Another significant change to payroll is now only six months away.

From 6 April 2027, employers will have to report and account for tax on several common benefits in kind through payroll in real time.

The first phase covers company cars, car fuel, vans, van fuel and employer-provided medical benefits.

At present, many employers deal with benefits after the tax year has ended using forms P11D. The new system brings the tax consequences into the payroll process throughout the year.

That makes preparation important.

Employers should start by identifying exactly which benefits they provide and to whom. Company vehicles may be obvious, but private medical insurance can involve larger groups of employees and changes during the year.

The next question is whether your existing payroll software will be ready.

From April 2027, the relevant benefit information will be included within the Full Payment Submission, or FPS, which employers already use to report salary and employee details to HMRC. Payroll processes will therefore need accurate information about benefits as they arise rather than waiting for an annual P11D exercise.

This may require better communication between whoever arranges benefits and whoever operates payroll. Suppose an employee changes company car halfway through a month or joins the company medical scheme. How quickly does the payroll team find out?

That seemingly simple question could expose a weakness in the current process.

The change is being phased. Most other benefits are expected to move into mandatory payrolling from April 2028, while employment-related loans and accommodation have separate arrangements.

There is no need to wait until next April.

Make a list of the benefits your business currently provides, establish which employees receive them and check that your payroll provider or software will support the new reporting requirements.

Six months is plenty of time to prepare.

It becomes considerably less comfortable if the first review takes place when the April payroll is already being processed.

When businesses think about recruitment, they can easily concentrate on attracting younger workers. The latest employment figures suggest there may be another group worth considering.

Official PAYE statistics for August 2026 show that the number of payrolled employees aged 65 and over increased by 62,000 compared with August 2025. Over the same period, the number aged under 25 fell by 15,000.

That does not mean older workers are appropriate for every vacancy. It does suggest that the traditional assumption that people simply stop working when they reach their mid-sixties is becoming less reliable.

For smaller businesses, this could create opportunities.

An experienced employee may bring technical knowledge, customer-handling skills or management experience that would take years to develop internally.

Some people approaching or passing State Pension age may also want something different from their previous full-time career. They may prefer fewer days, shorter hours, project work or a role with less responsibility.

That can sometimes fit particularly well with the needs of a smaller business.

Consider, for example, a business that needs an experienced finance manager but cannot justify a full-time appointment. Someone with decades of experience who wants to work two days a week could potentially fill that gap.

The starting point should still be the job rather than the age of the applicant.

What skills does the business actually need? Does the role have to be full-time? Could two people share it? Is experience more valuable than qualifications in this particular position?

Flexible working can widen the pool of potential applicants at both ends of the age range.

There is another benefit. Mixing employees at different stages of their careers can create opportunities for knowledge transfer. An experienced worker may help develop younger colleagues, while newer recruits can bring different technical skills and perspectives.

Recruitment problems are often approached by asking, "Where can we find someone like the person who left?"

A better question may be, "What skills do we actually need, and who could provide them?"

The answer may be someone you had not previously considered.

Small businesses considering taking on an apprentice have a new financial incentive to investigate following the introduction, from 1 October 2026, of a £2,000 hiring payment for eligible employers in England that do not pay the apprenticeship levy and recruit an apprentice aged between 16 and 24. The incentive forms part of the Government's wider programme to encourage businesses to provide employment and training opportunities for younger people, although employers should check the detailed eligibility requirements before making recruitment decisions.

To qualify, the apprentice must start their apprenticeship on or after 1 October 2026 and must have joined the employer within the preceding 90 days, which means that businesses cannot necessarily obtain the payment simply by transferring an established employee onto an apprenticeship programme. Employers should also establish how the incentive will be paid, whether other financial support is available and what administrative requirements must be satisfied.

Although the immediate attraction is the financial contribution towards recruitment costs, apprenticeships can offer wider benefits, particularly for smaller businesses that struggle to recruit employees with precisely the skills they require. By providing structured training alongside practical experience, an employer can develop someone who understands its particular systems, customers and working practices, while the apprentice gains recognised qualifications and valuable workplace experience. An engineering business, for example, might recruit someone who can gradually develop specialist knowledge of its equipment, while an accountancy practice could use an apprenticeship to introduce a new employee to bookkeeping, payroll and accounting services.

