Payroll RTI fields for SMP
Edited by Oliver Wakefield-Smith, Founder of Digital Signet. Last reviewed 23 June 2026.
Direct answer
Which RTI fields carry SMP?
Two RTI submissions report SMP. The Full Payment Submission (FPS) carries the SMP paid in the pay period and year-to-date totals against fields 58A (SMP year-to-date) and 58B (SMP this period). The Employer Payment Summary (EPS) carries the reclaim under SMP recovered (standard 92%) or the combined SMP recovered plus NIC compensation field (SER 103%).
FPS fields
- Field 58A: SMP year-to-date total paid to the employee in the tax year.
- Field 58B: SMP paid in the current pay period.
- Standard tax code applies (e.g. 1257L) unless HMRC issues a code change.
- NI category as normal (typically A) for the employee.
EPS fields
- SMP recovered: 92% of total SMP paid in the tax month.
- NIC compensation on SMP: the 3% uplift if SER applies (so the combined reclaim is 103%).
- Submitted in the same tax month as the FPS that reports the SMP payment.
- Cash settlement: reduces the next PAYE/NI payment to HMRC. If reclaim exceeds the liability, HMRC pays the balance in cash.
Common payroll provider error messages
- "SMP recovered exceeds SMP paid": SER not selected. Switch the small employer flag on in payroll settings.
- "FPS missing SMP year-to-date": the YTD field was not carried forward from the previous pay period. Re-submit a corrected FPS.
- "Negative SMP recovery": a corrected SMP payment was reduced in a later pay period without a corresponding adjustment in the EPS.
Adjustments after an Alabaster recalc
A pay rise during the relevant period triggers Alabaster recalculation. Recompute weekly SMP for weeks 1 to 6 at the new figure, post the arrears as a correction in the next FPS, and reflect the increased SMP in the next EPS reclaim. Most payroll software handles this with a single back-dated entry.