What is pay period 53?
Pay period 53 takes place when there are 53 weekly pay days in the year (for example, if it’s a leap year). The extra pay run is commonly known as a week 53.
How do you know if you have a week 53?
You may have a week 53 this year-end if you pay your employees on a Thursday or Friday and you last processed your payroll on these dates:
Weekly: Thursday 28 March or Friday 29 March 2024
Fortnightly: Thursday 21 March or Friday 22 March 2024
Four-weekly: Thursday 7 March or Friday 8 March 2024
If you pay your employees monthly, you won’t have a week 53.
How does it affect the payroll run?
If you run a weekly, two-weekly or four-weekly payroll you may need to complete an additional period after week 52 to finish your PAYE tax year.
How do I amend the pay schedule?
Once you’ve submitted pay period 53, select ‘Edit schedule’ – you can find this on the payroll page under the dates for your next expected file submission – to manipulate pay period 1 to match the dates to your payroll structure.
Watch a video explaining week 53 and how to change your schedule.
What does pay period 53 mean for employees?
HMRC instructs employers to give employees an extra amount of tax-free pay – even if their tax-free pay for the year has been allocated. This helps to protect employees’ take-home pay, and ensures the tax for that week doesn’t vary too much from the usual amount.
Once the tax year ends, HMRC will recover the underpaid tax given by the extra personal allowance, by sending out a P800 calculation.
If you have any questions or need information, email us on clientsupport@nowpensions.com. Please include your four-digit employer code in the email.
You can also call our dedicated support team on 0330 100 3336 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.