What is a P11D form? Everything you need to know

If you provide any form of staff benefits in addition to paying your employees then you need to complete a P11D form. A P11D form is used by an employer to report any benefits in kind received by an employee, such as health insurance or a company car.

In this guide we’ll take a look at everything you need to know about P11D forms, how and when you need to complete them and what changes you can expect in the future.

What is a P11D form?

A P11D form is used to report any benefits in kind received by employees in addition to their salary.

Benefits such as private healthcare, a company car or a travel to work allowance should all be reported on a P11D form. All benefits in kind have an associated monetary value and therefore can be taxed.

Just like any other kind of monetary income, these benefits need to be reported to HMRC and this is done by completing a P11D form at the end of the tax year.

Who needs to file a P11D form?

P11D forms are completed by the employer, not the employee. This means if you are freelance or self-employed, you need to complete a P11D form too (if you receive any in kind benefits). 

As an employer, you will need to file an individual P11D form for every employee that has received a benefit in kind.

What is a benefit in kind?

Put simply, a benefit in kind is anything that an employee or director receives from their company that’s in addition to their salary. 

They are the “perks” that are often sold as part of the recruitment process to make the job more attractive alongside aspects such as progression opportunities and offering the national living wage. 

As benefits in kind effectively increase an employee’s salary, there may be National Insurance contributions to be paid on them. These contributions are covered by the employer, not the employee.

P11D form exemptions

Not every business expense or benefit needs to be reported on a P11D form. The exemption system means many of the more “everyday” and standard business expenses don’t need to be included.

Expenses that are exempt from P11D form reporting include:

• Business travel
• Business credit card fees
• Subscriptions and services
• Business entertainment
• “Trivial” expenses up to £50 (unless part of a salary sacrifice scheme)

How to complete a P11D form

The good news is that completing and filing a P11D form is a straightforward process, although bear in mind that the more employees you have, the longer it will take. 

The only way to file a P11D form is online. You can either do this directly via the HMRC online service or by using a payroll or P11D software.

As of 2023, HMRC no longer accepts paper filings for P11D forms.

When do I need to file a P11D form?

The deadline to submit your P11D form is 6 July following the relevant tax year. 

For example, your P11D form covering April 2023 – April 2024 needs to be submitted to HMRC by 6 July 2024.

HMRC does not accept multiple submissions of P11D forms, so you will need to submit all of them in one go.

P11D form penalties

Like with any kind of tax filing, you can expect to receive a penalty if you fail to submit your P11D form, or if you miss the deadline.

If you do miss the 6 July deadline, you’ll usually have a two week period to rectify your mistake and get your form filed before HMRC will penalise you.

Following that two week grace period, your company will incur charges of £100 per month for every 50 employees. So if you have 100 employees, your charges will be £200 per month for every month the P11D form remains unfiled.

You’ll get a reminder to file your P11D form if it’s still unfiled in November, and it’s important to note that you can also face fines if your P11D form contains incorrect information.

The penalties faced for an incorrect P11D form will all depend on whether or not HMRC believes it to be a genuine mistake or a case of you willfully trying to deceive the system.

What is a P11D (b) ?

When it comes to filing your P11D form on the HMRC website, you may notice reference to a P11D (b). 

Currently, you’ll also need to submit a P11D (b) form summarising all of the individual P11D forms you’ve submitted for your employees who have received a taxable benefit and for any Class 1A National Insurance you owe.

Even if you already payroll your benefits, you will still need to submit a P11D (b) form in order to pay any owed Class 1A National Insurance.

Changes to the P11D form

There are some big changes on the horizon for P11D forms. 

As of April 2026, all employers will be required to payroll any benefits, rather than submit a P11D form. 

It’s estimated that this change will reduce the need for almost 4 million P11D forms submitted every year, removing the burden on both HMRC and employers.

So what does this change mean for employers? Firstly, it’s a positive step. The change will mean employers no longer need to spend time reporting simple benefits such as health insurance, instead they will be reported in real time through your payroll system.

With that in mind, it’s a good idea to take steps now to ensure your payroll system has the functionality you need to log and record benefits in the system.

Remember though, these changes don’t come into effect until April 2026 and you will still need to file P11D forms until then.

P11D form top tips

To help keep the process of completing and submitting your P11D form as smooth as possible, take a look at these top tips.

1. Keep track of your employee benefits

One of the most common mistakes employers make when it comes to completing P11D forms is not keeping up to date records. This means they end up scrambling to find all of the relevant information they need when they come to complete the form.

To avoid this, keep a record of every single benefit in kind each employee receives throughout the year. This way, you’ll have detailed and up-to-date records on hand when you come to submit your form.

Most payroll software allows you to also track employee benefits or alternatively you can use a dedicated employee benefit system to set up, manage and track your benefits packages. 

2. Don’t forget company leavers

It’s not just your current employees you need to submit a P11D form for. Any employee who received a benefit in kind from your company during the relevant year needs to be reported, even if they have since left your company for alternative employment.

Forgetting about employees who have left your company could result in a penalty from HMRC if they don’t think you’ve submitted the right amount of P11D forms.

3. Know your annual values

For every benefit in kind that you report on a P11D form, you will need to know how much it cost for the year.

If you provide the benefits to employers directly then this should be pretty simple but if you use a third-party, like a private health insurance provider, be sure to ask them for a full breakdown of premiums per employee for the relevant tax year. 

4. Don’t forget your director’s loan

If you have taken out a director’s loan then providing it’s under £10,000 you aren’t required to pay any interest.

If at any point during the tax year your director’s loan exceeds £10,000 then you will be expected to pay interest to HMRC. 

It’s important to know therefore that any overdrawn amount is seen as a benefit from the company and therefore needs to be recorded on a P11D form. 

Conclusion

P11D forms are an essential bit of admin that employers need to be aware of and submit if any employee receives even just one benefit in kind within a tax year.