RTI (Full Payment Submission): What Employers Need to Know
Real Time Information (RTI) is a core part of UK payroll reporting, designed to ensure HMRC receives up-to-date information about employee pay and deductions throughout the year. At the heart of RTI is the Full Payment Submission (FPS), which employers must send every time they pay their staff.
Getting RTI right is essential for compliance, avoiding penalties, and ensuring employees are taxed correctly.
What is RTI?
RTI (Real Time Information) is HMRC’s system for collecting payroll data in real time, rather than waiting until the end of the tax year.
This means employers must report:
Employee payments
Tax deductions
National Insurance contributions
Other payroll information
Each time payroll is run.
What is a Full Payment Submission (FPS)?
The FPS is the main RTI submission employers send to HMRC every pay period. It provides a detailed breakdown of each employee’s pay, including:
Gross earnings
Income Tax deducted
National Insurance contributions
Student loan deductions
Start and leave dates (if applicable)
Pay date and frequency
Essentially, it tells HMRC exactly what has been paid to employees and what has been deducted.
When must an FPS be submitted?
The rule is simple but strict:
An FPS must be submitted on or before the date employees are paid.
Most businesses submit FPS automatically through payroll software as soon as payroll is finalised.
Why RTI is important
RTI ensures that:
Employees are taxed correctly in real time
HMRC has up-to-date payroll data
Year-end discrepancies are reduced
Tax codes can be adjusted more quickly
It also helps avoid unexpected tax bills or corrections at the end of the tax year.
What happens if you miss an FPS deadline?
Late or missed submissions can lead to:
HMRC compliance issues
Incorrect employee tax records
Potential penalties in serious or repeated cases
Administrative complications in correcting payroll data
In some cases, corrections can be made using adjusted submissions, but prevention is always better than correction.
Employer Payment Summary (EPS)
Alongside FPS, some employers may also need to submit an Employer Payment Summary (EPS). This is used to report:
Statutory payment recoveries (e.g. SSP, SMP)
Apprenticeship levy adjustments
No employee payments in a pay period
FPS reports payments; EPS reports adjustments.
How JSB Accountants can help
Managing RTI submissions correctly can be time-consuming, especially for growing businesses or those without dedicated payroll staff. JSB Accountants can take the pressure off by ensuring your payroll is accurate, compliant, and submitted on time.
They can support with:
Full RTI (FPS and EPS) submissions to HMRC
Payroll processing and payslip generation
Ensuring correct tax and NI calculations
Fixing payroll errors and historic corrections
Helping you stay compliant with changing HMRC rules
By outsourcing payroll to JSB Accountants, businesses can reduce the risk of costly mistakes and free up time to focus on running and growing their operations.
Final thoughts
RTI and the Full Payment Submission process are a crucial part of UK payroll compliance. While the rules are strict, they help ensure transparency and accuracy in employee taxation.
With the right systems in place, or with support from professionals like JSB Accountants, employers can stay compliant, avoid penalties, and keep payroll running smoothly all year round.
As a family-run company, we pride ourselves on providing a bespoke service tailored to your particular needs.
Above all, our objective is to save you time, money and effort in managing your accounts, leaving you free to focus on building your business.
Remember, you’re not alone, we’re always here to help if you have an accounts problem or query
This content will only be shown when viewing the full post. Click on this text to edit it.
Share this post: