How p60 works
The P60 covers the UK tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April, and is generated from the final payroll run of that year using cumulative pay and deduction figures reported through Real Time Information submissions. Only employees still employed on the last day of the tax year receive one.
Employees use their P60 as proof of income and tax paid, commonly needed for mortgage applications, tax credit claims or reclaiming overpaid tax. Employers can provide it on paper or electronically, and HMRC does not require a separate copy since the figures already come from RTI submissions made throughout the year. An employee who has more than one job during the tax year receives a separate P60 from each employer they are still working for at year end, since each employer only reports the pay and deductions it processed through its own payroll.
Example
An employee earned £38,000 in gross salary over the UK tax year, with £5,200 in income tax and £3,100 in National Insurance deducted through payroll. Their employer issues a P60 by 31 May showing these totals, which the employee later uses to support a mortgage application requiring proof of the previous year's income. If the same employee also works a second part-time job, they receive a second P60 from that employer showing the smaller pay and tax figures from that role, and both are kept for their personal tax records.
P60 in QuickBooks Online vs Xero
UK payroll add-ons for Xero and QuickBooks Online both generate P60s automatically from the year's RTI submissions once the final pay run is processed, ready to download or email to employees. Sage 50 Payroll, common among UK small businesses, produces P60s the same way from its year-end payroll routine.
Related terms
How LedgerBPO handles p60
We reconcile your UK payroll data through the year so P60 preparation at year end is a straightforward review, and we get slips ready for employees well before the 31 May deadline. This keeps year-end payroll administration off your plate during an already busy time.