The P60 Form Explained: Your End of Year Tax Summary

Check your personal details first. Look at your full name, your National Insurance number, and your payroll or works number. These need to match the records HMRC holds for you. A wrong NI number is the single most common cause of tax records being mismatched, so flag any error to your employer's payroll team straight away so they can correct it before the figures are filed. 2. **Review the pay figures for the tax year.** Your P60 will show your total pay for the year from that employer, and sometimes a separate figure for any previous employment in the same tax year (brought forward from your P45). Compare these to your March payslip or your own records. If the totals look wildly different from what you expected, something has gone wrong and needs investigating. 3. **Check the tax deducted and your tax code.** The form lists the total income tax taken under PAYE for the year and the tax code that was applied. If your tax code changed during the year, the final code shown should be the one in force on 5 April. An unusual code, such as one ending in X, M1 or W1, can mean you were on an emergency basis and may have overpaid or underpaid tax. 4. **Look at the National Insurance breakdown.** NICs are usually shown split by category letter, with the earnings at each threshold and the contributions deducted. You don't need to memorise the thresholds, but you should sanity-check that there are figures here if you earned above the primary threshold. Gaps in your NI record can affect your State Pension entitlement later in life. 5. **File it somewhere safe and keep it for several years.** HMRC generally recommends keeping tax records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year they relate to, and longer if you're self-employed or a company director. I'd suggest keeping P60s for at least six years. You'll want them to hand for mortgage applications, visa applications, benefit claims, and any tax enquiry that comes your way.