P60 Explained: What Your Year-End Certificate Shows UK 2026

Every employee who is still working for the same employer at 5 April receives a P60 by 31 May. It is a single document, but it carries significant weight -- mortgage lenders want it, HMRC relies on it for Self Assessment, and it is often your best evidence when claiming a tax refund. This guide walks through every field on the form and explains what to do with it.

What Is a P60?

A P60 is your end-of-year certificate for Pay As You Earn (PAYE). It shows your total gross pay and the total income tax and National Insurance contributions deducted through your employer during the tax year -- in this case, 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

Your employer must give you a P60 on paper or electronically. If you left a job before 5 April you will not get a P60 from that employer; instead, you should have received a P45 at the time you left.

Key Fields on Your P60

Total pay in this employment -- this is your gross earnings from this employer for the full tax year, including any bonuses, overtime, or benefits paid through payroll.

Total tax deducted -- the income tax your employer deducted via PAYE. For 2026/27, the rates are 20% on income between GBP 12,571 and GBP 50,270, 40% between GBP 50,271 and GBP 125,140, and 45% above GBP 125,140. The personal allowance of GBP 12,570 is tax-free for most people, though it tapers above GBP 100,000 and disappears entirely at GBP 125,140.

National Insurance contributions -- your employee NI for the year. The rate is 8% on earnings between the Primary Threshold (GBP 12,570) and the Upper Earnings Limit (GBP 50,270), then 2% above that.

Tax code -- the code your employer used to calculate how much tax to deduct. 1257L is the standard code for most employees, reflecting the GBP 12,570 personal allowance. If your code looks unusual (for example, BR, D0, or K codes), contact HMRC to check it is correct.

Previous employment pay and tax -- if you changed jobs during the year, your new employer should have rolled in figures from your P45. These appear separately and are added to the totals.

Student loan deductions -- shown if deductions were active. Plan 2 repayments apply at 9% above GBP 28,470 annual income; Plan 5 at 9% above GBP 25,000. If the wrong plan is being deducted, notify your employer or HMRC.

Why You Need Your P60

Self Assessment -- if you complete a tax return, your P60 is the source for total employment income and tax paid. Entering these figures accurately prevents HMRC from raising a discrepancy notice.

Claiming a tax refund -- if you overpaid tax because your code was wrong, you started mid-year, or you had a mix of jobs, your P60 lets you (or HMRC) calculate the correct liability and issue a refund. HMRC can go back four years, so keeping old P60s matters.

Mortgage and rental applications -- lenders routinely ask for two or three years of P60s as proof of income. They want to see consistent earnings that support the loan amount requested.

Tax credits and benefits -- Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits often require confirmation of annual income. A P60 is the standard document.

Pension contributions -- if you make additional voluntary contributions outside your employer scheme, your P60 confirms the gross salary figure used to calculate how much pension relief you are entitled to.

What to Do If Your P60 Contains an Error

First, cross-reference it against your payslips. If the gross pay or tax deducted does not match, speak to your payroll department. Errors sometimes arise from a mid-year tax code change or a payroll system migration.

If the tax code was wrong all year, call HMRC on 0300 200 3300 or use your Personal Tax Account online. HMRC will recalculate the correct liability and either issue a repayment or send a Simple Assessment bill for the underpayment.

What If You Had Multiple Employers?

You will receive a separate P60 from each employer you were still working for on 5 April. Your combined income from all employments determines your overall tax liability. If your multiple employers did not co-ordinate (which is normal -- employers do not communicate with each other), you may have underpaid tax and HMRC will send a P800 reconciliation notice after the year end.

Keeping Your P60 Safe

HMRC recommends keeping P60s for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year for employees, and six years if you are self-employed or have complex affairs. Store them digitally as a backup -- payroll providers increasingly issue P60s via employee portals, so download a copy as soon as it is available.

Quick Checklist

• Received by 31 May each year
• Check tax code is 1257L (or correct adjusted code)
• Cross-reference gross pay against final payslip
• Check NI deductions match expected rate (8%/2%)
• Check student loan deductions match your plan
• File alongside previous years for mortgage and Self Assessment use

Use the CalcHub income tax calculator to verify whether the tax shown on your P60 is broadly correct for your earnings level, or to estimate any refund you may be owed.