What is a P60 and what should I do with it?
Answered 11 March 2026
Here is a comprehensive answer about the P60:
What is a P60?
What the law says
A P60 is a formal certificate called the "End of Year Certificate". By law, an employer must issue a P60 to every employee who:
- was in the employer's employment on the last day of the tax year, and
- had tax deducted from their pay at any time during that tax year.
This must be provided before 1 June (i.e. by 31 May) following the end of the tax year.
The P60 must show:
- The tax year it relates to
- The employer's PAYE reference
- The employee's name and National Insurance number
- Total pay received during the year
- Total income tax deducted
- The employee's tax code
- The employer's name and address
HMRC guidance / practice
What information does a P60 contain?
The P60 gives employees details for the tax year just ended of their:
- Pay or pension received
- Income tax paid
- National Insurance Contributions (NICs)
- Working tax credits received
- Student and/or postgraduate loan repayments
- Statutory payments
- Final tax code
What should you do with your P60?
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Keep it safe – The law requires employees to keep a record of their taxable income for at least 22 months after the end of the current tax year, as it may be needed for completion of a tax return or to make a claim for tax credits.
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Use it for your Self Assessment tax return – If you are required to submit a Self Assessment return, you should include the figures from your P60 on the employment pages of the return.
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Use it to claim a tax repayment – If you have overpaid tax, your P60 provides the verified tax details needed to support a repayment claim.
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Multiple employers – If you work for more than one employer, you should receive a P60 from each employer by 31 May, and you will need to add together the figures from each P60 to arrive at your total taxable pay for the year.
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Lost your P60? – Employers can provide duplicate P60s where employees have mislaid their original and need evidence of their earnings for the previous tax year. From 2010–11 onwards, employers may also provide P60 information electronically (an "eP60"); a printed copy of an eP60 must carry the text "This is a printed copy of an eP60" at the top of the form.
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Finding your National Insurance number – Your P60 is also one of the documents on which your National Insurance number can be found.
Citation sources
uctions working sheet for the employee for the relevant year, produce one showing that effect on that income for that year. 3 In a case falling within paragraph (2)(b) the employer must record in the deductions working sheet— a the employee’s name, b the employee’s national insurance number, if known, c the employee’s final code for the relevant tax year, and d details of the relevant tax year. 4 The employer must record in the deductions working sheet in respect of every qualifying payment— a t
Some payments made under working rule agreements are subject to PAYE by the employer and should appear on year end PAYE returns, such as the P60. If the employee is required to submit a self assessment return he or she should include the figures from the P60, including the working rule agreement payments, on the employment pages of the return. Payments made free of tax under the terms of a working rule agreement do not need to be returned unless the employee requests a deduction for the same typ
By 31 May following the end of a tax year, an employer must, by law, supply an employee from whom they have deducted tax or National Insurance contributions with a P60 ‘End of Year Certificate’. This will show either details of all pay and tax for the year or, in certain circumstances, only the pay and tax for the 5 April employment. If an employee works for more than one employer, then they should have received a P60 from each employer by 31 May, and they will need to add together the figures f
When a claim is made for an early repayment a form P60 must be requested first as this provides verified tax details for the year of claim. You should also request any other information needed to establish the repayment due. One of the ways to request a form P60 is to use the P2 special note, if you are issuing an amended code to the customer. Further details about the P2 special notes can be found at PAYE11035. We now have no objection to employers giving duplicate forms P60 to their employees.
n the National Insurance and PAYE Service on which the Expat Indicator is recorded you should note SA1 ‘PAYE Service record shows expat indicator’ and forward it to Specialist PT Manchester Expat Team High Net Worth Unit Cases (HNWU). These cases will not be immediately identifiable. However, if after tracing you find the customer has an SA record where the CPR signal is set, refer the SA1 to the HNWU Unsolicited Returns. These will not be dealt with by CAAT, regardless of whether they are accom
The form P60 gives employees details, for the tax year just ended, of their Pay or pension received Income tax paid NIC Working tax credits received Student and/or postgraduate loan repayments Statutory payments Final tax code The law requires employees keep a record of their taxable income for at least 22 months after the end of the current tax year as it may be needed for completion of a tax return or to make a claim for tax credits. If an individual sends in their P60, for example, to make a
. The output of an electronic P60 must carry the text ‘This is a printed copy of an eP60’. This must be at the top of the form next to the form title - P60 End of Year Certificate and in an acceptable font size, no smaller than point 10 Note: HMRC does not provide a facility for electronic P60 information to be emailed to us. When processing repayments we still require any claim to be supported by a paper P60 or the printed output of an electronic P60. If you have any concerns about a P60 or P60