Your PAYE reference number is the short two-part code HMRC uses to identify an employer’s payroll scheme, and it looks something like 123/AB456. If you’re an employee, you’ll find it on your P60, your P45, often your payslip, or inside your HMRC Personal Tax Account. If you’re the employer, it’s on the letter HMRC posted when you registered your PAYE scheme, and it’s visible when you log in to PAYE Online.
What the Number Looks Like
The reference comes in two parts separated by a forward slash. The first part is a three-digit number identifying the HMRC tax office that handles the employer’s account. The second part is the employer’s unique identifier within that office and can be between one and ten letters and numbers. A typical reference looks like 123/AB456.1HM Revenue & Customs. Employer PAYE Reference – HMRC Patterns for Services
It identifies the employer, not you. Your own record within the scheme is tracked through your National Insurance number, which is why the PAYE reference changes every time you change employer while your National Insurance number stays with you for life.2Low Incomes Tax Reform Group. Confused by All the Different Reference Numbers in the UK Tax System?
Where To Find It as an Employee
On Your P60 or P45
Your P60, which summarises your pay and deductions for the tax year, shows the PAYE reference near the top alongside the employer’s name and address. Your P45, issued when you leave a job, also displays it in the top section of each part of the form.3Low Incomes Tax Reform Group. How to Find Your Employer PAYE Reference
These are the most reliable sources, but timing is the problem. P60s only arrive after the tax year ends, and a P45 only appears when you leave. If you’ve just started a job, neither will be in your hands yet.
On Your Payslip
Payslips often show the reference near the top with the other employer details, but employers aren’t legally required to include it, so not every payslip does.3Low Incomes Tax Reform Group. How to Find Your Employer PAYE Reference If yours doesn’t, check any welcome letter, contract, or payroll correspondence from the employer.
In Your HMRC Personal Tax Account
You can look it up without any paperwork at all. Sign in to your HMRC Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK, select the “Pay As You Earn (PAYE)” tile, then look under your PAYE Income Tax history. Each employment listed shows the PAYE reference next to the employer’s name.3Low Incomes Tax Reform Group. How to Find Your Employer PAYE Reference This is usually the fastest route when you don’t have documents handy, and it also works for previous jobs.
By Asking
If nothing else works, your employer’s payroll department or accountant can give you the reference. HMRC’s Employers helpline can also confirm it once you’ve verified your identity.
Where To Find It as an Employer
When you first register as an employer, HMRC posts you a letter containing your new PAYE reference. That letter is the original source, so keep it safe.4GOV.UK. Register as an Employer The reference also appears on P6 and P9 coding notices HMRC sends during the year.5GOV.UK. Payroll Information to Report to HMRC
Online, log in to PAYE Online for Employers through your HMRC Business Tax Account and open the employer section; the reference sits under your PAYE details. Any payroll software you’ve connected to HMRC will also store it.
Don’t Confuse It With the Accounts Office Reference
Employers deal with two different HMRC reference numbers, and mixing them up causes real problems. The Accounts Office reference is 13 characters, in a format like 123PX00123456.6HM Revenue & Customs. Accounts Office Reference That one goes on payments to HMRC for tax and National Insurance.
The PAYE reference, the shorter code with the forward slash, identifies your scheme on payroll filings. Both numbers must appear on every Full Payment Submission and Employer Payment Summary you send to HMRC.5GOV.UK. Payroll Information to Report to HMRC Swapping one for the other can leave payments sitting unallocated on HMRC’s systems while penalties build up.
When You’ll Need It
For employees, the reference comes up when you start a new job and your new employer needs tax information, when you file a Self Assessment return that includes employment income, or when you call HMRC about a tax code or refund query. An adviser will usually ask for it first because it pulls up the employer’s scheme on their system.
For employers, you need it every time you run payroll. Full Payment Submissions and Employer Payment Summaries both require the reference split into its two parts: the three-digit office number before the slash and the employer reference after it.5GOV.UK. Payroll Information to Report to HMRC You don’t supply the reference when you register as an employer; registration is how you receive it, and HMRC sends it by post after you complete the process. Register before your first payday, and no more than two months before you start paying anyone.4GOV.UK. Register as an Employer
One point worth knowing if your business is based outside the UK: having employees working in the country means you still need to operate PAYE and get a reference number, even without a UK office. HMRC expects the scheme to be running before the first UK payday, and overseas employers without a UK address may need to contact HMRC directly to complete the setup.4GOV.UK. Register as an Employer