What is PAYE?
PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is HM Revenue and Customs' system for collecting Income Tax and National Insurance from employment. An employer deducts them from each employee's pay through payroll, reports them to HMRC on or before payday, and pays HMRC what it owes by the 22nd of the following tax month.
What to know
- An employer must register for PAYE once an employee is paid £96 or more a week, gets expenses or benefits, has another job, or receives a pension.
- Tax months run from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next.
- The monthly bill covers employees' Income Tax, employee and employer National Insurance, student loan deductions and any Class 1A National Insurance on benefits.
- Payroll can be run in-house with payroll software or by a payroll provider such as a bureau or accountant.
Sources: GOV.UK, "PAYE and payroll for employers"; GOV.UK, "Running payroll". Checked 1 October 2026.
PAYE and RewardsPilot
A PAYE bill paid through RewardsPilot earns 4 RewardsPilot points per £1 of net spend. Payroll funded through CrestPay earns on wages and PAYE; pension contributions do not earn points.
Related
All terms
VAT · National Insurance · UTR number · Corporation Tax · Business rates · VAT registration number · VAT return · VAT invoice · Avios
Official facts are quoted from GOV.UK and can change. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Programme facts come from the published RewardsPilot rate and the Rewards Programme Rules.