What a P60 shows
HMRC's specification for P60s lists what an employer must show by law:
- The tax year to 5 April, the employer's PAYE reference and the employer's full name and address
- Your name, National Insurance number (if known) and payroll number (where there is one)
- Pay and tax in previous employments, in this employment, and the total for the year
- Your final tax code, including any Week 1 or Month 1 indicator
- National Insurance for each category letter: earnings at the Lower Earnings Limit, above it up to the Primary Threshold, and above that up to the Upper Earnings Limit, with your contributions
- Any Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Shared Parental, Adoption, Parental Bereavement or Neonatal Care Pay
- Student Loan and Postgraduate Loan deductions in this employment, in whole pounds
The pay and tax 'in this employment' are the figures to use for your tax return, if you get one.
Who gets one, and when
GOV.UK: if you're working for an employer on 5 April they must give you a P60, by 31 May, on paper or electronically. You get a separate P60 for each of your jobs every tax year. If you left the job during the year, you got a P45 instead.
How to get a P60
From your employer. If you're working for an employer on 5 April, GOV.UK says they must give you a P60 for that tax year by 31 May, on paper or electronically. You don't need to apply for it; if it hasn't arrived by early June, ask your employer or whoever runs their payroll.
- Still in the job on 5 April: your employer gives you a P60 by 31 May. You get one for each job you have on that date.
- Lost it, or need an old one: ask your employer for a replacement.
- Can't get one from your employer: find the same figures in your HMRC personal tax account or the HMRC app, or contact HMRC and ask for the information that would be on the P60.
- Left the job before 5 April: you won't get a P60 from that employer. Your P45 shows your pay and tax up to the day you left.
Employers produce P60s with their payroll software. GOV.UK says HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools can be used if the software can't produce them, and employers exempt from filing payroll online can order forms from HMRC.
What you use it for
GOV.UK says you'll need your P60 to prove how much tax you've paid on your salary, for example to claim back overpaid tax. Keep it somewhere safe: the form itself says you'll need it if you have to fill in a tax return or claim Universal Credit.
Employer-produced P60s
Employers don't have to use HMRC's printed form. HMRC's RD1 specification allows a substitute P60 of the employer's own design, on one sheet, as long as it contains everything the law requires and carries '(Substitute)' and the producer's identifier after the form number, such as P60(Substitute)(PayDocs).
Questions
How do I get my P60?
Your employer gives it to you by 31 May if you work for them on 5 April, on paper or electronically. If it hasn't arrived, ask your employer or their payroll provider; you don't apply to HMRC for it.
I've lost my P60. What can I do?
GOV.UK says to ask your employer for a replacement. If you can't get one, you can find the same information in your HMRC personal tax account or the HMRC app, or ask HMRC.
Does my P60 include statutory sick or maternity pay?
Yes. Pay in this employment includes Statutory Sick Pay and the statutory family payments, and the P60 shows the family payments separately.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Your P45, P60 and P11D form: P60
- GOV.UK — Getting P45, P60 and other forms: employer guide
- HMRC — RD1: Specification for employer substitute forms P60 (2025 to 2026)
- HMRC — RD1: Specification for employer substitute forms P60 (2026 to 2027)
Official sources checked 7 October 2026. This guide explains how pay documents work; it is not tax or legal advice.
