You can locate your Accounts Office Reference number (AORN) on the confirmation letter you receive from HMRC when you first register as an employer. The AORN contains 13 characters, and follows the format 123PA12345678.
After setting up a business in the UK, when a business registers as an employer or sets up Pay As You Earn (PAYE), HMRC issues Accounts Office Reference Number (AORN) and Employer PAYE Reference (ERN). These are the unique identifiers HMRC uses to identity employers and their PAYE transactions.
You can locate your Accounts Office Reference number (AORN) on the confirmation letter you receive from HMRC when you first register as an employer. The AORN contains 13 characters, and follows the format 123PA12345678.
After setting up a business in the UK, when a business registers as an employer or sets up Pay As You Earn (PAYE), HMRC issues Accounts Office Reference Number (AORN) and Employer PAYE Reference (ERN). These are the unique identifiers HMRC uses to identity employers and their PAYE transactions.
An Accounts Office Reference number (AOR) is a unique number issued by HMRC and is the reference used by an Employer when making payments to HMRC. It is a 13 characters number sent to you within approximately 5 business days by HMRC after business registration, along with a welcome pack for new employers.
It is also referred as Accounts Office Reference or PAYE Accounts Office Reference.
The format of an Accounts Office Reference is as below:
The total length of AORN is 13 characters which is sometimes extended to 17 characters to include ‘YYMM’ at the end for payments made by an employer relating to a specific period.
Some examples of accounts office references are:
The additional 4 digits you add to your 13-character accounts office reference number depend on whether you pay:
For example, if you pay PAYE tax monthly, additional 4 digits would be added as:
So let's consider you are paying PAYE tax for the month of 6 July to 5 August 2023, the 4 numbers you need to add to the end of your accounts office reference number are 2304. This is worked out as follows:
Learn about how to work out the extra numbers with examples here.
When you register your business with HMRC, they will issue you with an Accounts Office Reference number. This number will be sent to you in the post, usually within 5 business days of registering your business.
If you have already registered your business with HMRC, you can find your Accounts Office Reference number online through the HMRC website. You will need to log in to your HMRC account and click on the ‘My Business’ tab. Here, you will find your Accounts Office Reference number listed.
Alternatively, you can contact HMRC directly and ask them for your Accounts Office Reference number.
Use HMRC accounts office reference number checker to check the validity of the Accounts Office reference: Simply enter the accounts office reference number into the box (step 1) and click ‘Check reference’ (step 4) – there is no need to complete the other fields in order to check a reference.
You need to use your Accounts Office Reference:
Your Accounts Office Reference number is an important part of the process of setting up a business in the UK. It is used to identify your business in the eyes of HMRC and is used for any communication between you and HMRC. This number is also used to identify your business for tax purposes.
It is important to keep your Accounts Office Reference number safe and secure, as it is used to identify your business. If you lose or forget your number, you can contact HMRC and ask them for a new one.
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No, a UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) is different from an accounts office reference. UTR is a unique 10-digit number HMRC gives to individuals and businesses registered for self-assessment tax. While Accounts Office Reference is a number used by an employer when making payments to HMRC.
If you've lost your accounts office reference number, you should contact HMRC directly for assistance. They can provide you with the necessary information or help you retrieve your accounts office reference number.
