Guidance: Pension scheme administrators: how to pay tax

As a pension scheme administrator of a registered pension scheme you must send pension schemes reports and pay tax charges to HMRC.

Reporting and making payments on charges arising from your Accounting for Tax return

The deadline for reporting and paying the tax charges is the same.

Tax period	Filing and payment deadline
1 January to 31 March	15 May
1 April to 30 June	14 August
1 July to 30 September	14 November
1 October to 31 December	14 February

Reporting events and making payments on charges arising from your event report

If a reportable event occurs within a tax year, you must submit your event report by 31 January following the end of the tax year when the event occurred. If a scheme has been wound up you must submit the event report within 3 months of the date the scheme wound up or by the 31 January deadline, whichever is earlier.

If the event that you’ve reported is an unauthorised payment, HMRC will also raise an assessment for the scheme sanction charge. The amount of the scheme sanction charge depends on whether the unauthorised payments charge has been paid either by the member or by the scheme administrator if the member has agreed to the mandating procedure.

You’ll have 30 days from the date we issue the assessment notice, to pay the scheme sanction charge, if you have not already done so. Late payment penalties become payable if the tax still has not been paid 30 days after the due date.

Interest will be charged if the scheme sanction charge is not paid by 31 January following the tax year in which the charge arose.

To avoid or minimise interest being charged scheme administrators can make payments on account.

If the member has completed and signed the mandate, you’ll also be required to pay the unauthorised payments charge on their behalf.

Pay now

How much time to allow when paying HMRC

Make sure you pay HMRC by the deadline or you may have to pay a penalty.

The time you need to allow depends on how you pay.

Payment method	Time allowance
Online or telephone banking (Faster Payments)	Same or next day
Bacs	3 working days
CHAPS	Same or next day
Government Banking Service	Same or next day
Online debit or corporate credit card	Same or next day
At your bank or building society	Same or next day
By cheque through the post	3 working days

If the deadline is on a weekend or bank holiday, make sure your payment reaches HMRC on the last working day before (unless you’re paying by Faster Payments).

How to pay

Bank details for online or telephone banking, Bacs, CHAPS

You can pay by Faster Payments, Bacs or CHAPS to HMRC’s account.

Sort code	Account number	Account name
08 32 10	12001020	HMRC Shipley

Find out what reference to use if you’re making a payment.

Your payment may be delayed if you use the wrong reference number.

Payments by:

• Faster Payments (online or telephone banking) usually reach HMRC on the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays
• Bacs usually take 3 working days
• CHAPS usually reach HMRC the same working day if you pay within your bank’s processing times

Overseas payments

As the scheme administrator of a registered pension scheme you should use these details to pay from an overseas account.

Bank identifier code (BIC) / Swift code	Account number (IBAN)	Account name
BARCGB22	GB03 BARC 2011 4783 9776 92	HMRC Shipley

If you need to give your bank HMRC’s banking address it is:

If you’re the manager of an overseas pension scheme you should contact HMRC before paying the overseas transfers charge.

The Government Banking Service

Employers such as government departments and health authorities who have a Government Banking Service account can pay using the Government Banking Service online service.

If you enter HMRC’s Government Banking Service account details incorrectly there may be a delay updating your record, or your payment may not reach HMRC.

As long as you make a payment by the Government Banking Service deadline it will reach HMRC on the same day.

Online debit or corporate credit card

You can pay by debit or corporate credit card.

There’s a non-refundable fee if you pay by corporate credit or corporate debit card.

There’s no fee if you pay by personal debit card.

You cannot pay by personal credit card.

If you’re unable to make full payment by credit or debit card you’ll have to pay a different way.

Find out what reference to use if you’re making a payment.

Your payment may be delayed if you use the wrong reference number.

HMRC will accept your payment on the date you make it and not the date it reaches HMRC’s account, including on bank holidays and weekends.

Making a card payment — getting your details correct

We have recently made some changes as part of HMRC’s commitment to making sure the security of online payments. You need to make sure the details you are entering are correct and match those held by your bank or card provider, for example, the billing address should be the one to which your card is currently registered.

At your bank or building society

You’ll need to order a payslip from HMRC to pay this way. It can take up to 10 days to arrive. Use another method if you need to pay before then.

You can order a payslip by writing to HMRC.

Use the payslips to pay at your own bank or building society. You can pay by cash or cheque made payable to ‘HM Revenue and Customs only’ and write your reference number on the back of the cheque. You can find more information about what reference to use if you’re making a payment in this guide.

Your payment may be delayed if you use the wrong reference number.

HMRC will accept your payment on the date you make it and not the date it reaches HMRC’s account, if you pay between Monday and Friday.

By cheque through the post

You’ll need to order a payslip from HMRC to pay this way. It can take up to 10 working days for them to arrive. Use another method if you need to pay before then.

Make your cheque payable to ‘HM Revenue and Customs only’.

Write your reference number on the back of the cheque. You can find more information about what reference to use if you’re making a payment in this guide.

Do not fold the payslip or cheque and do not fasten them together.

You should allow 3 working days for your payment to reach HMRC. Send your cheque to:

You do not need to include a street name, city name or PO box with this address.

If you’re sending your payment by post, you can include a letter to ask for a receipt from HMRC.

What reference to use if you’re making a payment

Accounting for Tax

If you submit your Accounting for Tax return through the Pension Schemes Online service, your 14-character charge reference will be on your online receipt. You should use this when making Accounting for Tax payments.

If you submit your Accounting for Tax return through the Managing Pension Schemes service, you can find your charge reference and other financial information in the ‘payments and charges’ screen for each return you have submitted.

Event report

If you need to make a payment following the submission of an event report email: pensions.businessdelivery@hmrc.gov.uk.

We’ll tell you how you can pay the charges.

Payments on account

You should use a charge reference when making a payment so we can make sure the payment is properly allocated.

Incorrect references

Your payment may be delayed if you use the wrong reference number.