The latest edition of HMRC’s Employer Bulletin includes guidance for employers on a range of issues, including the use of payroll IDs (PID). 

HMRC is encouraging employers to: 

• Use the PID changed indicator where a PID is changed. Failure to use the PID changed indicator will mean that HMRC treats the new PID as a new employment, leading to incorrect year-to-date information.
• Enter a start date for a new employment. HMRC says that a new employment must include a start date as failure to do so can cause HMRC systems to merge separate employments.
• Leave the start date field blank for continuing employments. Where a PID is changed, the correct procedure is to use the PID changed indicator, as explained above, and not to submit a start date or a starter declaration.
• Ensure taxable pay fields are completed correctly. HMRC guidance is to:
  • enter the correct taxable pay for each payment period;
  • make sure year‑to‑date totals follow logically from the period figure; and
  • avoid submitting ‘nil pay’ where a payment has been made.
• Avoid reusing PIDs for different employees. New employees should be given a unique PID.   

There is further guidance on the correct use of PID in an earlier article.   

However, even where employers have taken all measures to ensure their reporting is correct, ICAEW understands that employers are still facing considerable difficulties and delays in reconciling RTI discrepancies where their records do not match with HMRC’s. In February 2025, the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals published a report which explores these problems in detail. 

HMRC has since made some changes to its internal guidance and processes, which has led to improvements. A new online form introduced in 2025, now automatically directs such issues to the correct team. The changes were made following engagement through a working group of the Employment and Payroll Group (EPG). The EPG is a forum through which professional bodies, including ICAEW, and other stakeholders, can raise issues with HMRC.  

Other improvements include the following:  

• the publication of updated guidance on locked payments, so that locks can be removed from records once a dispute is cleared. This simplifies the reconciliation of the line items on the employer’s account; and
• the alignment of guidance across lines of business in HMRC, such as Employers Office and Debt Management.  

HMRC also acknowledges that issues sometimes occur around payments after leaving and there have been reported issues with one-off payment indicators.  Further guidance is expected in this regard in due course.