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What Is a P60? The Employer's Guide to Issuing Annual Tax Summaries
For UK employers, the end of the tax year comes with several payroll responsibilities. One of them is providing employees with their P60.
A P60 is an end-of-year summary of an employee's pay and deductions for the tax year.
Employers need to make sure P60s are prepared accurately and provided to eligible employees by the required deadline. Understanding who should receive a P60, what information it contains, and how it differs from a P45 can help employers manage their year-end payroll responsibilities correctly.
What is a P60?
A P60, also called an End of Year Certificate, is a statutory PAYE document that summarises an employee’s pay and deductions for the full tax year. It shows their total earnings, Income Tax deducted, National Insurance contributions, and other relevant payroll information recorded between 6 April and 5 April the following year.
Employers provide a P60 to eligible employees after the end of the tax year, giving them a single record of their annual pay and deductions.
Who should employers issue a P60 to?
A P60 is a year end payroll document that employers must provide to employees who are still on their payroll on 5 April, the final day of the tax year.
Employers must provide the P60 by 31 May following the end of the tax year.
You should give a P60 to employees who are still employed by you on 5 April. This applies whether they:
work full time or part time
joined your organisation during the tax year
are on sick leave
are receiving statutory maternity, paternity or shared parental pay
are temporarily away from work but remain employed
An employee does not need to have worked for you throughout the entire tax year to receive a P60. The key consideration is whether they are still employed by you on 5 April.
Employees with previous or additional employment
If an employee has worked for another employer during the same tax year, you may receive details of their earlier employment when they join your organisation. These details are normally provided through their P45, which records their pay and tax information from their previous job.
If they are still employed by you on 5 April, their P60 will include the relevant pay and tax information recorded through your payroll, including previous employment details where these have been carried forward.
If an employee works for multiple employers and remains employed by each of them on 5 April, each employer should provide a separate P60 for that employment.
Self employed workers:
You should not issue a P60 to someone who is genuinely self employed, as they are not employed through your PAYE payroll.
Their income is generally reported through Self Assessment rather than through your payroll. An SA302 tax calculation may subsequently be used as evidence of their income and tax calculation.
Where a worker is employed through an agency or umbrella company under PAYE, the agency or umbrella company is responsible for providing the P60.
What information is included on a P60?
A P60 brings together key employment and payroll information for the tax year. Depending on the employee's circumstances, it can include:
Employee's full name
National Insurance number
Payroll number
Total pay for the tax year
Income Tax deducted
National Insurance contributions
Final tax code
Statutory payments such as Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay
Student loan and postgraduate loan repayments
The P60 therefore gives employees a consolidated view of their annual pay and relevant deductions.
Why is a P60 important for employees?
Although issuing the P60 is an employer responsibility, the document is also useful to employees.
A P60 provides evidence of an employee's income and tax paid during the year. Employees may need this information when:
Checking whether they have paid the correct amount of tax
Claiming back overpaid tax
Applying for a mortgage or loan
Completing a Self Assessment tax return where they also have employment income
Employers should therefore ensure that the information provided on P60s is accurate and complete.
Form P60 vs Form P45
P60 and P45 are both payroll documents, but they serve different purposes.
P60 | P45 |
Summarises pay and tax for the tax year | Summarises pay and tax up to an employee's leaving date |
Provided after the tax year ends | Provided when an employee leaves a job |
Given to employees who are still employed on 5 April | Given to employees when their employment ends |
Covers the completed tax year | Covers the period up to the employee's leaving date |
In simple terms, a P45 relates to leaving a job, while a P60 relates to the end of the tax year.
Things employers should check before issuing P60s:
Accuracy is particularly important when preparing year-end payroll documents. Employers should ensure that the information used to produce P60s reflects their payroll records.
Some common areas to check include:
Employee information
Pay and tax figures
National Insurance information
Tax codes
Statutory payments and other deductions
How payroll software can simplify P60 preparation?
Preparing P60s involves bringing together information accumulated throughout the tax year. When payroll records are maintained accurately, year-end reporting becomes easier to manage.
Payroll software can help employers generate P60s using the payroll information already maintained in the system. This reduces the need to compile employee pay manually and deduction figures when preparing year-end documents.
The key is to maintain accurate employee and payroll information throughout the year. P60 preparation then becomes part of the year-end payroll workflow rather than a separate exercise.
Manage P60s with Zoho Payroll
With Zoho Payroll, employers can manage their UK payroll and generate essential year-end payroll documents from their payroll data.
Instead of compiling annual employee pay and deduction information manually, payroll teams can use the information maintained in Zoho Payroll to prepare P60s as part of their year-end payroll process.
This can help payroll teams reduce manual work around year-end documentation while keeping employee payroll information organised within the payroll system.
For employers, the goal is simple: maintain accurate payroll records digitally throughout the year so that year-end tasks such as P60 preparation are easier to complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happens if an employer misses the 31 May P60 deadline?
Employers who fail to issue P60s by 31 May can face an initial penalty of up to £300 per employee, plus a daily penalty of up to £60 per employee if the failure continues after HMRC issues a formal notice.
- Do part-time employees or employees on maternity or sick leave receive a P60?
Yes. Every employee on the payroll on 5 April receives a P60, including those on maternity leave, sick leave, unpaid leave, and part-time or casual workers.
- What should an employee do if they haven't received their P60 by 31 May?
The employee should first check their payroll portal, then contact their payroll or HR department. If the employer still fails to provide it within a reasonable response time the employee can report the issue to HMRC by calling 0300 200 3300.
- How long must employers keep P60 records?
Employers must keep PAYE records, including information used to prepare P60s, for at least 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.Keeping these records helps you respond to HMRC queries and demonstrate that your payroll reporting and deductions were accurate.
- What happens if there is an error on a P60?
If an employee finds an error in their P60, they should contact their employer. The employer can check the payroll records, correct the error, and issue a replacement P60 where required. Any replacement P60 should be marked “replacement” and can be provided electronically or on paper. The employer can also provide a letter confirming the corrected information where appropriate.