Understanding PAYE Payment

Understanding PAYE Payment Reference Numbers for the 2023-24 Tax Year

When you send your tax and national insurance payments for Payroll to HMRC, it’s important to include a special number. This number helps HMRC know where the payment comes from and which month and year it’s for.

The number has two parts: one is your account reference number, given to you when you sign up for PAYE. This number is usually 12 digit long the format is usually 125BC254545454.

For example, if the tax year goes from April 2023 to March 2024, the year part is ’24.’ The month part is a number that matches the months in the tax year, starting with April as ’01,’ May as ’02,’ and so on, with March being ’12.’

The format of the full reference looks like in this (Account reference number) (Year) (Month)

Examples:

August 2023: 125AB545454542405

February 2023: 125AB545454542411

Financial Months Table

Month	Financial Month	Reference
1	April 2023	2401
2	May 2023	2402
3	June 2023	2403
4	July 2023	2404
5	August 2023	2405
6	September 2023	2406
7	October 2023	2407
8	November 2023	2408
9	December 2023	2409
10	January 2024	2410
11	February 2024	2411
12	March 2024	2412