How to Set Up Multi-Country Payroll
Add the countries you pay people in with one click, check or change their tax bands without any code, and choose the default country.
Overview
Payroll works out income tax and social contributions from a country setup: a tax-free allowance, a list of tax bands, and the percentage the employee and the employer each pay in contributions. Plenix comes with ready-made setups for nine countries, and you can add any other country yourself by filling in a short form.
The United Kingdom is the default. A new workspace starts with it already added.
Ready-made countries
| Country | Tax year | Currency |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 2026/27 | GBP |
| United States (federal, single filer) | 2026 | USD |
| Canada (federal) | 2026 | CAD |
| France | 2026 | EUR |
| Spain | 2026 | EUR |
| Italy | 2026 | EUR |
| Germany | 2026 | EUR |
| Netherlands | 2026 | EUR |
| Belgium | 2026 | EUR |
Add a country
- Go to HCM → Payroll Countries
- Under Add a country, find the country and choose Add. Each card shows the bands, allowance and contribution rates you will get
- The country moves to Your countries with the label Current rates
For a country that is not in the list, choose Set up another country, then enter its name, two-letter code (for example IE), three-letter currency (for example EUR), allowance, bands and contribution rates.
Check or change the figures
Choose View and edit on a country.
- Tax-free allowance — yearly pay up to this amount is not taxed
- Tax bands — one row per band. Enter where the band ends and its rate as a percentage. Each band starts where the one before it ends, and the last band always runs "and above". Use Add a band or the bin icon to add or remove rows
- Social contributions — the percentage of gross pay the employee pays, and the percentage the employer pays on top
- Try a salary — type a yearly salary to see the income tax, the contribution, and the take-home pay for the year and the month, before you save
Bands apply to pay above the allowance. For example, with the UK setup a salary of £60,000 has £47,430 above the allowance: the first £37,700 is taxed at 20% and the remaining £9,730 at 40%.
Labels on a country
- Default — payroll uses this country unless you pick another when you create a pay run
- Current rates — the figures match the ready-made setup
- Differs from current rates — you changed the figures, or they were saved before the rates were last updated. Choose Use current rates to replace them with the ready-made figures
- Your own setup — a country you entered yourself
Choose the default country
Choose Make default on a country. The same choice appears in Payroll Settings as the default country. The default country cannot be removed; make another country the default first.
What the figures are, and are not
The ready-made figures are a good estimate for running payroll. They are a simplified model: one allowance, a list of bands, and flat contribution percentages. Open a country to see What this estimate leaves out — for example state, provincial, regional or municipal income tax, contribution thresholds and ceilings, tax credits and family circumstances.
Check the figures with your accountant or payroll provider before you rely on them for filing, and adjust any that do not fit your employees.
Tips
- Changing a country affects pay runs you calculate from then on. Runs that are already processed keep their amounts
- When a new tax year starts, open the page and choose Use current rates on any country labelled Differs from current rates
- Rates are entered as percentages: type 20 for 20%
Where to go next
- Understand the whole module → How HR & Payroll (HCM) Works
- Payroll Settings
- Run Payroll
- How to Run Payroll with Payslips & Statutory Deductions
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