

Beyond the monthly, weekly, or bi-weekly rhythm, your payroll calendar has several key annual dates that every UK employer must look out for, and the tax year end is a particularly crucial period.

The 2025-26 tax year officially ends on the 5th of April, and kicks off a series of important deadlines. First, you must send your final payroll submission (your FPS or EPS) for the year to HMRC by the 19th of April. This date is a fixed point, just as it was in the previous year’s payroll calendar.

Next, you need to provide your employees with their P60s. This annual summary, which details total pay and deductions for the whole tax year, must be given to every employee on your books at the 5th of April. The deadline for this is the 31st of May, and many employees will need this report for filing their own self-assessments.

Next, you will have to report any expenses and benefits. The deadline to file P11D and P11D(b) reports, declaring benefits in kind, such as company cars or private health insurance, is the 6th of July. This is a date many businesses accidentally miss, and is closely followed by the payment deadline for Class 1A National Insurance due on those benefits, which must clear HMRC’s account by the 22nd of July.

This certainly isn’t the only major annual report to manage. Larger employers (with 250 or more employees) must also plan for their statutory Gender Pay Gap reporting, which has its own snapshot and submission deadlines. 

This annual cycle of reports and payments makes either side of the tax year-end a high-pressure period for all employers, since getting these key dates right is vital for ensuring compliance. This is why it is so important to set a clear schedule, to stay on top of your responsibilities and avoid a last-minute rush.

How can smart payroll software help you stick to your calendar?

Manually tracking your calendar payroll in Excel spreadsheets, importing CSV files, and manually setting up new employees can be high-risk as your business grows.

This is where using modern payroll software like PayFit comes into its own, by automating the entire workflow:

• Connect with your tools: connect with HR and accounting systems (like QuickBooks) to sync hourly data and new starter details automatically.

• Automate submissions: The software prepares your FPS report to file with HMRC, and also manages your pension file submissions.

• Empower employees: A self-service portal gives employees access to their payslips and P60s, cutting down HR queries.

• Handle complexity: It manages complex calculations for statutory leave, pension auto-enrolment, and deductions, ensuring payroll data is accurate.

Moving to an automated platform is the bright choice. It frees up your team from tedious data entry, and guides you through payroll compliance.

What’s inside our free 2026 payroll calendar?

Never miss a critical deadline ever again - the more organised you are in payroll, the smoother things go, and key to this is having a good calendar. Download our 2026 payroll calendar to learn about all the critical payroll deadlines in the UK. And get extra sorted by adding these payroll calendar template dates to your own custom calendar:

• Monthly payroll deadlines and tasks

• Annual reporting deadlines for payroll 

• Details about what and where to submit

Download this resource to:

• Never miss a critical deadline for payments or reports

• Plan your entire year of payroll processing periods in advance

• Share a single source of truth with your HR, finance, and payroll teams

• Stay compliant with all your annual reporting and tax year-end duties