Jargon, in plain English.

Real Time Informationrti

Payroll figures sent to HMRC every time you pay staff, so their records stay up to date through the year.

Full Payment Submissionfps

The report sent to HMRC each pay run, recording every employee's pay, tax and National Insurance.

Employer Payment Summaryeps

A monthly report to HMRC for things the pay run does not cover — e.g. no staff were paid, or you are reclaiming statutory pay or CIS deductions.

P32 — Employer Payment Recordp32

Your monthly summary of the PAYE tax and National Insurance you owe HMRC.

P45p45

The certificate you give an employee when they leave, showing their pay and tax for the year so far.

P60p60

An end-of-year certificate every employee gets, summarising their total pay and tax for the year.

P11Dp11d

A form reporting taxable perks given to staff — company cars, private medical, interest-free loans and the like.

PAYE — Pay As You Earnpaye

HMRC's system for collecting income tax and National Insurance from wages before the employee is paid.

National Insuranceni

A contribution paid by employees and employers that builds entitlement to the state pension and some benefits.

UTR — Unique Taxpayer Referenceutr

The 10-digit number HMRC uses to identify a person or business for tax. Found on any HMRC letter or in the online tax account.

MTD — Making Tax Digitalmtd

HMRC's rules requiring digital record-keeping and returns filed from compatible software instead of on paper.

MTD for Income Taxmtd_itsa

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — quarterly digital updates to HMRC, required for self-employment or rental income over £50,000.

EOPS — End of Period Statementeops

A year-end MTD statement confirming all income and expenses for the period have been recorded correctly.

Payments on Accountpayments_on_account

Advance instalments towards next year's tax bill, due 31 January and 31 July, each usually half of last year's tax.

Class 2 National Insuranceclass2

A small flat-rate National Insurance for the self-employed that protects state pension entitlement.

Class 4 National Insuranceclass4

National Insurance charged as a percentage of self-employment profits above a threshold, paid through Self Assessment.

CIS — Construction Industry Schemecis

A scheme where contractors deduct tax (usually 20%) from subcontractor payments and report it to HMRC each month.

Gross Payment Statusgross_status

CIS status letting a subcontractor be paid in full with no tax deducted — they settle their own tax later.

Trial Balancetrial_balance

A list of every account balance at a point in time. Total debits should equal total credits if the books balance.

Accrualsaccruals

Costs (or income) that belong to this period but have not been invoiced or paid yet — recorded now so the period is accurate.

Prepaymentsprepayments

Costs paid in advance for something you receive later — spread across the future periods they relate to.

Debtorsdebtors

Customers who owe you money for invoices you have sent but not yet been paid for.

Creditorscreditors

Suppliers you owe money to for bills you have received but not yet paid.

Bank Reconciliationreconciliation

Matching your bookkeeping against the bank statement to confirm every transaction is accounted for.

WIP — Work in Progresswip

Time or costs you've run up for a client but haven't invoiced yet — work you've earned but not yet billed.

Nominal Accountnominal

A category in your chart of accounts that income or costs are recorded against (also called a ledger account).

VAT Registration Thresholdvat_threshold

The level of taxable turnover at which you must register for VAT. It is measured on a rolling 12 months, not on your accounting year.

Flat Rate Schemeflat_rate

A VAT scheme where you pay HMRC a fixed percentage of your gross sales instead of the difference between VAT charged and VAT reclaimed. Simpler, but you generally cannot reclaim VAT on purchases.

Cash Accounting Schemecash_accounting

A VAT scheme where you account for VAT when money actually moves, rather than when the invoice is raised. Helpful if customers pay late.

Domestic Reverse Chargereverse_charge

For most building work between VAT-registered businesses, the customer accounts for the VAT instead of the supplier. The supplier invoices without VAT and says so on the invoice.

Partial Exemptionpartial_exemption

Where a business makes both VATable and VAT-exempt sales, only part of the VAT on costs can be reclaimed. The split is calculated, and reviewed again at the year end.

OSS — One Stop Shoposs

A single EU return for VAT on sales to consumers across member states, so you charge each customer their own country rate but file once rather than registering in each country.

EC Sales Listesl

A list of goods and services supplied to VAT-registered customers in the EU, reported to HMRC so the two tax authorities can match the figures up.

Postponed VAT Accountingpostponed_vat

Import VAT declared and reclaimed on the same VAT return instead of paid at the border, so it does not tie up cash.

Corporation Taxcorporation_tax

The tax a limited company pays on its profits. Due nine months and a day after the year end, with the return itself due twelve months after.

Self Assessmentself_assessment

The annual tax return for anyone whose tax is not all collected through payroll — the self-employed, landlords, and company directors with other income.

Confirmation Statementconfirmation_statement

An annual filing to Companies House confirming who owns and runs the company. It is a check that the public record is right, not a set of accounts.

PSC — Person with Significant Controlpsc

Someone who ultimately owns or controls a company, usually through more than 25% of the shares or votes. Companies must keep a register of them.

AML — Anti-Money Launderingaml

The checks an accountant must carry out to confirm who a client really is and where their money comes from, and keep evidence of having done so.

iXBRLixbrl

The tagged format company accounts and tax computations must be filed in, so HMRC software can read the figures rather than just display the document.

Auto-Enrolmentauto_enrolment

The duty to put qualifying staff into a workplace pension and contribute to it, assessed on every pay run rather than once when they join.

Dividenddividend

A payment of profit to shareholders. It can only be paid out of profits the company actually has, which is why it needs a set of figures behind it.

Director's Loan Accountdirectors_loan

A record of money moving between a director and their company outside salary or dividends. If the director owes the company at the year end, there can be a tax charge.

FIFO — First In, First Outfifo

A way of valuing stock where the oldest units are treated as sold first, so cost of sales reflects what those specific goods cost.

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