P60 Document — How to Get Yours, Replace a Lost Copy or Order Online

Your P60 is one of the most important documents you’ll receive as an employee. This guide covers everything you need to know — how and when your employer issues it, what to do if you never received it or lost it, what HMRC can provide, and how to get a replacement P60 document online quickly.

What is a P60 document?

A P60 is your end-of-year tax certificate. It is issued by your employer after the tax year ends on 5 April and shows:

• Your total gross pay for the tax year
• Income tax deducted via PAYE
• National Insurance contributions
• Student loan repayments (if applicable)
• Statutory pay received (maternity, paternity, sick pay)
• Your tax code at 5 April
• Your employer’s PAYE reference number

Employers must issue P60s by 31 May following the end of the tax year. You should keep your P60 for at least four years — HMRC recommend six — as it may be needed for tax returns, mortgage applications, rental references, visa applications, and benefit claims.

See also: Your P60 Explained — Complete Field-by-Field Guide

Who gets a P60?

You receive a P60 from every employer you work for on 5 April (payroll year end). If you have two or more jobs, you will receive a separate P60 from each employer.

If you switched jobs during the tax year, your P60 comes from your current employer. Pay and tax from your previous employment will appear in the ‘Previous Employment’ section, taken from your P45.

You do not receive a P60 if you are self-employed. If you are both employed and self-employed, you’ll receive a P60 for your PAYE employment only — your self-employed income is covered by your SA302 from HMRC.

What does a P60 look like?

Over the years P60 designs have evolved from handwritten and dot-matrix formats to laser-printed and now digital documents. The most widely recognised format is the orange and blue A4 portrait layout, which is approved by HMRC. However, any format containing the required information is valid — including single-colour printouts and electronic P60s.

See also: P60 Document Styles

How to get your P60 from your employer

Your employer is legally required to issue your P60 by 31 May. If you have not received it by that date, contact your payroll or HR department and ask. They may have sent it by post and it went astray, or your email address may have changed. Either way, they are obliged to provide it.

For a recent tax year, producing another copy is usually straightforward. For older years it may be harder if the employer no longer has the original stationery — in which case, see the options below.

Can I get my P60 from HMRC?

HMRC will not issue a duplicate P60 — the P60 is always issued by your employer, not HMRC. However, HMRC hold your earnings and tax records and can provide a statement of earnings showing the same information. This is widely accepted as an alternative proof of income.

You can get your earnings information from HMRC three ways:

• Personal Tax Account — sign in at gov.uk to see your employment history and tax details online, free and instant
• HMRC app — available on iOS and Android, shows pay and tax figures by year
• Phone — call 0300 200 3300 (Mon–Fri) to request a statement of earnings

Once you have your earnings figures from HMRC, you can use them to create a printed replacement P60 document online.

How to get a replacement P60 online

If your employer can’t help and you need a physical P60 document — for a mortgage, rental application, or visa — OS Payroll provides professional replacement documents on genuine payroll stationery.

• Enter your pay details using our secure online form
• Receive a free sample PDF to check before you pay
• Download instantly or receive printed documents by post
• Covers the current tax year and previous years going back over 20 years

→ Create your replacement P60 at os-payroll.co.uk

What information do you need?

If you have your earnings data you can enter it directly. If you don’t have all the figures, our system can calculate income tax and National Insurance from your gross salary and tax code. For complete accuracy — particularly if you had sickness, maternity pay, or other adjustments during the year — we recommend getting your official figures from HMRC first.

The minimum information needed:

• Your name and home address
• Employer name and address
• Your National Insurance number
• Total pay for the year (gross or net)
• Tax code (if non-standard)

Will anyone know it’s a replacement?

No. The replacement P60 is printed on genuine HMRC-approved payroll stationery with your actual pay data. It does not say ‘replacement’, ‘copy’ or ‘duplicate’. It is indistinguishable from an employer-issued P60.

How much does a replacement P60 cost?

A P60 document from OS Payroll costs £17. A free sample is provided before you pay — you only pay once you’re happy with the document.

See also: How to Get a Copy P60

How to get a P60 for previous years

OS Payroll stocks genuine P60 stationery and pay tables going back over 20 years, so we can produce a P60 for any recent tax year. The process is the same — enter your pay information, get a free sample, and pay only when you’re happy.

For complete accuracy on older years, we recommend checking your figures with HMRC first via your Personal Tax Account or by phone.

See also: How to Get a P60 for the Last 5 Years

Check your P60 is correct

It’s worth checking the figures on your P60 against what you’d expect. Use the free OS Payroll P60 Calculator to see what your income tax, National Insurance, and student loan deductions should be based on your salary and tax code.

→ Try the free P60 Calculator

Frequently asked questions

Q: What’s the difference between a P60 and a P45?

A P60 is issued at the end of the tax year and covers your full year’s earnings from that employer. A P45 is issued when you leave a job and covers earnings up to your leaving date. You give your P45 to your new employer — you keep your P60.

Q: Can I receive my P60 electronically?

Yes. Many employers now issue digital P60s (eP60s), which are legally valid and widely accepted. If you receive an electronic P60, download and save it immediately.

Q: What should I do if there’s an error on my P60?

Contact your employer’s payroll department straight away. They are responsible for correcting errors and reissuing the document. If the error affects your tax position, contact HMRC too.

Q: How do I get my P60 if I’ve left that employer?

Former employers must keep PAYE records for at least three years and can usually supply a duplicate on request. If they no longer exist, contact HMRC for a statement of earnings, or use OS Payroll to create a replacement.

Q: Can HMRC send me a copy of my P60?

No — HMRC do not issue P60s. They can provide a statement of earnings via your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk, which shows the same figures and is widely accepted as proof of income.

Q: How do I get a P60 for the last 5 years?

Contact each employer directly, or use HMRC’s Personal Tax Account to retrieve historical earnings data. OS Payroll can then produce printed replacement documents for any of those years.

Q: Which P60 style is correct?

Any HMRC-approved format is valid as long as it contains all the required information. The orange and blue portrait format is the most common today, but older landscape blue forms and digital printouts are all accepted.

Q: Will I get a real P60 from OS Payroll?

Yes. We use genuine payroll stationery approved by HMRC. You also receive a PDF copy by email. The printed document matches the format your employer would use.

Q: What if I have more than one job?

You receive a separate P60 from each employer you worked for on 5 April. If you need replacement documents for multiple jobs in the same year, you’ll need to create one for each employer separately.

For general information only. Not financial or tax advice. For queries about your specific tax position, contact HMRC or a qualified tax adviser.