Changing Jobs Mid-Year: Your P45, P60 and P11D Checklist for 2026/27
What actually happens to your P45, P60 and P11D when you change jobs partway through the tax year, and how to make sure your new employer applies the right tax code from day one in 2026/27.
Quick answer
Changing jobs mid-tax-year generates a P45 from your old employer (not a P60 โ that only comes at year-end from whoever employs you on 5 April), and getting it to your new employer promptly is the single most effective way to avoid being placed on an emergency tax code while HMRC catches up with the change.
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Tax code checkerWhat each form actually is
- P45 โ issued when you leave a job at any point in the tax year, showing total pay and tax deducted at that employer to date, plus your tax code. Given to your new employer (or kept, if not immediately starting new work) to ensure continuity.
- P60 โ issued annually, only by the employer you're with on 5 April, summarising the whole tax year's pay and tax for that employment. If you left partway through the year, your former employer won't issue you a P60 โ the P45 was your record for that job.
- P11D โ issued annually (by 6 July after the tax year ends) by any employer who provided you with taxable benefits in kind, covering the period you actually received them, even if you've since left that job.
Starting a new job without a P45
If you don't have a recent P45 โ perhaps because you were unemployed, self-employed, or it simply hasn't arrived yet โ your new employer will ask you to complete a starter checklist, declaring whether this is your only job, whether you have a student loan, and other relevant details. Based on this, they apply the most appropriate tax code available, though this sometimes still means a temporary emergency code (often non-cumulative) until HMRC's own records catch up and confirm the correct ongoing code.
P60 and P45 explainedTwo employers in the same tax year
The handover period โ old job ending, new job starting โ is where most tax code problems happen. If the P45 figures aren't passed on correctly, or the starter checklist answers don't reflect your actual situation, you can end up with your Personal Allowance either duplicated (a temporary underpayment risk) or missing entirely for a period (an emergency-code overpayment risk). Checking your tax code via your Personal Tax Account in the weeks after starting a new job catches most of these issues early.
Bottom line
Treat your P45 as the single most important document in a mid-year job change โ hand it over promptly, complete the starter checklist accurately if you don't have one, and check your new tax code within the first couple of payslips rather than waiting until the following P60 to spot a problem.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Starting a new job
- GOV.UK: P45, P60 and P11D forms
Frequently asked questions
Do I get a P60 if I leave a job partway through the tax year?
No โ a P60 is only issued by whichever employer you're working for at the very end of the tax year (5 April), summarising your total pay and tax for that employment across the year. If you leave mid-year, you get a P45 from that employer instead, not a P60.
What do I do with my P45 when starting a new job?
Give it to your new employer as soon as possible โ it shows your total pay and tax so far in the tax year and your previous tax code, letting the new employer carry on your tax calculation correctly from where the old one left off, rather than starting you on an emergency code.
What happens if I don't have a P45 for my new job?
Your new employer will ask you to complete a starter checklist instead, declaring things like whether this is your only job and whether you've had other income this tax year โ based on your answers, they'll apply an appropriate tax code, though this can sometimes still result in an emergency code being used temporarily until HMRC confirms the correct one.
Will I still get a P11D if I leave a job mid-year?
Yes, if you received taxable benefits in kind (company car, private medical insurance, etc.) during your time at that employer โ they must still send you a P11D covering the benefits provided up to your leaving date, even though you're no longer employed there when it's issued after the tax year end.
Can having two employers in the same tax year cause a tax code problem?
It can, especially in the transition month โ your old employer's final pay and tax figures need to be correctly carried over via the P45 (or starter checklist) so your new employer applies your Personal Allowance cumulatively rather than restarting it, which could otherwise result in either an emergency tax code or an incorrect allocation for a period.
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