Definition
PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is the UK and New Zealand income-tax collection system in which employers deduct income tax from employee wages at each pay and remit the deductions to HMRC (UK) or Inland Revenue (NZ). The system was introduced in the UK in 1944 and in New Zealand in 1958. In the UK, PAYE operates alongside NIC (National Insurance Contributions) under a unified payroll regime. In New Zealand, PAYE operates alongside KiwiSaver and student loan repayments.
What PAYE means in practice
For a UK bookkeeper, PAYE is the workflow that runs every payroll. The employee’s tax code (a letter plus a number, e.g. 1257L) is supplied by HMRC and tells the payroll system how much of the employee’s annual personal allowance to apply to each pay. The system calculates income tax on the pay above the running personal allowance and below the running rate-band thresholds. The result is the income-tax deduction for that pay period.
The same calculation happens for NIC, but with different bands and different rates. Both deductions are summarised on the payslip alongside the gross pay and the net pay. Each pay run produces a Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC under Real Time Information protocols (RTI is to PAYE what MTD is to VAT). The FPS is submitted on or before payday; missing the deadline triggers HMRC penalty interest.
A practical example: a UK employee earning 60,000 per year on a 1257L tax code, paid monthly. Gross pay 5,000 per month. PAYE calculation: 1,047.50 of monthly personal allowance is tax-free; 3,189.17 is taxed at 20% basic rate (763.33 tax); 763.33 is taxed at 40% higher rate (305.33 tax). Monthly PAYE: 1,068.66. Employee NIC: roughly 290. Net pay: 5,000 minus 1,068.66 minus 290 = 3,641.34. The payroll system runs this calculation automatically and submits FPS to HMRC on payday.
How PAYE works by country
United Kingdom
Operated under Real Time Information (RTI) since April 2013. The Full Payment Submission (FPS) reports each pay run; the Employer Payment Summary (EPS) covers months with no pay or with statutory adjustments. 2026-27 personal allowance is 12,570; the basic rate is 20% on the band 12,571 to 50,270; higher rate 40% from 50,271 to 125,140; additional rate 45% above 125,140. The personal allowance tapers by 1 for every 2 of income above 100,000.
Scotland has its own income-tax rate bands and rates that diverge from the rest of the UK (the SRIT and starter, basic, intermediate, higher, advanced, and top rates). PAYE is operated by Scottish-resident taxpayers under the Scottish rates but UK-wide for NIC.
New Zealand
Operated under payday filing since 1 April 2019. Employment Information returns must be submitted to IRD within 2 working days of each pay run (electronic) or 10 working days (paper). KiwiSaver employer and employee contributions (3% default each) are processed alongside the PAYE withholding. NZ tax bands: 10.5% on the band up to 14,000; 17.5% to 48,000; 30% to 70,000; 33% to 180,000; 39% above (the 2024-25 bands have held into 2026-27).
Australia
Australia does not use PAYE. The equivalent is PAYG Withholding reported via Single Touch Payroll. Different terminology, similar mechanic.
Canada
Canada does not use PAYE. Source deductions cover the equivalent (federal income tax, CPP, EI, provincial income tax). Reported on the PD7A form alongside the CPP and EI components.
Singapore
Singapore has no PAYE-equivalent. Residents pay income tax annually based on the employer’s IR8A return (due 1 March of the following year). There is no withholding at source for residents (a notable structural difference from the other four jurisdictions).
Related terms
PAYE is the UK and NZ employer income-tax withholding regime:
- Payroll is the broader process PAYE sits inside.
- NIC is the UK social contribution that runs alongside PAYE.
- PAYG is the AU equivalent withholding regime.
- Single Touch Payroll is the AU real-time reporting framework that fires alongside PAYG.
- Each pay run produces a journal entry that debits wages expense and credits PAYE payable, NIC payable, and net pay payable.
See also
For the UK NIC that runs alongside PAYE, see the NIC entry. For the AU equivalent regime, see PAYG and Single Touch Payroll.
FAQ
See the answered questions above for the 2026-27 UK tax bands, PAYE vs NIC, and PAYE vs PAYG.