What does a Full Payment Submission (FPS) report to HMRC?

The Full Payment Submission (FPS) is a vital component of the Real Time Information (RTI) system implemented by HMRC. It serves the purpose of reporting pay and deductions to the tax authority on or before each payday.

When an employer submits an FPS, they provide HMRC with crucial data regarding the earnings of employees for that specific pay period, including details on salaries, any taxable benefits, and the amounts withheld for tax and National Insurance contributions. This real-time reporting ensures that HMRC has up-to-date information about an employer’s payroll activity, which is vital for accurate tax collection and record-keeping.

By focusing specifically on pay and deductions as they occur, the FPS allows for timely adjustments and compliance regarding employees' tax obligations, making it a key element of an employer's payroll processing system. Other options, such as tax adjustments for previous years, employee turnover statistics, and future payroll projections, do not directly relate to the purpose or content of the FPS, reinforcing why it indeed reports the real-time figures of pay and deductions.