What Is a P60? UK Guide to the End of Year Certificate
- A P60 is your End of Year Certificate — a summary of your total pay, tax and National Insurance for the tax year (6 April to 5 April).
- Your employer must give it to you by 31 May after the tax year ends, on paper or electronically.
- You only get a P60 if you were employed on 5 April — one for each job you hold.
- It's your proof of income and tax paid — needed for mortgages, loans, tax refunds and Self Assessment.
- Lost it? Ask your employer for a copy, or check your HMRC Personal Tax Account.
- Keep it safe — HMRC suggests at least 22 months, and longer is wiser.
If you're employed in the UK, a P60 lands with you once a year — and it's one of the most useful documents you'll own. It's the official record of what you earned and what tax you paid, and you'll be asked for it every time you need to prove your income or claim money back. This guide explains exactly what a P60 is, how to read every figure on it, when you should receive it, and what to do if it goes missing.
What is a P60?
A P60, officially called the End of Year Certificate, is a form your employer gives you that summarises your total pay and deductions for the tax year. In HMRC's words, "your P60 shows the tax you've paid on your salary in the tax year (6 April to 5 April)."
It pulls together everything that came out of your pay under PAYE — Income Tax and National Insurance — into a single certified statement. Because it's produced through your employer's payroll and reported to HMRC, it's treated as the definitive proof of your earnings and tax for that year. You get a separate P60 for each job you hold on the last day of the tax year.
What information is on a P60?
A P60 can look busy, but the figures that matter are straightforward. Here's what each main section tells you:
| On your P60 | What it means |
|---|---|
| Total pay for the year | Your gross earnings from this employment (plus any previous job in the same tax year) |
| Tax deducted | The total Income Tax taken from your pay through PAYE |
| National Insurance contributions | Your NICs for the year, usually broken down by contribution letter |
| Final tax code | The tax code used at year end — worth checking it's right |
| Statutory payments | Any statutory maternity, paternity or sick pay included in the year |
| Student loan deductions | Any student or postgraduate loan repayments collected through payroll |
| Employer PAYE reference & your NI number | Identifiers linking the certificate to you and your employer |
The single most common thing worth checking is your tax code. If it's wrong, you may have paid too much or too little tax all year — our guide to the 0T tax code and how to fix it explains one of the codes that catches people out. To sense-check whether your tax and National Insurance look about right for your salary, our UK salary calculator gives you a quick breakdown.
When do you get your P60?
Your employer must give you your P60 by 31 May following the end of the tax year. So for the 2025/26 tax year, which ended on 5 April 2026, your P60 was due by 31 May 2026. It can be provided on paper or electronically — many employers now post it to an online payslip portal.
⚠️ Only employees on 5 April get a P60. If you left a job during the year, you won't get a P60 from that employer — you'll have received a P45 when you left instead. Your P60 only comes from an employer you were still working for on the last day of the tax year.
If it's past 31 May and nothing has arrived, chase your employer or payroll department first — it's their legal responsibility to provide it.
What is a P60 used for?
Your P60 is the go-to document whenever you need to prove your income or the tax you've paid. Common uses include:
- Claiming back overpaid tax — the figures on your P60 are what HMRC uses to check a refund
- Filing a Self Assessment tax return — employment income and tax paid come straight off your P60
- Applying for a mortgage or loan — lenders routinely ask for your latest P60s as proof of earnings
- Supporting tax credit or benefit claims
- Checking your National Insurance record towards your State Pension
If you complete a Self Assessment tax return — because you're a company director, have a side income, or earn above certain thresholds — your P60 is one of the first documents you'll reach for. It's also handy for sanity-checking that your tax has kept pace with the UK tax thresholds and allowances for the year.
P60 vs P45 vs P11D
These three PAYE forms are easy to muddle, but each does a different job:
| Form | What it's for | When you get it |
|---|---|---|
| P60 | Summary of a full year's pay and deductions | Once a year, by 31 May |
| P45 | Pay and tax to date when you leave a job | When your employment ends |
| P11D | Reports benefits in kind (company car, private medical, etc.) | By 6 July after the tax year |
In short: a P45 is for leaving, a P11D is for perks, and a P60 is your annual summary while you're still employed.
What if you've lost your P60?
Don't worry — a lost P60 is easy to recover, because the information behind it is stored in more than one place:
- Ask your employer for a duplicate. They can reissue a copy (often marked "duplicate") from their payroll records.
- Check your HMRC Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app, where your pay and tax details for the year are held.
- Contact HMRC directly if you can't get the figures any other way.
It's good practice to keep your P60s safe. HMRC suggests keeping payroll documents for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year, but many people keep them for around six years, which covers most mortgage, pension and tax queries. If you run payroll and want to make sure your team always get accurate P60s on time, our payroll service takes care of the whole year-end process for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is a P60 and why do I need one?
A P60 is your End of Year Certificate, summarising your total pay, Income Tax and National Insurance for the tax year. You need it as proof of income and tax paid — for mortgages and loans, tax refund claims, Self Assessment, and checking your National Insurance record.
When should I receive my P60?
Your employer must give you your P60 by 31 May following the end of the tax year on 5 April. It can be paper or electronic. You only receive one if you were employed on 5 April, and you get a separate P60 for each job.
What is the difference between a P60 and a P45?
A P60 is an annual summary of your pay and tax while you are still employed on 5 April. A P45 is given when you leave a job and shows your pay and tax up to your leaving date. If you left a job mid-year, you get a P45 from it, not a P60.
How do I get a copy of a lost P60?
Ask your employer to reissue a duplicate from their payroll records. You can also view the same pay and tax information in your HMRC Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app, or contact HMRC directly if needed.
Do self-employed people get a P60?
No. A P60 comes from an employer through PAYE, so only employees receive one. If you are self-employed, your income and tax are reported through your Self Assessment tax return instead, using your own records rather than a P60.
Whether you're an employer producing P60s or an employee using one to file a return or claim a refund, we'll make sure the numbers are right. Fixed fee, no jargon. Get a quote or message us today.
Related: our payroll service, our Self Assessment tax return service, our guide to the 0T tax code, and the UK tax thresholds and allowances. Official guidance is on the gov.uk P60 page.