However, the £2,000 payment should not be regarded as covering the full cost of employing an apprentice, because wages, supervision, training arrangements and other employment costs must still be considered. Apprentices must receive the appropriate minimum wage and sufficient time for their required training, while the business needs to ensure that experienced employees have the capacity to provide guidance and support.

Before making a decision, employers should consider their longer-term staffing requirements and whether an apprenticeship would provide a suitable route towards meeting them. Someone recruited today may initially require considerable supervision but could develop into a valuable employee with skills tailored to the business and an understanding of its culture.

For employers already considering recruitment, the new incentive provides an additional reason to investigate apprenticeships, although the decision should ultimately rest on whether the arrangement makes commercial sense. Discussing the options with an apprenticeship training provider and reviewing the full financial commitment with your accountant would be a sensible starting point.

Recent employment figures suggest that the number of people on UK payrolls is continuing to fall.

That does not necessarily mean your business should reduce its workforce. However, it does provide a useful reminder to look at one of the largest costs faced by many businesses.

The important question is not whether other employers are recruiting or reducing staff. It is whether your current workforce is right for your business.

Look beyond the monthly payroll

Start by considering what has happened to employment costs over the past couple of years.

Pay rises are only part of the picture. Employer's National Insurance, pension contributions, benefits, training and other employment costs all contribute to the real cost of employing someone.

Compare this with what is happening to turnover, gross profit and productivity.

For example, if staffing costs have increased by 10%, but turnover has increased by only 3%, it is worth investigating why.

There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation, particularly if you have recruited ahead of anticipated growth. But it is better to understand the figures than simply allow costs to increase unnoticed.

Should every vacancy be replaced?

When someone leaves, there can be an automatic assumption that a replacement is needed.

Before recruiting, consider whether the job still needs to exist in exactly the same form.

Could responsibilities be reorganised? Could repetitive administrative work be automated? Has technology changed the amount or type of work required?

Conversely, be careful about delaying recruitment purely to save money. Existing employees working excessive hours can lead to falling productivity, poor customer service and eventually the loss of good staff.

Model the cost before deciding

Recruitment decisions should form part of your financial planning.

If you are considering employing an additional person, calculate the full annual cost and estimate the additional sales, capacity or efficiency that the appointment needs to generate.

The same principle applies if you are considering reducing staffing levels. A reduction in payroll costs may look attractive, but not if it prevents the business from delivering work or growing sales.

Use your figures to make the decision

Your accounting records contain much of the information needed to undertake this review.

Comparing staffing costs with turnover and gross profit over time can reveal trends that are difficult to spot when looking only at the bank balance or monthly payroll.

If your staffing requirements are changing, talk to us before making significant decisions. We can help you examine the numbers, model alternative scenarios and understand the financial implications before you commit.

For many businesses, broadband has gradually become as important as electricity. Cloud accounting, video meetings, online backups, customer management systems and increasingly artificial intelligence applications all depend on reliable connectivity.

The Government's latest Project Gigabit progress report, published on 22 September, says gigabit-capable broadband is now available to more than 88% of UK homes and businesses. Around four million premises remain without coverage, while the Government has a target of reaching 99% by 2032.

For businesses, however, the question is not simply whether faster broadband is available. It is whether better connectivity could allow the business to work differently.

A business that has tolerated a slow connection for several years may have adapted its working practices around that limitation without realising it. Large files may be stored locally, backups carried out overnight and staff discouraged from working remotely. Video meetings may be unreliable and cloud-based applications frustratingly slow.

If substantially faster broadband is now available, some of those assumptions may be worth reconsidering.

Start by looking at what your business actually needs rather than simply buying the fastest package available. How many people use the connection simultaneously? Which systems depend upon it? How disruptive would an outage be? Do you need a backup connection?

There may also be opportunities to reduce other costs. Improved connectivity could make cloud-based software more practical, support flexible working or reduce dependence on locally maintained servers and other equipment.

