P60 Explained
Your end-of-year tax certificate. Every employee in the UK receives one by 31 May showing total earnings, tax paid and NI contributions for the full tax year.
What is a P60?
A P60 is a certificate your employer must issue to you at the end of each tax year (5 April). It summarises your total gross pay, the Income Tax deducted through PAYE, your National Insurance contributions and your tax code. Employers are legally required to provide it by 31 May.
You only receive a P60 if you were still on the payroll on 5 April. If you left the job before that date, you would have received a P45 instead.
How it works
Your employer runs payroll throughout the year using PAYE (Pay As You Earn). Each pay period, they deduct Income Tax and National Insurance from your gross pay. At the end of the tax year on 5 April, these amounts are totalled up and printed on your P60.
The P60 for the 2025-26 tax year covers the period from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026. Your employer must hand it to you by 31 May 2026. Most employers now issue P60s digitally through their payroll software or HR portal.
Key fields on your P60 include total pay for the year, total tax deducted, employee NI contributions, your NI number and the tax code in force at year end. If you had a previous employer during the same tax year, their figures may also appear.
Real example
Sarah earns £35,000 a year and works for one employer throughout 2025-26. Her P60 would show:
| Field | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total pay for year | £35,000 |
| Total tax deducted | £4,486 |
| Employee NI contributions | £1,794 |
| Tax code at year end | 1257L |
The tax figure of £4,486 is 20% of £22,430 (that is £35,000 minus the £12,570 Personal Allowance). If Sarah files a Self Assessment return, she enters these exact figures from the P60.
Who does this affect?
Every employee who is on the payroll on 5 April receives a P60. This includes part-time workers, those on zero-hours contracts and people on maternity or sick leave, as long as they are still employed on that date.
Self-employed individuals do not receive a P60 because they are not on a PAYE payroll. Company directors who pay themselves through PAYE do receive one.
HMRC source
gov.uk/paye-forms-p45-p60-p11d/p60 covers what a P60 is, when you should receive it, and what to do if you have not been given one.
Related calculators: