Use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme's calculator to determine your potential reimbursement.

The following steps must be taken if you are using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to claim employees' wages:

What you can assert

You can claim for employees who were employed on 2 March 2021 for periods beginning on or after 1 May 2021, as long as you made a PAYE RTI submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 2 March 2021, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee.

The grant amount will be reduced monthly beginning July 1, 2021, and you will be asked to contribute to the cost of your furloughed employees' wages.

The grant can be calculated for the entire claim period or for each pay period, or part of a pay period, that falls within that claim period. This advice assumes you'll calculate on a pay period basis, but either method is fine.

The amount paid to an employee in a given period is used to calculate their usual wages. So, if their pay or working conditions have recently changed, the amount you can claim (and the amount you must pay them for the hours they did not work) may be based on the previous arrangements.

Beginning on July 1, 2021, the government will pay 70% of wages up to a maximum of £2,187. 50 for the number of hours the employee is on leave

Beginning on August 1, 2021, the government will pay 60% of the employee's wages up to a maximum of £1,875 for the hours the employee is on furlough.

Employers will supplement employees' wages so that they receive 80% of their wages (up to £2,500) for the hours they are on furlough. The caps are proportional to the number of unworked hours.

You will still be required to pay employer National Insurance and employer pension contributions, and you will not be able to claim these. Learn how to calculate the government contribution and your contribution.

You can choose to supplement your employees' wages above the minimum 80% furlough pay amount, but you are not required to do so. Employees must not work or provide services for the company during the hours they are recorded as being on furlough, even if they receive a top-up wage.

If your employee is flexibly furloughed, which means they work fewer hours rather than no hours at all, you must pay them their full current contracted rate for any hours they work. You cannot claim a grant based on the number of hours worked by the employee.

Requirements for keeping records

For a period of six years, you must keep a copy of all records, including:

• each employee's claim amount and claim period
• for your records, the claim reference number
• in case HMRC requires additional information about your claim
• For employees you flexibly furloughed, the usual hours worked, including any calculations required
• actual hours worked by employees who were furloughed flexibly

Make use of the calculator.

This calculator can help you determine how much you can claim. It is appropriate for the majority of employees who are paid in either fixed or variable amounts each pay period (for example, weekly or monthly).

Employees who:

• On or after December 1, 2020, you began or ended a notice period in the same claim period.
• have a yearly pay period
• have been transferred in accordance with the Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment Act (TUPE).
• were not continuously employed prior to the start of their furlough
• returned from statutory leave, such as maternity leave, within the three months preceding the claim period, and the claim period is July 2020 or earlier
• outside of an auto-enrolment pension scheme, receive employer pension contributions
• ended furlough, then resumed during the same claim period
• were paid inconsistently, and had more than one period of furlough where any part of any of the periods of furlough was in the 2019-2020 tax year
• have variable pay, began employment before April 6, 2020, and were not on their employer's payroll on or before March 19, 2020
• have variable pay, began employment on or before 1 February 2020, and were not on the payroll of their employer on or before 30 October 2020
• began working for their employer during a calendar period in the 2019 to 2020 tax year that corresponds to part or all of the period being claimed for
• are on fixed pay and have had their payment frequency changed, for example, from monthly to weekly

If you're claiming for a flexibly furloughed employee, you'll need to figure out their regular hours before using the calculator.

Calculate right now.

If you are unable to use this calculator, you must calculate what you can claim manually or seek professional advice from an accountant or tax adviser.

HMRC will continue to improve our online services on a regular basis, including using this calculator to support more employment situations.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the amount claimed is correct.

Determine the highest possible wage.

The maximum monthly wage is £2,500 (£576). 92 per week or the monthly equivalent (which varies)

The grant amount will be reduced for claim periods beginning on July 1, 2021, and you will be asked to contribute to the cost of your furloughed employees' wages. This means you won't be able to claim the entire maximum wage amount, but you'll still need to figure it out to figure out how much your employee should be paid. You must also calculate 80% of your employee's usual wage.

You can compute the grant for the entire claim period or for each pay period, or part of a pay period, that falls within the claim period.

