P11D for 2025 to 2026: the benefits form from your employer, explained

What the deadline means

Other dates, as GOV.UK and HMRC state them

• GOV.UK's deadlines table for employers lists reporting expenses and benefits to HMRC as due on 6 July after the end of the tax year.
• HMRC's guidance on end-of-year procedures says employers also need to give, for each employee for whom a P11D is due, a statement of the information shown on the employee's form, and that the statement should be given by 6 July.
• GOV.UK's deadlines table for employers lists reporting the total Class 1A National Insurance the employer owes as due on 6 July after the end of the tax year.
• GOV.UK's deadlines table for employers lists paying Class 1A National Insurance as due on 22 July after the end of the tax year, or 19 July if paying by cheque.
• GOV.UK says an employer must give employees written notification that it is payrolling benefits and what that means for them, for example by payslip, email or letter, and must send it by 1 June after the end of each tax year. The notification must tell employees that they will not be taxed twice because the employer payrolls their benefits with HMRC.

Why you got it

GOV.UK says an employer that provides expenses or benefits to employees or directors must usually report them to HMRC and pay tax and National Insurance on them. GOV.UK's guide on completing the P11D says that at the end of each tax year an employer must provide details about any employees or directors (including their families or households) it has given expenses payments, benefits or facilities.

GOV.UK says the amount you pay depends on what kind of benefits you get and their value, which your employer works out.

GOV.UK says you do not usually have to pay National Insurance on benefits you get from your job, because your employer will pay National Insurance contributions on them instead. You do have to pay National Insurance on things that are paid in cash, as they are treated as earnings.

Got a letter from HMRC? Paste it into the checker for a plain-English identification.

Your options

1. Ask your employer for the record

   GOV.UK says that at the end of each tax year your employer will give you details of the company benefits they have told HMRC about, and might give you a copy of your P11D form if they sent one to HMRC. GOV.UK says that if your employer cannot give you a record of the P11D, you can contact HMRC.

2. Check how it affects your tax

   GOV.UK says to use its Check your Income Tax service to see how company benefits affect the tax you pay. GOV.UK says its Check your Income Tax service lets you check your tax code and Personal Allowance, see your estimated income from jobs and pensions and the tax you can expect to pay for the current tax year, and tell HMRC about changes that affect your tax code.

3. Tell HMRC when a benefit starts or stops

   GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC about any benefits you or your family start or stop getting from work, even if your employer has already taken Income Tax and National Insurance for them. It adds that you should only tell HMRC that you have a company car once you have started using it.

4. If you are the employer, report the benefits

   GOV.UK says an employer must report taxable expenses or benefits it provides to employees to HMRC, either through payroll or online at the end of the tax year. GOV.UK says an employer that does not pay expenses and benefits through payroll must fill in an online form called a P11D and submit it to HMRC at the end of the tax year, completing a P11D for each employee provided with taxable expenses or benefits that were not payrolled.

GOV.UK says you must keep the details of company benefits your employer gives you at the end of each tax year for 2 years after the tax year they relate to.

What a P11D lists

GOV.UK's guide on completing the P11D has sections for: assets transferred (cars, property, goods or other assets); payments made on behalf of the employee; vouchers and credit cards; living accommodation; mileage allowance payments not taxed at source; cars and car fuel; vans and van fuel; interest-free and low interest and notional loans; private medical treatment or insurance; qualifying relocation expenses payments and benefits; services supplied; assets placed at the employee's disposal; other items (including subscriptions and professional fees); and expenses payments made on behalf of the employee.

Company cars and fuel

GOV.UK says you will pay tax if you or your family use a company car privately, including for commuting. You pay tax on the value to you of the car, which depends on things like how much it would cost to buy and the type of fuel it uses.

GOV.UK says the value of the car is reduced if you have it part-time, if you pay something towards its cost, or if it has low CO2 emissions.

If your employer pays for fuel you use for personal journeys, GOV.UK says you will pay tax on this separately.

Medical insurance

GOV.UK says you usually pay tax on the cost of the insurance premiums if your employer pays for your medical insurance. GOV.UK adds that you can get some tax-free health benefits from your employer, including medical insurance when you are working abroad and annual check-ups.

