On 19 August 2026, HMRC published their latest Employer Bulletin for tax year 2026/27. Published six times a year, this gives employers and agents payroll news and information on topics and issues that may affect them.
The August 2026 edition is separated into the following sections:
PAYE
This section covers the following topics:
- HMRC again point to their November 2025 briefing that says they are aware of businesses being approached by organisations offering models which falsely claim to be able to reduce employment costs through ‘tax credits’. Targeting the temporary employment agency and recruitment sectors, these models suggest purchasing businesses that have tax credits on file with HMRC and these can be used to offset debts with HMRC, for example a PAYE payment liability. The warning is that these models are often fraudulent and points to the above ‘tax fraud warning for employment agencies and employers’ briefing;
- There is a reminder that the August electronic payment deadline falls on a weekend (the 22nd);
- There is a reminder that the PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) payment deadline is 22 October 2026 if paying electrically. Payments must be accompanied by the PSA reference number not the PAYE Accounts Office reference number;
- As previous Bulletins have mentioned, August’s edition mentions that the 2025/26 P11D and P11D(b) reporting deadline was 06 July 2026 (and payment of Class 1A National Insurance should have been made by 19 July or 22 July if paid electronically). HMRC advise that if wither of these deadlines have been missed, this must be corrected as soon as possible to avoid further penalties;
- HMRC point to their latest Guidelines for Compliance (GfC) document (GfC19) ‘Help with short-term business visitors’; and
- HMRC detail actions for employers to take now ahead of the mandation of Phase 1 of payrolling benefits-in-kind from April 2027 (company cars, vans, fuel and medical benefit). ICB’s Wages Wednesday has pointed to these, however, also points to HMRC’s tips
Tax Updates and Changes to Guidance
This section covers the following topics:
- A reminder that the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment Rate (AMAP) increased (to 55p) from April 2026. This was announced after the start of the tax year but applies from the start which may require recalculations;
- A pointer to HMRC’s open consultation on proposals to extend existing powers to enforce lower value tax debts through directly deducted monthly instalments. This will apply to individuals and businesses who have a ‘low value’ and established tax debt. The consultation deals with the value of ‘low value’ by suggesting that this is an amount less than an upper value (£5,000 for individuals and £10,000 for companies). ICB suggests this measure and the planned Pre-Deduction Notices (PDNs) is one to look out for in the future;
- There is a link to another open consultation. This concerns proposals to align the time limits and processes for recovering National Insurance Contributions (NICs) with those that apply to Income Tax. Currently, for Income Tax recovery, there is no time limit on recover once HMRC have assessed there is a liability. For NICs, however, recovery is limited to 6 years, courtesy of provisions in the Limitation Act 1980. Simply, the consultation proposes that the limitations imposed by the 1980 Act are removed;
- There is another reminder that the option to pay voluntary Class 2 NICs for periods abroad has been removed (from 06 April 2026, for tax years 2026/27 onwards);
- A reminder that the National Insurance Double Contributions Convention (DCC) between the UK and India came into force on 15 July 2026. If members are impacted, ICB suggests referring to HMRC’s technical guidance in the National Insurance Manual; and
- An update to the June 2026 Employer Bulletin regarding the Low earner’s pension payment (previously called the anomaly). This payment applies where whereby people earning under £12,570 and in a Net Pay Arrangement Pension Scheme will receive a payment directly from HMRC from September 2026, previously August 2026. These low earners will not have received Income Tax relief via payroll systems, simply because they did not earn enough to pay. The payments will be made for tax year 2024/25 and then annually for subsequent tax years. Employers do not need to take any action
General Information and Customer Support
The final section contains various topics, some of which may not apply to all members so that are covered in brief with links to the Bulletin:
Also note the section ‘Employment Rights Act 2025 — actions to take now’ which covers changes starting October 2026, for example an employer’s obligation to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, including by third parties.
For Bookkeepers
After a lighter June 2026 version, August 2026’s version is a weighty read. Members can be assured that anything that impacts them will be covered in the monthly Wages Wednesday webinars.