If the claim period is a full month, use the monthly maximum wage amount; otherwise, use the daily maximum wage amount.

If you're calculating for each pay period, or part of a pay period, that falls within your claim period, use the following formula:

• Weekly maximum wage amount for each pay period of one, two, or four weeks.
• Any other pay period or partial pay period has a daily maximum wage amount.

When using the daily maximum wage amount, multiply it by the number of calendar days your employee is furloughed for during the period.

Month The daily maximum wage May 2021 £80 65 per day June 2021 £83 34 per day July 2021 £80 65 per day August of 2021 £80 65 per day September 20, 2021 £83 34 per day

Find an example of calculating the maximum wage amount for a portion of a pay period.

Calculate 80% of your employee's regular salary.

You must calculate 80% of your employee's usual wage to determine:

• how much you must pay your employees during their furlough period
• what you are entitled to under the scheme

You can use the calculator to figure out how much you can claim; however, in some cases, this may not be appropriate; it is your responsibility to ensure that the amount you're claiming for is correct.

You must determine the number of furlough days in the time period. A furlough day is defined as any calendar day during which the employee was either:

• completely furloughed
• in accordance with a flexible furlough agreement with you

Depending on how you pay your employees, you should calculate 80% of their usual wages in a different way. You must first determine what you can include as wages.

Choose the calculation that you believe best fits the way your employee is paid; this may differ from how you calculated their usual hours. Use the calculation for fixed pay amounts, for example, if you pay your employee a fixed regular salary. HMRC will not refuse or seek repayment of any grant solely on the choice of pay calculation, as long as the choice is reasonable.

If your employee received any statutory payments, you must adjust your claim to reflect this.

Learn how to compute both the government and your contribution.

If your employee is on a set salary,

You will calculate 80% of your employee's usual wage (for employees on fixed pay) by looking at the wages payable to your employee in the most recent pay period that ended on or before the employee's reference date.

If a salaried employee has worked overtime,

If your fixed-wage employee has worked enough overtime to have a significant impact on the amount you must claim, calculate 80% of their usual wages using the method for employees whose pay varies. Overtime may have a significant impact on the claim amount in the following situations where the employee worked overtime:

• during the time period under consideration
• in the corresponding calendar period to the pay period you're claiming for
• a lot, or frequently, during the tax year leading up to the reference period

Calculate 80% of a fixed-wage employee's salary.

To calculate 80% of your employee's salary, do the following:

1. Begin with the wages payable to your employee in the most recent pay period that ended on or before the employee's reference date - if you're claiming for the entire pay period, skip to step 4.

2. Divide the total number of days in the pay period you're calculating for by the total number of days in the pay period.

3. Multiply the number of furlough days in the pay period (or partial pay period) you're claiming for by a factor of two.

4. 80% multiplied

Find examples of calculating 80% of wages for fixed-rate, full- or part-time employees on a salary.

Find an example of calculating 80% of wages for a fixed-rate full- or part-time employee who returns to work during the claim period.

If your fixed-rate employee's most recent pay period, which ended on or before their reference date, was not a full pay period, or if the pay frequency has changed,

You must first determine your employee's regular wage and then calculate 80% if either:

• The most recent pay period that ended on or before your employee's reference date does not constitute a full pay period.
• Between the last pay period ending on or before your employee's reference date and the pay period you're calculating for, your employee's pay frequency has changed.

To calculate 80% of their usual wage, first calculate their usual wage.

1. Begin with the wages payable to your employee in the most recent pay period that ended on or before the employee's reference date.

2. Divide the number of days in that period (including non-working days) by the number of days in that period.

3. Multiply the number of furlough days in the pay period (or partial pay period) you're claiming for by a factor of two.

4. 80% multiplied

Find an example of how to calculate 80% of your employee's wages if they have not been paid for the entire pay period up to March 19, 2020.

You may make a claim for fixed-rate employees whose reference dates are 30 October 2020 or 2 March 2021, and whose first pay period ends after their reference date. as long as HMRC received their wage details on a PAYE RTI Full Payment Submission (FPS) on or before their reference date and the other eligibility conditions are met

To calculate 80% of the employee's usual pay:

1. Begin with the amount of wages included on your PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) Full Payment Submission (FPS) submitted to and received by HMRC on or before their reference date. You must first determine what you can include as wages.

