TL;DR
UK employers have until 31 May 2026 to provide a P60 to every employee who was on the payroll on 5 April. Missing the deadline triggers an initial HMRC penalty of £300 for each unprovided P60, plus £60 per day for continued non-compliance. The duty falls on the employer, not the employee.
The P60 is the End of Year Certificate that employers must provide to every employee who was on the payroll at the end of the tax year. It summarises pay and tax deducted for the tax year just ended.
For the 2025/26 tax year, which ran from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, P60s must be issued by 31 May 2026.
Who needs a P60
Every employee on the payroll on 5 April must receive a P60 from each employer they had on that date. A worker with two jobs at year-end is entitled to two P60s, one from each employer.
Workers who left their job before 5 April do not receive a P60 for that employment. They should have received a P45 when they left, which serves a similar purpose for the partial year.
The self-employed do not receive P60s. They calculate their own tax position through Self Assessment.
What the P60 contains
A standard P60 includes:
- Total pay from the employer in the tax year
- Total income tax deducted by the employer
- National Insurance contributions paid
- Statutory payments received (Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity Pay, Paternity Pay)
- Student loan deductions if applicable
- The employee's tax code at the end of the tax year
The P60 can be provided on paper or electronically, provided the employee can access and print or save the electronic version.
The penalty structure
HMRC's penalty for late or missing P60s is set out in the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003. An initial penalty of £300 applies for each P60 not provided by 31 May. If the failure continues, a further penalty of £60 per day per missing P60 applies.
For an employer with 10 employees who fails to issue any P60s, the initial penalty would be £3,000, with £600 a day added until the failure is resolved.
HMRC can also apply tax-geared penalties where the failure to provide P60s is linked to wider non-compliance with PAYE obligations.
What employees should check
Employees who have not received a P60 by 31 May should first ask their employer or payroll provider. A delayed P60 is usually an administrative oversight rather than a deliberate withholding.
The P60 is used as evidence of income for:
- Mortgage and loan applications
- Reclaiming overpaid tax
- Universal Credit and benefit calculations
- Self Assessment if other income takes the total over the personal allowance
- Tax code corrections via HMRC
Employees who cannot get a P60 from their employer can contact HMRC, which holds the underlying pay and tax data through Real Time Information submissions made by the employer throughout the year.
Employer record-keeping
Employers must keep PAYE records, including details of P60 issuance, for at least three years from the end of the tax year. HMRC can request to inspect these records during a PAYE compliance check.
Key facts
- P60 deadline for 2025/26 tax year is 31 May 2026.
- Applies to every employee on the payroll on 5 April.
- Initial penalty for non-compliance is £300 per missing P60, plus £60 per day continued.
- P60 can be issued on paper or electronically.
- Employees who leave before 5 April receive a P45 instead.
FAQ
What if the employer goes out of business before issuing P60s?
If the employer has gone into liquidation or stopped trading, the employee should contact HMRC directly. HMRC holds the underlying pay and tax data and can issue a statement of earnings in lieu of a P60.
Can an electronic P60 be accepted by lenders for mortgage applications?
Most UK mortgage lenders accept electronic P60s provided the document is unaltered and includes the standard P60 fields. Some lenders may request additional verification.
What is the difference between a P60 and a P45?
A P45 is issued when an employee leaves a job, summarising pay and tax for the partial year up to the leaving date. A P60 is issued at the end of the tax year to employees still on the payroll on 5 April.
Are agency workers entitled to a P60?
Agency workers receive their P60 from the agency that operated their PAYE, not from the end client. Workers paid through an umbrella company receive their P60 from the umbrella company.
