The fiscal year-end in the UK concludes on 5 April 2025, and for India on 31 March 2025. Global payroll professionals responsible for managing and processing payrolls need to prepare for year-end activities.
Key Activities for UK Fiscal Year-End
The fiscal year in the UK runs from 6 April through 5 April, and there are key activities to be performed with varying deadlines:
- Send the final Full Payment Submission (FPS) of the year in or before the employee’s last pay date of the tax year (which ends on 5 April 2025). This final FPS submission should include an indicator of “Yes” in the payroll engine to indicate it is the final submission of this fiscal year. Before this, any final remuneration (including possible reportable equity) should be included in the final submission.
- Employees should receive their year-end statement (P60) summarising their total pay and deductions by 31 May 2025. It’s a good practice to validate the P60 against the payroll records for accuracy and completeness.
- If not processed through payroll, expenses and benefits should be reported in a P11D and possibly a P11D(b) by 6 July 2025. Any resulting Class 1A national insurance contributions (NICs) must be paid by 22 July 2025.
Once the current fiscal year is closed, the payroll engine should be updated with the most up-to-date employee records (such as tax code adjustments or student loan deductions) and the new tax rates, NICs, and other updates to parameters should be updated in the payroll engine. If you have your payroll outsourced, you are advised to validate this with your payroll provider.
Key Activities for India Fiscal Year-End
The fiscal year in India runs from 1 April to 31 March, and key activities have varying deadlines.
Complying with income tax regulations includes the following key activities:
- Ensure that Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) has been accurately deducted and deposited for all employees throughout the financial year, with the final TDS (Form 24G) submission by 30 April 2025.
- Provide Form 16 to employees, detailing the total salary paid and TDS deducted by 15 June 2025.
- File the final quarterly TDS returns in Form 24Q by 31 May 2025 and reconcile them with the annual statements.
Complying with Provident Fund (PF) regulations include the following key activities:
- Verify that the final employer and employee PF contributions have been correctly calculated, filed, and paid by 15 April 2025 with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
- File the annual PF return (Form 6A and Form 3A) through the Unified Portal by 30 April 2025, ensuring that all employee details and contributions are accurately reported.
Complying with Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) includes the following key activities:
- Confirm that the final ESI contributions have been appropriately deducted and submitted for eligible employees by 15 April 2025.
- Submit ESI returns biannually covering October through March by 12 May 2025, detailing employee wages and contributions.
Lastly, employers are required to gather key details and elections from their employees in order to prepare for year-start, which at least include:
- Declare to opt for the old tax regime or the new tax regime, for which the employees need to research which regime is most beneficial for them.
- If the old tax regime is elected, various exemptions and deductions can be claimed, such as the House Rent Allowance (HRA), standard deductions, and deductions under Chapter VI-A (e.g., investments in Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificates (NSC), life insurance premiums, Equity-Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS)), and health insurance premiums (under Section 80D).
It’s important to manage this process carefully with the employees, including communicating their actions, deadlines, and possible consequences of their declarations and choices.
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Max van der Klis-Busink, BBA, is the Owner of Passion For Payroll and Vice President of Global Strategy on PayrollOrg’s Board of Directors.