2. Divide the number of days in the pay period relating to PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) Full Payment Submission (FPS) by the number of days in the pay period (including non-working days).

3. Multiply the number of furlough days in the pay period (or partial pay period) you're claiming for by a factor of two.

4. 80% multiplied

Determine how to calculate wages for a fixed-rate employee whose first pay period ends after their reference date.

Employees who are paid on an annual basis

Employees with annual pay (including company directors) have the same reference salary as other employees. We anticipate that the majority of employees with annual pay will be treated as fixed rate employees.

Examples of calculating 80% of wages for employees with annual pay are available.

Employees with variable pay

If your employee is paid on a variable basis, how you calculate their regular salary is determined by their reference date. The rules are summarized in this section. You should also go over the more detailed instructions in this guide.

Calculate 80% of the greater of the following for employees with a reference date of March 19, 2020:

• Wages earned during the previous year's corresponding calendar period
• Average wages payable from 2019 to 2020

Calculate 80% of the average wages payable between 6 April 2020 (or, if later, the date the employment began) and the day before they were first furloughed on or after 1 November 2020 for employees with a reference date of 30 October 2020.

Calculate 80% of the average wages payable between 6 April 2020 (or, if later, the date the employment began) and the date before they were first furloughed on or after 1 May 2021 for employees with a reference date of 2 March 2021.

If your employee works variable hours, you will have performed a similar comparison to determine their usual hours, but the outcome may differ.

Method of looking back in the calendar for variable-rate employees

When calculating 80% of wages from the previous year's corresponding calendar period, the period you look back to depends on the period you're claiming for:

The month of claim Retrospective period May 2021 May 2019 June 2021 June 2019 July 2021 July 2019 August of 2021 August of 2019 September 2021 In September of 2019,

If your employee did not work for you during the lookback period for the month you are claiming for, you can only calculate 80% of their wages using the averaging method.

To calculate 80% of the wages from the previous year's corresponding calendar period:

The lookback period's corresponding calendar period could be the same calendar days as the lookback period or the corresponding pay period. This advice assumes you'll use the same calendar days, but either method is acceptable as long as you use it consistently.

You should use the employee's actual earnings, even if they were on statutory leave during the lookback period.

Find an example of calculating 80% of the wages from the previous year's same period.

Find an example of calculating 80% of wages from the same period the previous year for February 2021.

Find an example of calculating 80% of wages from the same time period the previous year for March or April 2021.

To calculate 80% of the average monthly wage for the tax year 2019-2020:

1. Begin with the amount of wages paid to the employee in the 2019-2020 tax year up to (and including) the day before they were furloughed for the first time.

2. Divide it by the number of days from the beginning of the 2019-2020 tax year, including non-working days (up to and including the day before they were first furloughed, or 5 April 2020, whichever is earlier).

3. Multiply the number of furlough days in the pay period (or partial pay period) you're claiming for by a factor of two.

4. 80% multiplied

Find examples of calculating 80% of average monthly earnings for the 2019-2020 tax year.

If your employee began working for you on or after April 6, 2019, you should not include the days preceding their start date in your calculation.

This calculation takes into account each day since the employee began working for you. This includes weekends and holidays.

When calculating the amount of wages at step 1 for claim periods ending on or before 30 April 2021, you must include wages related to days on leave. When calculating the number of calendar days in step 2, you must also include days on leave.

However, for claim periods beginning on or after May 1, 2021, when calculating the amount of wages at step 1 and the number of calendar days at step 2, you should not include days during or wages related to:

• Statutory sick pay time off
• Statutory parental leave
• Following a period of statutory sick pay related leave, employees are entitled to reduced rate paid leave.
• Following a period of family-related statutory leave, employees are entitled to reduced-rate paid leave.

Unless the employee was on one of these types of leave for the duration of the period used to calculate their average wage, in which case you should include the days and wages associated with that leave.

