You can retrospectively claim Employment Allowance for any tax years you've missed. 

For advice about whether you can claim for a prior tax year, go to Gov.UK.

When you apply for employment allowance for the 2025/2026 tax year or before, select the relevant option for State Aid in Step 5 below.

Follow the steps below:

1. Go to Payroll, then Change Process Date.
2. Enter the last day of the tax year your claiming for, then click OK.
   • For example, enter 05/04/2026 for the 2025/2026 tax year
3. Go to Company, then Settings.
4. Select the Apply for EA or Settings button as applicable to the right of the Eligible for Employment Allowance checkbox.
5. Select the relevant option from the State Aid dropdown menu.
6. If you select Applicable in the State Aid dropdown, 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 checkbox, then 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, follow our how to track your Employment Allowance article.