P11 Form: What the Old Deductions Working Sheet Was and What Replaced It

This page is based on HMRC's Statutory Payments Manual entry on the P11 and the GOV.UK guidance on keeping payroll records, as of October 2026.

What the P11 used to record

Each P11 was a running record for one employee across one tax year: what they were paid in each pay period and the deductions taken from it. HMRC's manual describes it as the form employers could use for each employee to record details of their pay and deductions throughout the year. It mattered for statutory payments too, because the records had to show how much Statutory Maternity, Adoption or Paternity Pay was included in each payment.

What replaced it

Real Time Information changed the job. Instead of keeping a year-long paper sheet and sending totals at the end, employers now send HMRC a Full Payment Submission each time they pay staff. It's why searching for a blank P11 to fill in leads nowhere useful: payroll software now holds the same information and reports it as you go.

Then	Now
P11 Deductions Working Sheet per employee	Payroll records kept in your software
Totals reported after the year ended	Full Payment Submission each time you pay staff
Paper, used by employers outside RTI	Real Time Information since 2013 to 2014

The records you still have to keep

The paper form has gone but the record-keeping duty hasn't. GOV.UK says your payroll records must show you've reported accurately, and you need to keep them for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to. HMRC may check them to make sure you're paying the right amount of tax.

The cost of getting this wrong is the part employers tend not to know. If you don't keep full records, GOV.UK says HMRC may estimate what you have to pay and charge you a penalty of up to £3,000, as of October 2026. If your records are lost, stolen or destroyed, tell HMRC as soon as possible and do your best to recreate them; HMRC may be able to help if you're not sure how much you paid your employees.

What your payroll records have to cover

A P11 only ever held pay and deductions. The current GOV.UK list is wider, and it's worth checking your software against it:

• What you pay your employees and the deductions you make.
• The reports you make to HMRC.
• The payments you make to HMRC.
• Employee leave and sickness absences.
• Tax code notices.
• Taxable expenses or benefits.
• Payroll Giving Scheme documents, including the agency contract and employee authorisation forms.

GOV.UK adds that there are separate record rules for proving you paid the correct minimum wage and gave the correct statutory leave and holiday pay. And if the last payroll report of the tax year includes estimated figures you want HMRC to accept as final, or provisional figures you'll update later, you must tell HMRC.

How payroll runs now, in order

1. Register as an employer with HMRC and get a login for PAYE Online.
2. Choose payroll software to record employee details, work out pay and deductions, and report to HMRC.
3. Collect and keep records.
4. Tell HMRC about your employees.
5. Record pay, make deductions and report to HMRC on or before the first payday.
6. Pay HMRC the tax and National Insurance you owe.

That sequence comes straight from GOV.UK's employer guide, and it's the modern version of what a P11 sat in the middle of. The tax year starts on 6 April, so the annual tasks that close one year and prepare the next cluster around that date.

Statutory pay records, the P11's other job

HMRC's manual lists what maternity and adoption absence records must show, and it's a useful checklist whatever software you use:

• The first day of absence the employee told you about, and the day it began if that's different.
• The weeks in the tax year for which statutory pay was paid and the amount paid in each week.
• Any week in the pay period when it wasn't paid, and why.
• Where relevant, the medical evidence of the expected week of childbirth, or the adoption matching and placement dates.
• Any changes to the employee's applications.

For the rules on the payment itself, see the guide to Statutory Maternity Pay.

If you need old P11 information

1. Check whether you're looking for a P11 or a P11D. The P11D reports benefits in kind, such as company cars, and it's still in use.
2. For an employee's year-end figures, the document to look for is the P60 issued for that year.
3. For an employer, old payroll records sit with whoever ran payroll at the time, or in the payroll software's archive.
4. If records for a recent year are missing, tell HMRC and recreate them, as GOV.UK advises.

The verdict

If you're an employer looking for a P11 to fill in, stop: it hasn't been needed since Real Time Information came in for 2013 to 2014. What you do need is payroll records that show every payment and deduction, kept for 3 years after the tax year ends. And if the form you were told to send was a P11D, that's a different job with its own deadline.

Frequently asked questions

What is a P11 form?

It was HMRC's Deductions Working Sheet, which employers who didn't report PAYE through Real Time Information could use up to the 2013 to 2014 tax year to record each employee's pay and deductions.

Is the P11 form still used?

From the 2013 to 2014 tax year employers started reporting PAYE through Real Time Information with a Full Payment Submission, so the P11 working sheet is no longer part of the process.

What is the difference between a P11 and a P11D?

The P11 recorded pay and deductions. The P11D reports benefits in kind, such as company cars, and it's still in use.

How long must employers keep payroll records?

GOV.UK says for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.

What happens if I don't keep payroll records?

GOV.UK says HMRC may estimate what you have to pay and charge a penalty of up to £3,000.