Wages associated with these types of leave include salary for the time off, statutory payments for the time off, and time off allowances. Payments that are not derived from a specific period, such as performance-based (non-discretionary) bonuses, should still be included.

To calculate 80% of your employee's average earnings for the tax year 2019 to 2020 for an employee who began working for you on or after April 6, 2019, do the following:

1. Begin with the amount of wages due to the employee in the 2019-2020 tax year up to (and including) the day before they were furloughed for the first time.

2. Divide it by the number of days they've worked since the start of the 2019-2020 tax year, including non-working days (up to and including the day before they were first furloughed or the 5th of April, 2020, whichever is earlier).

3. Multiply by the number of furlough days in the pay period (or partial pay period) for which you are claiming.

4. 80% multiplied

This calculation takes into account every day since the employee began working for you. This includes weekends and holidays.

When calculating the amount of wages at step 1 for claim periods that end on or before 30 April 2021, you must include wages related to days on leave. When calculating the number of calendar days in step 2, you must also include days on leave.

However, for claim periods beginning on or after May 1, 2021, when calculating the amount of wages at step 1 and the number of calendar days at step 2, do not include days during (or wages related to) a period of:

• Statutory sick pay time off
• Statutory leave for family reasons
• Following a period of statutory sick pay related leave, employees are entitled to reduced rate paid leave.
• Following a period of family-related statutory leave, employees are entitled to reduced-rate paid leave.

Unless the employee was on one of these types of leave for the duration of the period used to calculate their average wage, in which case you should include the days and wages associated with that leave. Wages associated with these types of leave include salary for time off, statutory payments for time off, and time off allowances. Payments that are not derived from a specific period, such as performance-based (non-discretionary) bonuses, should still be included.

Find an example of calculating 80% of average wages for the 2019-2020 tax year if employment began after April 6, 2019.

Before you can calculate 80% of the average monthly wage using this formula, you must first determine the date to calculate up to.

The date to calculate up to for employees whose reference date is 30 October 2020 is the day before the employee's first day on furlough on or after 1 November 2020.

The date to calculate up to for employees whose reference date is 2 March 2021 is the day before the employee's first day spent on furlough on or after 1 May 2021.

To calculate 80% of your employee's average wages between April 6, 2020 (or, if later, the date the employment began) and the day before the employee's first day on furlough on or after November 1, 2020 or May 1, 2021:

1. Begin with the amount of wages paid to the employee from April 6, 2020 to (and including) the date to calculate up to.

2. Divide it by the number of days the employee worked for you from 6 April 2020 to (and including) the date to calculate up to

3. Multiply the number of furlough days in the pay period (or partial pay period) you're claiming for by a factor of two.

4. 80% multiplied

This calculation takes into account every day since the employee began working for you. This includes days off.

When calculating the amount of wages at step 1 for claim periods that end on or before 30 April 2021, you must include wages related to days on leave. When calculating the number of calendar days in step 2, you must also include days on leave.

However, for claim periods beginning on or after May 1, 2021, when calculating the amount of wages at step 1 and the number of calendar days at step 2, you should not include days or wages related to:

• Statutory sick pay time off
• Statutory leave for family reasons
• Following a period of statutory sick pay related leave, employees are entitled to reduced rate paid leave.
• Following a period of family-related statutory leave, employees are entitled to reduced-rate paid leave.

That is, unless the employee was on one of these types of leave for the duration of the period used to calculate their average wage, in which case you must include the days and wages associated with that leave.

Wages associated with these types of leave include salary for the time off, statutory payments for the time off, and time off allowances. You should still include payments that are not derived from a specific period, such as performance-based (non-discretionary) bonuses.

Find examples of how to calculate 80% of the average monthly wages payable between April 6, 2020 and the day before their first furlough on or after November 1, 2020 or May 1, 2021.

You can file a claim for variable-rate employees whose reference dates are 30 October 2020 or 2 March 2021, and whose first wages are not paid until after they begin furlough. if HMRC received the details of their wages on a PAYE RTI FPS on or before the employee's reference date and the other eligibility conditions are met

You must know what date you want to calculate up to before using this calculation.

