Do I need a P45 or P60 for a new starter?

No, you do not need a P60 to start a new job. The form your new employer actually needs is your P45 from your previous employer, because it shows your pay and tax so far this tax year and your current tax code. A P60 is only a year-end summary, so it will not give the right figures to set you up on payroll. If you do not have a P45, that is fine too, your employer just asks you to complete an HMRC starter checklist instead.

The two forms are easy to mix up, so here is the plain-English version.

• P45 is the form you get when you leave a job. It shows your leaving date, your total pay and tax from 6 April up to the day you left, your tax code, and your National Insurance number. It comes in parts: your old employer keeps part 1, you keep part 1A for your records, and parts 2 and 3 go to your new employer.
• P60 is the form you get at the end of each tax year (by 31 May) if you are still employed on 5 April. It is an end-of-year certificate summarising your total pay and tax for the whole year. It is proof of income for things like mortgage applications or tax refunds, but it does not travel with you to a new job.

The simplest way to remember it: P45 = leaving, P60 = year-end. When you start a new job mid-year, only the P45 carries the live pay-and-tax figures your new employer needs.

When you take on a new employee, the P45 tells you:

• The person’s full name
• The date they left their last job
• Their total pay and tax to date for the current tax year
• Their student loan deduction status
• Their National Insurance number
• Their existing tax code

Key those details into your payroll software and your new employee lands on the right tax code, paying the right income tax and National Insurance from day one. Getting this right at setup is exactly the kind of detail our outsourced finance department handles so nothing slips through when you are hiring at pace.

Yes, if you have one, hand parts 2 and 3 to your new employer as early as you can. It is the quickest way to get onto the correct tax code and avoid overpaying tax. Your new employer does not need your P60, and they do not need part 1A, that is yours to keep.

Your previous employer is legally required to give you a P45 when you leave. If they are slow or refuse, chase them in writing first. But you do not have to wait around, because a missing P45 does not stop you starting or being paid.

Instead, complete HMRC’s starter checklist (this replaced the old P46 form). You also use the starter checklist if you left your last job before the current tax year began. On it you pick a starter declaration, statement A, B or C, which tells your employer which tax code to apply:

• Statement A (this is your only or first job since 6 April): you get the standard tax code, currently 1257L.
• Statement B (you have had another job or taxable benefit this tax year): code 1257L on a week 1/month 1 basis.
• Statement C (you have another job or a pension): code BR, taxed at basic rate on this income.

Once your real P45 or an updated code arrives from HMRC, any over- or underpaid tax is corrected automatically.

Yes. You can be paid before the P45 turns up. Your employer sets you up using the starter checklist, and if no code is available yet they will use the emergency tax code, 1257L for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. Any adjustments are made once the correct code comes through.

Setting up new starters correctly, from tax codes to payroll, is one less thing to worry about when your finance function is handled for you. Give FD Works a call on 01454 300 999 or email [email protected] and we will make sure your payroll runs right.