P46 Form UK: What It Is & When You Need One

What this document is

The P46 was a short HMRC form used when a new starter could not give their employer a P45 from a previous job. It captured basic personal details along with the employee's current circumstances, which the employer then used to apply an appropriate tax code under PAYE.

In 2013, HMRC replaced the physical P46 with the Starter Checklist, which serves exactly the same function but is kept on file by the employer rather than submitted to HMRC directly. Many employers, payroll teams, and employees still use the term P46 interchangeably with the Starter Checklist.

The form matters because it determines whether your income is taxed correctly from your first payslip. Without it, or without a P45, your employer may be forced to apply an emergency tax code, which can mean overpaying tax until HMRC adjusts your records.

Situations where this form is relevant include starting your first job, returning to work after a gap, taking on a second role alongside existing employment, or moving from self-employment into PAYE work.

How to use this document

1. Gather your personal details. Before filling anything in, make sure you have your full legal name, date of birth, current address, and National Insurance number to hand. These identify you uniquely within HMRC's systems and link your tax records across employers, so even small errors can cause delays and incorrect tax coding later on.
2. Confirm your employment situation. You will be asked to choose a statement that best reflects your circumstances, for example whether this is your first job of the tax year, your only current job, or an additional role alongside another source of income. The statement you select directly shapes the tax code your employer applies, so take the time to read each option carefully.
3. Declare any student or postgraduate loans. If you are repaying a student loan or postgraduate loan through PAYE, you will need to indicate the plan type. Getting this right ensures the correct deductions start on time and prevents a backlog of repayments building up, which HMRC would otherwise recover in later pay periods.
4. Hand the completed form to your employer. The Starter Checklist is not sent to HMRC by you directly. Instead, your employer uses the information to set up your payroll record and submits the relevant data through their Real Time Information (RTI) return. Keep a copy for your own records in case any discrepancies come up later.
5. Check your first payslip carefully. Once you have been paid, review the tax code shown on your payslip. If it looks wrong, such as an emergency code like 1257L W1/M1 when you expected a cumulative code, contact your employer's payroll team or HMRC promptly so the position can be corrected before too much tax is deducted.