The short answer
Understand the UK P60 for 2026/27: when employers issue it, what the figures mean, how it differs from P45 and P800, and how to fix errors.
A P60 is the end-of-year certificate for a UK PAYE job or pension. It summarises the pay and deductions recorded for the tax year from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. If you were working for an employer on 5 April 2027, that employer should give you a P60 by 31 May 2027, either on paper or electronically. You normally receive a separate P60 for each job or pension.
The P60 is useful evidence, but it is not a complete tax return. Use it to check pay, Income Tax, National Insurance, student or postgraduate loan deductions and the final tax code shown for that employment. If you think you paid too much or too little tax, compare the certificate with your payslips and HMRC record before deciding what to do. The UK Tax Refund Calculator can help with a scenario, while HMRC’s Income Tax service is the authoritative place to check your record.
P60 covers one tax year
Employer deadline: 31 May 2027
Check before claiming a refund
What a P60 is and who receives one
The P60 is an end-of-year statement produced from PAYE information. It shows the totals that relate to the employment or pension for the tax year. The official form includes employee details, pay, tax deducted, National Insurance information and other relevant deduction fields. A digital P60 is acceptable when the employer provides it through an appropriate electronic route.
You should receive a P60 from each employer for whom you were still working on 5 April. If you held two jobs on that date, you should expect two certificates. A pension provider may also issue a P60 for a pension that is taxed through PAYE. The information is not one household total unless you combine the relevant certificates yourself.
You generally do not receive a P60 from an employer you left before 5 April. That job should normally be documented by a P45, which covers pay and tax up to the date employment ended. If you changed jobs during the year, you may therefore have a P45 from the old employer and a P60 from the employer you were working for at the end of the year.
When you should receive the 2026/27 P60
The tax year ends on 5 April 2027. An employer must give the P60 by 31 May 2027 to an employee who was working for that employer on 5 April. The certificate may be electronic or paper. Payroll departments can have internal processing dates earlier than the statutory deadline, so do not assume that a P60 is late merely because it is not available immediately after 5 April.
| Date | What it means |
|---|---|
| 6 April 2026 | 2026/27 tax year begins. |
| 5 April 2027 | The tax year ends and the employer identifies employees still working for it. |
| 31 May 2027 | The employer’s deadline to provide the P60 to those employees. |
| After receipt | Check the figures, save the certificate and report an error to the employer or HMRC as appropriate. |
The date is tied to the tax year, not to the calendar year. A P60 issued in May 2027 is the certificate for 2026/27, even though much of the year’s pay was received in 2026.
How to read the main P60 sections
Pay and Income Tax
The pay figure is the amount recorded for Income Tax purposes for that employment or pension. It can include salary, overtime, bonus, commission and taxable statutory payments, depending on the payroll record. It is not necessarily identical to the money that reached your bank account because pension contributions, tax, National Insurance, student-loan deductions and other items affect take-home pay.
The tax-deducted figure shows Income Tax deducted through that PAYE record. It is not automatically the amount you should have paid across all jobs, pensions, savings and other income. If you had another employment, a pension or taxable income outside that record, you may need to consider the combined position.
Final tax code
The P60 shows the final tax code used for that employment in the tax year. A tax code is used by an employer or pension provider to calculate how much Income Tax to take. The code can reflect a Personal Allowance, benefits, untaxed income, an underpayment or other adjustments.
The final code is a useful checking point, not a guarantee that the code was correct. Compare it with HMRC correspondence, payslips and the circumstances you had during the year. A code can change during the year, and an end-of-year certificate does not correct an earlier coding error by itself.
National Insurance
The P60 includes National Insurance information for the employment. This can help you review the payroll record, but National Insurance is not the same as Income Tax. The thresholds, categories and record-keeping rules differ. A P60 is not a State Pension forecast and does not by itself tell you whether your National Insurance record is complete.
Student and postgraduate loan deductions
Where relevant, the P60 can show student-loan and postgraduate-loan deductions for that employment. Use the figure to reconcile payroll deductions with payslips and your loan account. It does not by itself determine whether an optional overpayment was financially worthwhile or whether a balance should be repaid outside payroll.
P60 versus P45, P11D and P800
These forms answer different questions. Confusing them is a common reason for using the wrong figure in a refund or tax calculation.
| Document | Main purpose | When it is relevant |
|---|---|---|
| P60 | End-of-year pay and deductions summary | You were working for the employer on 5 April. |
| P45 | Pay and tax up to leaving a job | You stop working for an employer during the tax year. |
| P11D information | Taxable benefits and expenses reported by an employer | You receive benefits or expenses that need reporting separately. |
| P800 | HMRC calculation after the tax year | HMRC calculates that you may have paid too much or too little through PAYE. |
| Self Assessment return | Wider tax return covering relevant income and claims | HMRC requires a return or you need to report income or relief through Self Assessment. |
A P60 can support a P800 check, refund claim or mortgage application, but it does not replace the other document when that document covers a different period or type of information. For example, a P45 from an earlier job may be needed to explain why the annual P60 does not include that employment.
How to check your P60 in ten minutes
Start with identity and scope. Confirm your name, National Insurance number, employer name and PAYE reference. Check that the document belongs to the correct tax year and job. If you have multiple jobs or pensions, gather every relevant statement before comparing totals.
Then reconcile the numbers:
- Compare the pay total with the final payslip and the year-to-date totals on earlier payslips.
- Check that bonuses, overtime, commission and taxable statutory pay are included where expected.
