P60 Explained: What It Shows, When You Get It, and What to Do If It’s Wrong

A clear UK guide to the P60 form: what it is, what every figure means, when your employer must give it to you, and exactly what to do if the numbers look wrong.

Every employee in the UK receives a P60 at the end of each tax year. Many people file it away without looking at it closely, but a P60 that contains an error can mean you have overpaid or underpaid tax without realising. This guide explains exactly what a P60 is, what every line on it means, and what steps to take if something looks wrong.

What Is a P60?

A P60 is an end-of-year tax certificate issued by your employer. It summarises your total pay and all deductions, including Income Tax and National Insurance, for the full tax year from 6 April to 5 April.

Your employer is legally required to provide your P60 by 31 May following the end of each tax year. For the 2024/25 tax year, that means every employer must issue P60s to all current employees by 31 May 2025. For the 2025/26 tax year, the deadline is 31 May 2026.

What Information Does a P60 Show?

Your P60 contains the following information for the full tax year:

• Your name and National Insurance number
• Your employer’s name and PAYE reference
• Total pay in the year: your gross earnings before any deductions
• Total Income Tax deducted: the amount of tax your employer has paid to HMRC through PAYE on your behalf
• Employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs): the NICs are deducted from your pay
• Employer National Insurance Contributions: what your employer paid on top of your salary, shown for reference only
• Student loan deductions: if applicable
• Statutory payments: such as statutory maternity, paternity, or sick pay, if relevant

The P60 only covers the period you were employed by that particular employer. If you have multiple jobs, you will receive a separate P60 from each employer. If you changed jobs during the year, you should also have a P45 from your previous employer covering the earlier period.

When Do I Receive My P60?

Your employer must give you your P60 by 31 May after the end of the tax year. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April, so:

• The 2024/25 P60 must be issued by 31 May 2025
• The 2025/26 P60 must be issued by 31 May 2026

Many employers now issue P60s electronically through a payroll portal or by email. Paper copies are still acceptable. If you have not received your P60 by 31 May, contact your employer or their payroll department first. If the issue is unresolved, you can contact HMRC directly.

Why Is the P60 Important?

The P60 is a key financial document you will need for several purposes:

• Self Assessment tax return: If you file a Self Assessment return, your P60 figures go into the employment income section. Getting these figures wrong can mean HMRC raises a query or issues a penalty
• Tax refund claims: If you have overpaid tax, perhaps because you started or left a job mid-year, your P60 is evidence of the tax you have already paid
• Mortgage and loan applications: Lenders often ask for your last two or three P60s as proof of income
• Benefits and tax credits: Some benefit claims require you to confirm your income using P60 figures
• State pension record: Your National Insurance record, which determines your State Pension entitlement, is partly built from payroll data connected to your P60 records

You should keep your P60 for at least four years. If you are self-employed or a director with more complex tax affairs, keeping records for longer is advisable.

What to Do If Your P60 Is Wrong

Errors on a P60 do happen. Common causes include payroll processing mistakes, incorrect tax codes applied during the year, and pay or deductions not being carried forward correctly between PAYE systems.

Step 1: Check Your Payslips First

Compare the total pay and tax deducted on your P60 with the figures on your monthly or weekly payslips. Add up all your gross pay figures from payslips across the tax year. If the total matches your P60, the document is likely correct. If there is a discrepancy, the error may be in your payslips rather than the P60.

Step 2: Contact Your Employer’s Payroll Department

Your employer is responsible for issuing an accurate P60. If you have identified a genuine error, for example, income has been omitted, or the tax deducted does not match, contact their payroll team in writing. Ask them to confirm what figures they have reported to HMRC via their Real Time Information (RTI) submissions and to issue a corrected P60 if necessary.

Step 3: Check Your Tax Code

Your tax code tells your employer how much of your income to treat as tax-free before applying Income Tax. An incorrect tax code, for example, one that did not account for a benefit in kind or a previous underpayment, can result in too little or too much tax being deducted during the year. You can check and update your tax code with HMRC online.