The date to calculate up to for employees whose reference date is 30 October 2020 is the day before the employee's first day on furlough on or after 1 November 2020.

The date to calculate up to for employees whose reference date is 2 March 2021 is the day before the employee's first day on furlough on or after 1 May 2021.

To calculate 80% of the employee's average wages between April 6, 2020 (or, if later, the date the employment began) and the day before the employee's first day on furlough on or after November 1, 2020 or May 1, 2021:

1. Begin with the amount of the employee's wages included on your most recent PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) Full Payment Submission (FPS) to and received by HMRC on or before the employee's reference date.

2. Divide it by the number of days the employee worked for you from 6 April 2020 to (and including) the date to calculate up to

3. Multiply the number of furlough days in the pay period (or partial pay period) you're claiming for by a factor of two.

4. 80% multiplied

This calculation takes into account every day since the employee began working for you. This includes days off.

When calculating the amount of wages at step 1 for claim periods that end on or before 30 April 2021, you must include wages related to days on leave. When calculating the number of calendar days in step 2, you must also include days off.

However, for claim periods beginning on or after May 1, 2021, when calculating the amount of wages at step 1 and the number of calendar days at step 2, you should not include days or wages related to:

• Statutory sick pay time off
• Statutory family leave
• Following a period of statutory sick pay related leave, employees are entitled to reduced rate paid leave.
• Following a period of family-related statutory leave, employees are entitled to reduced-rate paid leave.

That is, unless the employee was on one of these types of leave for the duration of the period used to calculate their average wage, in which case you must include the days and wages associated with that leave.

Wages associated with these types of leave include salary for the time off, statutory payments for the time off, and time off allowances. Payments that are not derived from a specific period, such as performance-based (non-discretionary) bonuses, should still be included.

Find examples of how to calculate average wages if your variable-rate employee's reference date is 30 October 2020 or 2 March 2021 and their first wages are due after they begin furlough.

If you received your variable-rate employee through the TUPE or Business Succession rules,

If an employee with variable pay has a reference date of 19 March 2020 or 30 October 2020 because they were transferred to you by their previous employer under the TUPE or Business Succession rules, they have a reference date of 19 March 2020 or 30 October 2020. Then, beginning on May 1, 2021, you may be required to consider their previous employer's period of employment when calculating their usual wages.

If an employee's reference date is March 19, 2020:

• When calculating 80% of wages from the previous year, include amounts earned in the lookback period while working for their previous employer (this must be the employer who transferred them to you under the TUPE or Business Succession rules).
• When calculating their wages using the averaging method, use the later of 6 April 2019 or the first date they were employed by their previous employer.
• The date to calculate up to is 5 April 2020, or the day before they were first furloughed by you or their previous employer (this must be the employer who transferred them to you under the TUPE or Business Succession rules).

If the employee's reference date is October 30, 2020:

• When calculating their wages using the averaging method, use the later of 6 April 2020 or the first date they were employed by their previous employer.
• The date to calculate up to is the day before they were first furloughed by you or their previous employer on or after 1 November 2020 (this must be the employer who transferred them to you under the TUPE or Business Succession rules).

For periods ending 30 April 2021, calculate the usual wages using the standard rules for employees whose pay varies.

Determine your employee's minimum furlough pay.

The minimum furlough pay is the lesser of the following:

• 80% of their regular salary
• the highest possible wage

If your employee is furloughed flexibly, the minimum furlough pay is determined by their working and furloughed hours.

1. Begin with the lesser of 80% of their regular wage and the maximum wage amount.

2. Add the employee's furloughed hours together.

3. Divide by the employee's normal working hours.

This is the bare minimum you must pay your employee for the time they are on furlough. You have the option to pay more, but you are not required to.

If any of the furlough hours are used as paid holiday or annual leave, the pay for these hours must be increased to the employee's full contracted rate.

Find an example of how to calculate minimum furlough pay for a flexibly furloughed employee.

Calculating the number of working and furloughed hours for a furloughed or flexibly furloughed employee for a portion of a claim period

If your employee is only furloughed or flexibly furloughed for part of your claim period, you must:

• Only the employee's usual hours for the days covered by the furlough agreement are calculated.
• not include any working hours on days when a furlough agreement is not in effect

This is true even if your claim period includes days prior to or following the employee's furlough agreement. For example, if you're claiming on behalf of multiple employees and some of them are on furlough for a different period of time.

