If there are any tax years where you should've claimed Employment Allowance but didn't, you may be able to claim this retrospectively. 

For advice about whether you can claim for a prior tax year, contact HMRC.

 NOTE: If you need to claim for the 2025/2026 tax year, follow our claiming employment allowance article. 

When you apply for employment allowance for the 2024/2025 tax year or before, select the relevant option for State Aid in Step 5 below.

This is important to note, because HMRC's change that this question is no longer relevant only applies to applications for 2025/2026 or after.

Follow the steps below to claim retrospectively in your software. 

1. Click Payroll, then click Change Process Date.
2. Enter the last day of the tax year you'd like to claim, then click OK.
    TIP: For example, for the 2024/2025 tax year, enter 05/04/2025. 
3. Click Company, then click Settings.
4. Click the Apply for EA button to the right of the Eligible for Employment Allowance checkbox.
5. Select the relevant option from the State Aid drop-down menu.
    NOTE: If you're not certain whether state aid is applicable, or if relevant which sector you should select, contact HMRC for advice.
6. If you select Applicable in the State Aid drop-down, select the checkbox beside the relevant State Aid Sector. 
7. To submit the application, click Submit.
8. Click Continue then Submit.
9. To submit your application, click Submit.
10. Select the Eligible for Employment Allowance check box, then click OK.
11. Repeat Steps 1 to 10 for any other tax years you need to claim.

Your software can now calculate Employment Allowance for any tax years you claim.

After you select the eligible for employment allowance checkbox, re run your P32 for each month of the affected tax years.

For steps to run the P32, how to keep track of your Employment Allowance article.