The latest Government figures also mean businesses previously unable to obtain a satisfactory connection should periodically check availability. Infrastructure is continuing to expand, so an answer received a year or two ago may no longer apply.

Broadband is easily treated as another monthly overhead. Increasingly, however, it is part of the infrastructure on which the whole business depends.

It may therefore deserve the same periodic review as insurance, banking, software and other essential business services.

When a customer takes 60 or 90 days to pay an invoice that should have been settled in 30 days, there is another way of looking at the transaction.

You are effectively providing the customer with finance, usually without charging them for it.

Late payment remains a significant problem for smaller businesses, although the latest Government statistics provide some encouraging evidence. Large businesses paid 15% of invoices late during 2025, compared with 25% in 2018. Their average payment time has also fallen from 35 days to 32 days over the same period.

Nevertheless, even a relatively small number of late invoices can create serious cash-flow problems.

Businesses should therefore consider measuring debtor performance rather than simply looking at the total amount outstanding.

Your accounting records should be capable of answering some straightforward questions. Which customers regularly pay late? How much cash is tied up in overdue invoices? How long does it normally take customers to pay? Is the position improving or deteriorating?

Then consider the commercial response.

Invoices should be issued promptly and clearly state the payment terms. Customers approaching their credit limit may need to be contacted before further work is undertaken. Regular late payers might justify different payment arrangements, deposits or staged payments.

There are also statutory remedies. Businesses can, in qualifying circumstances, claim interest and debt recovery costs on late commercial payments. GOV.UK confirms that where a payment date has not been agreed, a commercial payment will generally become late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or the goods or services are supplied, whichever is later.

Government reforms are also intended to strengthen the late-payment regime, including proposals for maximum payment terms and stronger powers for the Small Business Commissioner.

The practical lesson, however, does not require new legislation.

A profitable business can still run short of cash if customers do not pay promptly. Debtor days should therefore be treated as a management figure rather than something that is examined only when cash becomes tight.

1 October 2026 - Corporation Tax payment is due for companies with an accounting period ending 31 December 2025, unless the company is required to make quarterly instalment payments.

5 October 2026 - Deadline for notifying HMRC of a new liability to Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax for the 2025-26 tax year. This may include registering for Self Assessment if you became self-employed, started receiving taxable rental income or received other income or gains that have not already been taxed.

7 October 2026 - VAT returns and payments are normally due for accounting periods ending 31 August 2026, unless a different deadline applies. Businesses paying by Direct Debit should allow sufficient time for HMRC to collect the payment.

19 October 2026 - PAYE, employee and employer National Insurance contributions, student loan deductions and Construction Industry Scheme deductions are due for the month ended 5 October 2026 if payment is made by post.

19 October 2026 - Deadline for submitting the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 October 2026.

22 October 2026 - Electronic payments of PAYE, National Insurance contributions, student loan deductions and CIS deductions are due for the month ended 5 October 2026.

22 October 2026 - Electronic payment deadline for tax and Class 1B National Insurance contributions due under a PAYE Settlement Agreement for the 2025-26 tax year. The deadline is 19 October 2026 if payment is not made electronically.

31 October 2026 - Deadline for submitting a paper Self Assessment tax return for the year ended 5 April 2026. Taxpayers who miss the paper filing deadline can normally file online by 31 January 2027 instead.

31 October 2026 - Corporation Tax returns are due for companies with an accounting period ending 31 October 2025.

31 October 2026 - Companies House accounts are due for private companies with an accounting period ending 31 January 2026. Different deadlines apply to a company's first accounts.

31 October 2026 - Plastic Packaging Tax returns and payments are due for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 where the business is registered for the tax.

1 November 2026 - Corporation Tax payment is due for companies with an accounting period ending 31 January 2026, unless the company is required to make quarterly instalment payments.

7 November 2026 - VAT returns and payments are normally due for accounting periods ending 30 September 2026, unless a different deadline applies. Businesses paying by Direct Debit should allow sufficient time for HMRC to collect the payment.

19 November 2026 - PAYE, employee and employer National Insurance contributions, student loan deductions and Construction Industry Scheme deductions are due for the month ended 5 November 2026 if payment is made by post.