Determine how much you can deduct for your employee's furlough pay.

For periods beginning on or after July 1, 2021, you must calculate the grant amount as follows:

1. Begin with the bare minimum of furlough pay.

2. Multiplied by 80

3. Multiply by: depending on the month you're claiming for

• July 2021: 70
• 60 for the month of August 2021
• 60 for the month of September 2021

Learn how to calculate how much of the minimum furlough pay you can claim.

If your employee received a statutory payment during the claim period, please let us know.

If your employee is paid the following statutory payments during the claim period, you must deduct them from the amount you claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme:

• Statutory Maternity Allowance
• Statutory Adoption Allowance
• Statutory Paternity Allowance
• Statutory Parental Shared Responsibility
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Compensation

Your employee cannot be furloughed while receiving statutory sick pay, and they cannot be furloughed while receiving statutory sick pay.

Allowance for Work

You may be eligible for the Employment Allowance.

Even if you received a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grant for your Class 1 employer National Insurance contributions costs for a claim period ending on or before July 31, 2020, the rules for claiming the allowance remain the same. You could only apply for a grant towards your Class 1 employer National Insurance contributions between March 1 and July 31, 2020.

If you qualify, you can use the Employment Allowance to pay less employer National Insurance contributions until the allowance expires or the tax year ends, whichever comes first. The Employment Allowance cannot be manually spread over the tax year if it would otherwise be used up sooner.

You should have deducted any Employment Allowance you used during that pay period when calculating how much employer National Insurance contributions you could have claimed back from the scheme.

You should not have claimed for any employer National Insurance contributions costs through the scheme if you claimed the allowance and did not have to pay any employer National Insurance contributions in a pay period.

If the amount of Employment Allowance you claimed was insufficient to cover the total employer National Insurance contributions due, the grant you could have received was the lesser of the following:

• grant for employer National Insurance contributions that you have already calculated
• Costs of employer National Insurance contributions paid or expected to be paid across your entire payroll

Employment Allowance can be claimed at any time during the tax year in question, or for the next four years. You must ensure that you do not receive relief for the same employer National Insurance contributions costs twice if you have claimed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the grant for employer National Insurance contributions for periods beginning on or before July 2020.

The last month to apply for a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grant towards National Insurance Contributions was July 2020. To account for the Employment Allowance, you should have reduced the National Insurance contributions component of your Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims. If you have claimed too much, please contact our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme helpline and we will adjust the value of your claim.

If you postpone your Employment Allowance claim and have unused allowance at the end of the tax year, you can use it to offset other tax liabilities. You cannot claim the Employment Allowance if you received a grant for employer National Insurance contributions costs through the scheme. When calculating your Employment Allowance entitlement, you should not include any National Insurance contributions covered by the scheme. If you included these, you would be receiving relief for the same cost twice. Trying to get relief for the same costs twice is considered fraudulent and may result in claims being investigated.

How to Make a Claim

Once you've calculated the amount for each employee who was furloughed during the claim period, follow the instructions to file a wage claim online through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which includes requirements for the records you must keep and how you use the grant.

Find a complete calculation example.

These examples demonstrate how to calculate the amount you should claim for a flexibly furloughed employee in November 2020 and July 2021.

To learn more about the coronavirus support schemes, use HMRC's digital assistant.

If you are unable to obtain the assistance you require online, you can contact HMRC.

Please do not contact us unless absolutely necessary. This will assist us in managing our critical public services during these difficult times.

If you are not eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, you have no right to appeal.

If you believe you do not meet the eligibility requirements, please contact us.

• an HMRC blunder
• HMRC has caused unreasonable delays.

If you are dissatisfied with the way we handled your claim, you may file a complaint with us.

Other assistance and assistance

You can learn more about the resources available to assist you in dealing with the economic consequences of coronavirus by watching videos and signing up for free webinars.

Previous versions of this guidance can be found at The National Archives.