Tax Guide · Updated July 2026
P45 and P60 Explained 2026/27
A P45 and a P60 are both official records of your pay and tax, but they are issued at different times and used for different purposes. This guide explains the difference for 2026/27 and what to do if you are missing either one.
What a P45 Is
A P45 is issued by an employer when you leave a job, showing your tax code, total pay and tax deducted for that employment in the current tax year up to your leaving date. It has multiple parts, some of which go to HMRC and some of which you give to a new employer.
Giving your P45 to a new employer helps them apply the correct tax code from your first payday, rather than defaulting to an emergency code, which can otherwise cause you to overpay tax temporarily until HMRC issues a corrected code.
What a P60 Is
A P60 is issued once a year, after the tax year ends, by whichever employer you are working for on the last day of that tax year, summarising your total pay, tax, and (where applicable) National Insurance and student loan deductions for the whole year across that employment.
You need your P60 as proof of income and tax paid for things like mortgage applications, tax credit or benefit claims, checking whether you have overpaid or underpaid tax for the year, and completing a Self Assessment return if you need to file one.
If You Are Missing One
If you have lost a P45 from a previous job, employers cannot generally reissue a duplicate, but a new employer can still process your pay correctly using a starter checklist instead, and HMRC can confirm your pay and tax history from its own records if needed.
If your current employer has not given you a P60 after the tax year end, ask them directly, since they are legally required to provide one to every employee still working for them at the end of the tax year — you can also request a statement of your pay and tax from HMRC if you cannot get a replacement.