Loans

GOV.UK says you will pay tax on low-interest or interest-free loans from your employer if they are worth more than £10,000. It says you pay tax on the difference between the interest rate you pay to your employer and what it calls the official rate of interest set by the Bank of England. GOV.UK adds that you may pay tax if your employer lends money to one of your relatives.

Living accommodation

GOV.UK says that if you, or one of your relatives, live in accommodation provided by your employer you may pay tax, and that how the tax is worked out depends on whether the accommodation cost more than £75,000. GOV.UK adds that you may not pay tax if you get the accommodation so you can do your job, or do your job better, for example agricultural workers living on farms.

• GOV.UK: the P11D for employeesGOV.UK's page on the P11D for employees says what a P11D is, when an employer will not need to submit one, and what to do if you need your P11D details.
• GOV.UK: Tax on company benefitsGOV.UK's guide to tax on company benefits covers company cars, low-interest loans, accommodation and the company benefits that are tax-free.

How the value reaches your tax

Through your tax code

GOV.UK says HMRC changes your tax code if you need to pay a different amount of tax. One of its examples is that your employer tells HMRC you have started or stopped getting benefits from your job.

GOV.UK says that to work out the number in your tax code, HMRC starts with your tax-free Personal Allowance and takes off any income you have not paid tax on and any other deductions in your tax code, such as company benefits or the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

GOV.UK gives this example: with the standard tax-free Personal Allowance of £12,570, medical insurance from your employer is a company benefit that lowers your Personal Allowance and changes your tax code. A medical insurance benefit of £1,570 is taken away from the Personal Allowance, leaving a tax-free amount of £11,000, which would make the tax code 1100L.

GOV.UK says that if a change affects the value of the car, HMRC will update your tax code so you pay the right tax.

GOV.UK says a tax code with a K means you have income or deductions higher than your tax-free Personal Allowance that are not already being taxed, for example tax you owe from a previous year, State Pension or taxable state benefits, or company benefits such as a company car.

GOV.UK says you might be put on an emergency tax code if you start getting company benefits or the State Pension, and that this is normal. It suggests checking your tax code online to make sure it includes the benefit or State Pension.

Through a P800

If you have paid too much or too little tax by the end of the tax year, HMRC sends a tax calculation letter (also known as a P800) or a Simple Assessment letter, telling you how to get a refund or pay what you owe.

HMRC will usually collect tax owed on a P800 by changing your tax code, which increases the tax taken from your wages or pension, usually in equal instalments for 12 months from the start of the following tax year.

Through Self Assessment

HMRC's guidance on end-of-year procedures says an employee needs to include any non-exempt expenses payments and the taxable value of any benefits given to them, and to members of their family or household, in an annual tax return.

GOV.UK says that if you are registered for Self Assessment, your bill will be adjusted automatically if you have underpaid or overpaid tax, and you will not get a tax calculation letter or a Simple Assessment letter.

HMRC's guidance for employers says the P11D carries box numbers 9 to 16 alongside the benefit or expense figures, and that when P11D information is given to employees in that order and with those box numbers it is easier for employees to complete their tax return correctly, if they get one.

What to check

The figures against what you were given

GOV.UK says an employer must keep a record of the date and details of every expense or benefit it provides, any information needed to work out the amounts on its end-of-year forms, and any payment its employee contributes to an expense or benefit. It must keep records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.

GOV.UK says to tell HMRC if your car or fuel details change, and that you can check or update your company car tax online, for example if you get a company car or give one back, or your employer starts or stops paying for fuel for you to use personally.

What may not be on the P11D

GOV.UK says expenses, payments or benefits in kind covered by a PAYE settlement agreement, or covered by the exemption for paid or reimbursed expenses, do not need to be shown on the P11D.

GOV.UK says an employer does not have to report certain business expenses and benefits, such as business travel, phone bills, business entertainment expenses, and uniform and tools for work. To qualify for the exemption the employer must pay either a flat rate as part of earnings (a benchmark rate, or a bespoke rate approved by HMRC) or the employee's actual costs.

The tax code notice (P2) that may follow

GOV.UK says HMRC will usually contact you to explain how they worked out your individual tax code if your tax code changes.

GOV.UK says you can find your tax code by checking it online (you need to sign in or create an online account), on the HMRC app, on your payslip, and on a 'Tax Code Notice' letter from HMRC if you get one.

