New RTI fields for 2027–28: what payroll teams need to know
HMRC has published the Real Time Information (RTI) Data Item Guide for 2027–28, giving the first complete picture of the Full Payment Submission (FPS) data that will support Phase 1 of mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind from 6 April 2027. Compared with the current-year guide, the additions are almost entirely about benefits reporting and real-time Class 1A National Insurance. Existing FPS items for pay, tax, Class 1 NICs, student loans and statutory payments are unchanged in purpose.
Phase 1 is limited to company cars and car fuel, vans and van fuel, and employer-provided private medical benefits. Most other benefits stay on P11D or voluntary payrolling until April 2028. Loans and living accommodation remain outside mandatory payrolling for now.
Company cars and fuel
The guide introduces a full vehicle record on the FPS. These fields provide the detailed data needed to tax company car benefits in real time rather than through the traditional P11D.
New items for each car:
– 255 – Make and model of car
– 256 – Date first registered
– 257 – CO₂ emissions
– 258 – Zero emissions mileage
– 259 – Fuel type
– 260 – Car identifier (typically the registration number)
– 261 – Amendment indicator
– 262 – Calculated price
– 263 – Price of accessories not included in the car price
– 264 – Capital contribution made by employee
– 265 – Amount paid by employee for private use
– 266 – Date car available from
– 267 – Cash equivalent of car
– 268 – Date car available to
– 269 – Engine size (CC) where applicable
Additional fields have been introduced for company car fuel, so fuel benefits can be reported and taxed through payroll during the year:
– 270 – Date free fuel provided
– 271 – Cash equivalent of fuel
– 272 – Date free fuel withdrawn
HMRC also requires summary values for all company car benefits being taxed through payroll. These represent the taxable amounts processed in the pay period and year to date:
– 273 – Cash equivalent of all cars in pay period
– 274 – Cash equivalent of all cars year to date
– 275 – Cash equivalent of all fuel for all cars in pay period
– 276 – Cash equivalent of all fuel for all cars year to date
Vans and van fuel
For vans and van fuel, four new reporting fields have been added. Unlike company cars, van benefits are reported as aggregated values rather than individual vehicle records:
– 277 – Cash equivalent of all vans in pay period
– 278 – Cash equivalent of all vans year to date
– 279 – Cash equivalent of all van fuel in pay period
– 280 – Cash equivalent of all van fuel year to date
Private medical benefits
Private medical insurance introduces three fields covering cost and the cash equivalent taxed through payroll:
– 290 – Cost to employer or amount forgone
– 291 – Total cash equivalent in pay period
– 292 – Total cash equivalent year to date
Real-time Class 1A NICs — **including voluntary benefits**
One of the most significant changes is the move to real-time Class 1A NIC reporting. New RTI fields support the shift away from the annual P11D(b) process for payrolled benefits:
– 350 – Total real-time Class 1A NICs due in pay period
– 351 – Total real-time Class 1A NICs due year to date
– 352 – Class 1A NIC adjustment amount in pay period
– 353 – Class 1A NIC adjustment amount year to date
HMRC has confirmed that from 6 April 2027, where benefits in kind are voluntarily payrolled, employers must also payroll any associated Class 1A NICs in real time. This applies to benefits that are not in Phase 1 (non-mandated benefits). You cannot payroll the Income Tax and report the associated Class 1A NICs separately at the end of the tax year.
Fields for employers who continue to payroll other benefits voluntarily:
– 354 – Total cash equivalent of other non-mandated payrolled benefits in the pay period
– 355 – Total cash equivalent of other non-mandated payrolled benefits year to date
These create a mechanism for reporting voluntary payrolling alongside the mandatory Phase 1 benefits.
Class 1A NIC will still be due on voluntary payrolled benefits through the P11D(b) process for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, with that liability payable by July 2027. That creates a one-off overlap in summer 2027: last year’s annual Class 1A plus the first months of real-time Class 1A.
Practical next steps
Software houses will need the new FPS schema in time for live service from March 2027. Payroll teams should now map car, van and medical data into payroll, agree who owns mid-year changes (new cars, fuel withdrawal, leavers), and budget for monthly Class 1A rather than a single July payment. Employers who already payroll extra benefits should treat Class 1A as part of that process from April 2027, not as an optional extra.
Employers will have the option to voluntarily except globally mobile employees from mandatory payrolling from 6 April 2027. In those cases, year-end reporting through P11D and P11D(b) may continue under a separate exception process. Fuller operational guidance is expected later in autumn 2026. Until then, the 2027–28 Data Item Guide is the authoritative list of what will appear on the FPS.