19 November 2026 - Deadline for submitting the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 November 2026.

22 November 2026 - Electronic payments of PAYE, National Insurance contributions, student loan deductions and CIS deductions are due for the month ended 5 November 2026. As 22 November 2026 falls on a Sunday, businesses should arrange payment early enough for the cleared funds to reach HMRC by the deadline.

30 November 2026 - Corporation Tax returns are due for companies with an accounting period ending 30 November 2025.

30 November 2026 - Companies House accounts are due for private companies with an accounting period ending 28 February 2026. Different deadlines apply to a company's first accounts.

HMRC has launched an improved online service to make it easier for individuals to register for self-assessment. Anyone who needs to submit a tax return for the first time for the 2025-26 tax year should notify HMRC by 5 October 2026 to avoid a potential penalty.

The new service is available through a Personal Tax Account and includes pre-populated information, online support during registration and the ability to save and return without losing information. Taxpayers will also receive confirmation by email or text when their registration is complete.

Once registered, taxpayers receive a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), which is needed to complete their tax return. Under the new service, the UTR should appear in the taxpayer's online account within 72 hours, instead of taking up to 15 days to arrive by post.

Taxpayers who are unsure whether they need to submit a tax return can use HMRC's online checking tool. Those who need to register may include newly self-employed individuals with gross trading income above £1,000, a new partner in a business partnership and taxpayers with more than £2,500 of untaxed income.

The deadline for submitting the 2025-26 self-assessment tax return and paying any tax due is 31 January 2027.

Anyone who no longer needs to complete a tax return should tell HMRC as soon as possible. 

Until HMRC confirms that a self-assessment return is no longer required, taxpayers should continue to meet their self-assessment filing obligations.

The new registration service is currently available to individual taxpayers with a Personal Tax Account. Agents must continue to use the existing registration processes, including using forms CWF1 or an SA1, to register.

Making a trading loss whilst not ideal can sometimes generate a tax refund. If you are a self-employed individual or a member of a trading partnerships, a trading loss can potentially be set against other income or capital gains. This can reduce the amount of tax payable and, where tax has already been paid, may result in a refund.

For the 2025-26 tax year that ended in April, a loss can generally be set against income for the same year or the previous tax year. This means a business that made a profit in an earlier year but has subsequently made a loss may be able to recover some of the tax previously paid.

There are restrictions. For example, the trade must generally be carried on commercially and for profit, rather than as a hobby. Other restrictions can apply depending on the circumstances, including where the individual works fewer than 10 hours a week on the commercial activities of the trade.

There is also a limit on the amount of certain Income Tax reliefs that can be claimed against total income. The limit is generally the higher of £50,000 or 25% of adjusted total income.

A loss can also usually be carried forward and used against future profits from the same trade.

If you have a trading loss, it may provide an opportunity to reduce an earlier tax bill, generate a refund or reduce tax on future profits. The rules can be complex, and we are happy to help advice you on the best way forward. 

UK employers with employees who normally work overseas may have PAYE and National Insurance obligations when those employees come to the UK to carry out their duties in the UK on a short-term basis.

Employers should consider the position whenever an overseas employee visits the UK to work. The fact that the employee remains employed and paid by an overseas company does not, by itself, mean that there is no UK PAYE obligation. In some circumstances, the UK company hosting the employee may be responsible for operating PAYE.

There are arrangements that can help employers with the normal PAYE requirements for qualifying short-term business visitors. For example, an EP Appendix 4 arrangement may allow a UK host employer not to operate PAYE where the relevant conditions are met, including where a double taxation agreement applies and no UK Income Tax liability ultimately arises. National Insurance needs to be considered separately, as an Appendix 4 arrangement does not cover NICs.

Where PAYE is required but it is impractical to operate it in the normal way, an EP Appendix 8 arrangement may be available for certain short-term business visitors. This allows the employer to report and pay the relevant tax after the end of the tax year, subject to the conditions of the arrangement.

If you have overseas staff working in the UK, we can help you make sure your payroll processes are correct.