Your PAYE reference number is important to ensure your PAYE payments are allocated to the correct account and tax period.
When making PAYE tax and National Insurance payments to HMRC you will quote your Accounts Office as the reference number for the payment. This reference takes the format 123AB12345678. An additional four digits are added to the end to identify the period, e.g. 123AB123456781403.
If for any reason you are late in making the payment you must ensure your payment reference includes the extra 4 digits. This is to tell HMRC which tax period the payment is for so it can be allocated accordingly. If the additional details are not applied then even if you’ve made the payment, it could still result in automated fines or reminders letters from HMRC.
To view your payment reference click here to go to your PAYE Payments area in the Taxes section. Click on the PAYE period to see your unique reference for that period.