- Compare Income Tax deducted with the year-to-date tax on your final payslip.
- Check the final tax code against your HMRC tax-code record and the code used on the final payroll.
- Review National Insurance, student-loan and postgraduate-loan deductions separately from Income Tax.
- Add other employments, pensions, benefits and taxable income that are not on this certificate.
- Save the P60 with the tax year clearly labelled.
Small differences may be caused by rounding, pay dates or a corrected payroll submission. A material difference, wrong National Insurance number, missing job or unexpected code should be raised rather than silently adjusted in your own spreadsheet.
What to do if the P60 is missing or wrong
If you have not received the certificate by the deadline, ask the employer or payroll team first. Ask for a replacement if you lost it. HMRC states that you can use your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app to find information that would be on a P60, or contact HMRC if you cannot obtain it from the employer.
If a figure is wrong, give the employer the specific evidence: payslips, payroll correspondence, the relevant dates and the line that appears incorrect. The employer may issue a replacement P60 or a letter confirming the correction. Do not alter the certificate yourself.
If the employer cannot resolve the issue, use HMRC’s current PAYE contact route. Keep a note of when you contacted the employer and the evidence supplied. If a Self Assessment deadline is approaching, use the best reliable information available and explain the position through the applicable HMRC process rather than inventing a number.
Using a P60 to check for overpaid tax
A P60 can reveal a possible mismatch, but it does not prove that a refund is due. Compare the total tax deducted with your whole-year circumstances: all employments, pensions, tax codes, benefits, reliefs, taxable savings or other income. A person who changed jobs may have tax deducted under a temporary code, while another person may owe additional tax because the P60 does not include outside income.
Use HMRC’s own current-year or previous-year services where available. If HMRC sends a P800, read that calculation and check the underlying income and deductions. A refund route may depend on whether you are still employed, have left work, are in Self Assessment or need to claim a relief. The Tax Refund After Leaving a Job guide covers the P45 and P50 route, while the P800 guide covers HMRC’s end-of-year calculation letter.
Do not pay a fee to an unknown intermediary merely because a text or email promises a refund. Check the message independently through your HMRC account. The P60 contains personal and financial information, so store it securely and share only through a trusted route.
Using a P60 for a mortgage or other application
Lenders and other organisations may ask for a P60 as evidence of annual employment income and tax paid. The P60 can support an application, but the organisation may also request payslips, bank statements, an employment contract or proof of bonuses. A P60 records the previous tax year; it does not guarantee current employment, future pay or affordability.
If your income has changed, provide current evidence rather than relying on an older P60. If your pay includes variable compensation, the recipient may assess the history and reliability of that income differently. Keep the P60 available, but do not treat it as a substitute for the specific evidence requested.
Record keeping and privacy
Keep the P60 with the other records needed for tax, benefit, loan and pension decisions. HMRC guidance says employees need to retain records for the applicable period; the exact retention need depends on why the record is being used and whether a tax return or claim is involved. If you file Self Assessment, follow HMRC’s record-keeping guidance for that return.
Store digital copies with a clear name such as 2026-27-employer-p60.pdf, protect the folder and avoid emailing an unprotected copy unnecessarily. Before sending it to a lender or adviser, check whether they need the full document or only selected figures. The certificate contains personal identifiers.
A practical P60 review checklist
Check your end-of-year certificate
- 1Confirm the tax year, employer or pension provider, name, National Insurance number and PAYE reference.
- 2Match pay and tax deducted to your final payslip and year-to-date payroll totals.
- 3Check the final tax code and review it in HMRC’s tax-code service.
- 4Reconcile National Insurance, student-loan and postgraduate-loan deductions separately.
- 5Gather P45s, P11D information, other P60s and outside-income records where relevant.
- 6Ask payroll for a replacement or correction before using a disputed figure in a claim or application.
Frequently asked questions
When should I receive my P60 for 2026/27?
Do I get a P60 if I left my job before 5 April?
Do I get one P60 for all my jobs?
Does a P60 show my tax refund?
What should I do if my P60 is wrong?
Can I use a P60 as proof of income?
Can I find P60 information online?
Keep the P60 with the rest of your PAYE records, check disputed figures with payroll, and use the HMRC Income Tax service for the official record. Related guides: UK tax codes explained, P800 tax calculation letters and tax refunds after leaving a job.
Official sources
Related Guides
P11D UK 2026/27 — Benefits in Kind, Tax Codes and Deadlines
What a UK P11D shows for 2026/27: taxable benefits, P11D(b), Class 1A National Insurance, payrolling, deadlines and how to check errors.
UK Tax Calendar 2026/27 — PAYE, Self Assessment and Landlords
A practical UK tax calendar for 2026/27, covering tax-year milestones, Self Assessment, payments on account, PAYE reminders and year-end planning.
UK P800 Tax Calculation Letter 2026/27 — Refund or Payment?
What to do when HMRC sends a P800 tax calculation letter: claim a refund, pay an underpayment, check the figures and avoid confusing it with Self Assessment.
Review notes and assumptions
Reviewed
2026-09-22
Assumptions
- The guide is for general UK PAYE information for the 2026/27 tax year; the employee’s certificate, HMRC account and notice take priority.
- Pension, benefits, multiple-employment, Scottish-tax and Self Assessment circumstances can change how a figure should be interpreted.
- A P60 is evidence of reported pay and deductions; it is not by itself a complete calculation of every tax liability or refund.