Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 480B

Relief arising in special circumstances (week 53 tax credits)

Section 480B provides for increased tax credits and standard rate bands where a PAYE employee paid weekly or fortnightly has an extra payday in the tax year, known as a "Week 53" situation.

• Week 53 arises when a payday falls on 31 December (or 30 or 31 December in a leap year) for employees paid weekly or fortnightly, resulting in an extra payday in the tax year.
• Specified tax credits and the standard rate band are increased by 1/52 for weekly-paid employees or 1/26 for fortnightly-paid employees, so the employee is not penalised by having credits for only 52 weeks.
• The increase in credits and rate bands is capped at the amount of emoluments actually paid on the relevant date, and where an employee has multiple sources of Week 53 income, only the most beneficial source is used.
• Anti-avoidance rules deny the relief where the employer has changed the employee's normal payday during the current or preceding year, or where a payment on 31 December is not on the employee's normal payday.