GOV.UK says that if your tax code has changed, you can use the Check your Income Tax online service to find out why.

GOV.UK says you cannot check your Income Tax for the current year with that service if Self Assessment is the only way you pay Income Tax.

• GOV.UK: Check your Income Tax for the current yearYou need to sign in to use GOV.UK's Check your Income Tax service, and can create sign in details if you do not have them.

If a figure looks wrong

Through your employer

GOV.UK says that to fix an error, report benefits and expenses for earlier tax years, or tell HMRC about any changes, an employer fills in both online correction forms: the P11D correction form and the P11D(b) correction form.

GOV.UK's example: an employer submitted a P11D showing a medical benefit of £300 and a car benefit of £2,100. The car benefit is correct but the medical benefit should be £500, so the employer submits a P11D correction form showing both the medical benefit of £500 and the car benefit of £2,100.

If you cannot agree with HMRC

HMRC's guidance on end-of-year procedures says that if you cannot agree with HMRC whether an item is taxable or whether relief is due under the Employment Income expenses rule, you will need to make a Self Assessment tax return if you do not already do so. If HMRC does not agree with the figures you use in your return, it will make an amendment to your self-assessment, which you may then appeal against.

If a P800 follows

If you think the amounts used in a P800 are wrong, contact HMRC and say which amounts you think are incorrect and what they should be. If HMRC agrees, it sends a new calculation; if not, it contacts you to explain why.

Payrolled benefits and mandatory payrolling

Payrolling today

GOV.UK says an employer that pays expenses and benefits through payroll ('payrolling') reports them through its payroll software and pays tax on them throughout the year.

GOV.UK says an employer does not have to submit a P11D for benefits and expenses that it payrolls.

GOV.UK's guidance on payrolling (updated 6 April 2026) says an employer can only payroll benefits that it registered to payroll before 6 April 2026. It cannot payroll employer provided living accommodation or interest free and low interest (beneficial) loans, and must still report those benefits on a P11D, even if it is payrolling other benefits for the same employees.

GOV.UK says an employer should tell employees what will happen in the first year of payrolling: their tax code will change to take out the adjustment for their benefits in kind, the employer will put the adjusted amount through payroll each month and they will pay tax on that amount, and at the end of the year the employer will tell them how much taxable benefit they have had in the year and what it was for.

GOV.UK's example: an employer pays £600 per year per employee for health insurance and payrolls the benefit. During the tax year the employer works out the taxable amount and adds it to the employees' actual monthly pay. The annual cost is divided by the number of paydays in the year, and the employees pay tax on that amount, worked out as £600 divided by 12, which is £50 per month.

Mandatory payrolling, as GOV.UK states it now

GOV.UK's page on mandatory payrolling (last updated 23 September 2026) describes itself as draft interim guidance and legislation to aid preparation for reporting benefits in kind and expenses in real time, through payroll software, from April 2027.

GOV.UK's page on the phased introduction (15 June 2026) says that, following feedback from stakeholders, mandatory real-time reporting of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance contributions for certain benefits in kind and taxable expenses will be phased in: phase 1 from 6 April 2027 and phase 2 from 6 April 2028.

GOV.UK's page on changes to reporting of benefits in kind from April 2027 (23 July 2026) says that from April 2027 mandatory payrolling will apply to company cars, car fuel, vans and van fuel, and employer-provided medical benefits.

The same page says that from April 2028 mandatory payrolling will extend to most remaining benefits in kind, and that mandatory payrolling for employer-provided loans and accommodation will be confirmed at a later date.

The earlier page on the phased introduction (15 June 2026) says that in phase 2 the mandatory payrolling of most other benefits in kind will be introduced from April 2028, and that this excludes loans and accommodation which will remain voluntary.

GOV.UK's timeline of delivery (31 July 2026) lists draft secondary legislation to be published at Autumn Budget 2026, and primary and secondary legislation to be published in line with 2026 Finance Bill timings. It lists mandating payrolling for cars, car fuel, vans, van fuel and medical benefits as planned to go live in April 2027 (phase 1) and most other benefits in April 2028 (phase 2).

What changes for an employee

GOV.UK's guidance on getting ready for mandatory payrolling (31 July 2026) says HMRC will automatically remove the benefits in kind from employees' tax codes ready for the start of mandatory payrolling on 6 April 2027.

