Submit an RTI employer payment summary (EPS)

Once the year to date figures have been updated you may submit an Employer Payment Summary. The Employer Payment Submission (EPS) is used to notify HMRC that either no payment is due for the period or that there is a change to the expected value – for example, in the case of SMP reclaims. The apprenticeship levy amounts are also reported on the EPS.

Produce an FPS:

  1. Click on the Payrun icon.

  2. Go to the RTI menu and select Make Employer Payment Summary.

  3. If you wish to submit several FPS files in bulk, the Save messages to a Queue flag must be ticked.

  4. This will create the file for submission but will not send the data to HMRC. The submission will then need to be made from the Bulk Transmissions option in the E-filing module.

  5. If you wish to submit an EPS for a future period, you can amend the tax month in the Override Tax Month field. Please note that you cannot submit an EPS for a tax period in the past.

  6. If there has been no activity in the period and no pay figures have been submitted, you should check the No Payment Due for This Period flag and enter the dates accordingly.

  7. You can also notify HMRC of an upcoming period of inactivity, in this case check the Notification of future period of inactivity box and enter the dates as relevant.

  8. You can see the year to date recovery amounts being reported in the box below the inactivity flags.

  9. Check that these are correct before proceeding. The Bank Details for Refunds section is used to supply HMRC with bank account details so any refunds can be made via BACS.

    These are optional fields and as such will not be automatically completed from data held in system setup; there is the option available to load these details or it is possible to enter the information manually if a different account is used for incoming payments.

  10. If you wish to populate these fields with the company account details from the system setup module, click the Use Payroll Details button.

  11. If you are claiming the Employment Allowance, you should ensure that the Employer Qualifies for and wishes to claim employment allowance ‘Start’ flag is checked.

  12. This only needs to be checked once as HMRC will keep it on record. If you wish to stop claiming it, check the Stop flag.

  13. Click the Next button to continue

9. If this is the final submission for the tax year, the Is this the final submission for the year?

box should be ticked.

If the PAYE scheme is to cease after this submission, you should check the final submission flag and then also check the Is this a cessation return flag.

This will inform HMRC of the cessation, you must also enter the Cessation date in the field to the right of the cessation flag

10. You should now set the printing options.

The Print a file creation report box, when ticked, creates a report listing the contents of the submission. We would recommend that this report is produced as it provides an easy way to check what is being submitted.

The Generate a PDF Report for Each PAYE Reference check box should be used when submitting in a batch; it will produce an individual report for each PAYE scheme you are submitting for and save them to separate PDF files.

The Save a copy of the generated XML box forces IRIS Payrite to save a copy of the actual XML file which is submitted to HMRC to a specific location.

We would recommend that this is ticked so in the event of HMRC contacting you regarding the submission, you will be able to easily identify the figures you submitted.

11. Click Next to continue

12. The following screen shows whether you are sending this return as an agent and – if not –

who is submitting the return.

Is this an agent return – will be greyed out unless agent details have been entered in system setup. If you usually send submissions as an agent but – in this case – are transmitting data that is unconnected to the agent details on file, you should select Not an Agent Return from this drop-down

You are sending this return as – details under what capacity you are sending the return:

  • The principal (directly responsible)

  • An intermediary (e.g. an Agent or Bureau)

  • A witness

You would normally use The Principle if you are sending the return as the employer or An Intermediary for bureau or agent submissions

Sender details – defines who the submission details refer to. This defaults to Employer but alternative options are available from the drop-down:

  • Employer – employer submitting PAYE forms

  • Acting in Capacity – representatives acting on behalf of the submitter

  • Individual – individual submitting SA return

  • Agent – body representing an individual or employer

  • Bureau – body submitting returns on behalf of an organisation/employer

  • Partnership – partner submitting SA return for a Partnership

  • Trust – trustee submitting SA return for a Trust

  • Company - company submitting Company Tax return

  • Government – submission made by a government department

  • Other – to be used if the other options are not relevant

If you are unsure which option to select, please contact the HMRC Helpdesk. Do not contact the IRIS Payrite Helpdesk as FMP Global staff will be unable to help.

13. Click Next to continue

14. This screen shows the employer details that will be used to submit the return.

User ID and Password are the details which will be used to access to government gateway. These must be entered or the submission will be unsuccessful.

The Contact Details section allows you to amend the details of the principle contact in the company. You should check that these details are correct before you submit.

If the contact has changed, you should amend the details accordingly.

15. Click Finish.

Select the printing option you require to produce the submission report.

Check that these figures are correct before you continue.

16. The file will now be generated.

Click Next at the following screen to continue.

17. At the next screen, click Transmit to send the file to HMRC.

The system may take a few minutes to submit if HMRC are experiencing a busy period so please be patient.

If the submission has been successful you will see a series of green ticks on the confirmation screen. If there are any red crosses then the submission will have been rejected, the reason code will be displayed next to the cross.

HMRC have not released a copy of error codes and explanations. We request that you contact HMRC in the first instance, should you receive an error that you are unsure of. If an error is presented and you are unable to get further guidance from HMRC please contact the IRIS Payrite Helpdesk - it may be that they have been made aware of a resolution to an error code but we would ask for your patience whilst this is established.

18. Click Finish to exit the screen.