A payslip P60 End of Year Certificate is a handy little piece of HMRC paperwork that shows how much you’ve been paid in a given tax year. On top of that, your P60 will also show the tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) taken out of your pay through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system.
When you work “on the books” (as opposed to being self-employed, for instance), you’ll get a P60 by the 31st of May after the tax year ends. You should keep hold of it, too. When you find yourself getting up close and personal with the taxman, it’s often critical that you can prove how much money you’ve made and how much tax you’ve paid. Your P60 is basically the simplest and best way to do exactly that.
Why do I need my P60?
Any time you need to show someone cast-iron proof of your income and tax situation, your P60 is your best friend. Not only that, but you can often find yourself needing to check those details yourself. Just to pick out a few common examples, you might need to use your P60 to:
File a Self Assessment tax return.
Apply for a mortgage.
Claim a tax rebate.
Solve a problem when HMRC gets its wires crossed.
You’ll get your P60 at the end of each tax year.
GETTING A P60
How and when do I get a P60?
Getting a P60 isn’t something you’ll usually need to stress out over. When you’re paid through PAYE, you’re supposed to be sent a P60 form every year. It’ll usually come within a couple of weeks of the tax year ending.if your previous payslip lost then you can get payslip replacement
A quick word about “tax years”, in case you’re not clear on what that means. For strange reasons involving a change in the calendar and 11 whole days that went missing in September of 1752, the UK tax year runs from the 6th of April in one calendar year to the 5th of April in the next. Yes, it’s weird and a little awkward. If you don’t like it, you’ll have to take it up with Pope Gregory XIII.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, if you reach the end of May and haven’t seen your P60 yet, it’s time to chase up your employer.
INFORMATION
What information is on my P60?
Your P60 features quite a lot of information about you and your financial situation. HMRC naturally needs to be sure it’s talking to the right person, so a lot of what’s in your P60 is about your identity. Your name will be there, obviously, along with your National Insurance and payroll numbers.
The rest of the P60 deals with everything HMRC knows about your PAYE earnings and tax. Crucially, there’ll be a breakdown of the Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions deducted from your earnings in the tax year. That’s not the end of it, though. Depending on your circumstances, you might also find details of any Statutory Sick Pay or Maternity Pay you’ve received. If you’re repaying a Student Loan, that’ll show up here as well.
WHAT IS A P60?
Your P60 and tax rebates
When you’re claiming a tax rebate, whether for essential work expenses or because you only worked for part of the year, your P60 is a vital tool. It’s where you’ll see every penny HMRC has lopped off your earnings, so it should be the first place to check if you’ve paid too much tax. Comparing your P60 with your payslips will give you an early warning if something’s gone wrong in the way your tax has been paid. If it looks fishy, the free RIFT tax rebate calculator will quickly give you an estimate what you could claim back.