That guidance says employers need to explain that employees who currently pay tax in arrears on their benefits in kind will not do so from April 2027 onwards, that a deduction in a tax code for an estimated benefit in kind will no longer be the case from April 2027, and that tax on benefits in kind will have to be paid in real time in the year they are received.

The same guidance says that where an employee is also paying tax on a benefit in kind provided in a previous year, it might appear from April 2027 that they are paying tax twice, because they will be paying tax in real time on the benefits they receive for that year while also catching up with the tax for benefits from previous years.

The same guidance says HMRC's systems will not remove underpayments of tax from a previous tax year from tax codes, for example additional tax due on a benefit in kind or expense. An employee who wants to pay such an underpayment can do so, and there is an option to send a cheque or postal order to HMRC, as long as the employee has received a P800 which confirms the underpayment.

What stays with the employer

GOV.UK's guidance on getting ready for mandatory payrolling (31 July 2026) says employers will not need to register to payroll mandatory benefits from April 2027, but employers who want to voluntarily payroll non-mandatory benefits, including employment related loans and accommodation, will need to register. The registration service goes live in November 2026 and the deadline for registering is 5 April 2027.

The same guidance says that in July 2027 employers will still need to pay the Class 1A National Insurance contributions for benefits in kind provided in the 2026 to 2027 tax year under the current P11D system, while also starting to pay Class 1A in real time for benefits provided from April 2027 onwards, so 2 sets of Class 1A are due in the same financial year.

GOV.UK's mandatory payrolling page says employers will have the option to voluntarily exclude globally mobile employees from mandatory payrolling from 6 April 2027 through a new service available from November 2026, and should continue to use the existing year-end reporting arrangements for these employees through forms P11D and P11D(b).

• GOV.UK: Mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind and expensesGOV.UK's page on mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind and expenses carries the interim guidance and legislation, last updated 23 September 2026.

If you are the employer or a director

GOV.UK says an employer with fewer than 500 employees fills in and submits the forms through HMRC's PAYE Online service, and one with more than 500 employees does so through its payroll software. HMRC will only accept paper forms if the employer has stopped trading.

GOV.UK's guide on completing the P11D says an employer must use a separate P11D for each director or relevant employee, and must also give the information entered on the P11D to each director and relevant employee.

GOV.UK's guide on completing the P11D says an employer should not complete a P11D if there are no taxable expenses, payments or benefits to be returned for an individual, or if the expenses and benefits have been taxed through its payroll.

GOV.UK's guide on completing the P11D says there are penalties if an employer does not make returns, or if it submits incorrect returns on P11D and P11D(b), either carelessly or deliberately.

• GOV.UK: Expenses and benefits for employersGOV.UK's guide for employers sets out what to report and pay on expenses and benefits, with the forms and deadlines.

Class 1A National Insurance and the P11D(b)

GOV.UK says an employer must pay Class 1A National Insurance on work benefits it gives to its employees, for example a company mobile phone, and reports and pays Class 1A on expenses and benefits at the end of each tax year.

GOV.UK says the National Insurance Class 1A rate on expenses and benefits for 2025 to 2026 is 15%.

GOV.UK says an employer must also submit an online form to HMRC at the end of the tax year for any Class 1A National Insurance it owes. This is called a P11D(b).

GOV.UK says an employer does not need to report expenses and benefits for each employee at the end of the tax year if all of their expenses and benefits are payrolled, but must still report the Class 1A National Insurance it owes by submitting an online form called a P11D(b).

Tax-free company benefits

GOV.UK says you can get some company benefits tax free, including meals in a staff canteen, hot drinks and water at work, a mobile phone and workplace parking. Christmas parties can also be tax free if they cost £150 or less per head and are open to all employees, and your employer might provide tax free childcare support, including childcare vouchers.

If you do not get a P11D

GOV.UK says your employer may take the tax you owe on your benefits out of your pay. In that case the employer does not need to submit a P11D, and will write to you to explain how this works.

If you want to ask an adviser

• Which benefits did you report for me, and how did you work out the value of each one?
• Was anything I paid towards a benefit taken off the figure?
• Are any of my benefits payrolled, and which are reported on a P11D?
• How will my tax code change when a benefit is added or taken away?
• Do any of my benefits fall under a PAYE Settlement Agreement or an exemption, so that they do not appear?