Step 4: Contact HMRC if the Employer Cannot Resolve It

If your employer cannot or will not correct the error, HMRC can review the figures. HMRC has records of what your employer has submitted through PAYE. If there is an underpayment of tax as a result of an error, HMRC may collect it through an adjustment to your tax code in a future year or through a Self Assessment return. If you have overpaid tax, a repayment can be claimed.

P60 and Self Assessment: What Directors Need to Know

If you are a limited company director, you will receive a P60 for your director’s salary if your company operates a PAYE scheme. However, your P60 will only show your salary. It will not include any dividends you have paid yourself during the year. Dividends must be reported separately on your Self Assessment tax return, along with your employment income from the P60.

This is one of the most common areas of confusion for directors who manage their own payroll or use a bookkeeper rather than a specialist accountant. The P60 is not a complete picture of a director’s annual income. It covers the salary component only. Our payroll outsourcing service ensures that director payroll is run correctly throughout the year, so the P60 figures reconcile cleanly with your Self Assessment return every time.

What If I Have Not Received a P60?

If you were employed on 5 April and your employer has not issued your P60 by 31 May, the employer is in breach of their legal obligation under the PAYE regulations. Your first step should be to contact their HR or payroll department directly. If this does not resolve the issue, you can report it to HMRC.

HMRC does have your pay and tax information from your employer’s RTI submissions, so if you are unable to obtain a P60, HMRC can often provide a statement of your income and tax paid for the year. You can access this through your personal tax account on the GOV.UK website.

P60 Checklist for Employees and Directors

• Check you have received your P60 from every employer you were with on 5 April
• Compare total pay and tax on the P60 with your full year of payslips
• Check the tax code shown on your P60 and confirm it was the correct code for the year
• If you file a Self Assessment return, use the P60 figures for the employment income section
• Keep your P60 securely, as you will need it for mortgage applications, benefit claims, and future tax queries
• If anything looks wrong, contact your payroll department in writing before the figures are used in any official filing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a P60, and what does it show?

A P60 is an annual tax certificate issued by your employer that summarises your total pay and all tax and National Insurance deductions for the full tax year (6 April to 5 April). It is only issued to employees who are still employed on the last day of the tax year, 5 April. It does not include income from other sources such as self-employment, dividends, or rental income.

When does my employer have to give me my P60?

Your employer must issue your P60 by 31 May following the end of the tax year. For the 2025/26 tax year, that means by 31 May 2026. Employers who fail to issue P60s on time are in breach of their PAYE obligations. If yours is late, contact your payroll or HR department first, and HMRC if the issue persists.

Do I need a P60 to fill in my Self Assessment tax return?

Yes. If you file a Self Assessment tax return and have employment income, the pay and tax figures from your P60 go directly into the employment pages of your return. If you have more than one employer, you will need the P60 or P45 from each one. Entering incorrect figures can result in a penalty or a tax demand from HMRC, so it is important to use the actual P60 rather than estimating.

What do I do if my P60 shows the wrong tax deducted?

First, check the tax code used on your P60 and compare the figures with your payslips. If the total tax deducted across your payslips matches the P60, the employer’s records are likely consistent, and any error may be in the underlying tax code. Contact HMRC to review your tax code and request an adjustment if needed. If the P60 figures do not match your payslips, contact your employer’s payroll team and ask them to investigate and correct the submission to HMRC.

Can I get a copy of my P60 if I have lost it?

Your employer should be able to provide a duplicate P60 or a statement of the figures they reported to HMRC. You can also check your income and tax paid for the year through your HMRC personal tax account, which shows the figures submitted by your employer through PAYE. Note that a duplicate is not the same as an original P60 for mortgage or lender purposes. Most lenders require the original document or a certified copy.