What is a P45?

Your employer should provide your P45 when your employment with them ends. This could be because you've:

• changed jobs
• switched umbrella companies
• left work to become self-employed
• retired
• been made redundant.

Most employers now issue P45s electronically, although some may still provide a paper copy.

Your P45 contains important information, including:

• Your name and National Insurance (NI) number
• Your tax code
• Your previous employer’s PAYE reference
• Your previous employer's details
• Your total pay for the current tax year
• The total tax you've paid during the current tax year
• The date your employment ended

Your new employer uses this information to report your earnings correctly to HMRC and apply the appropriate tax code.

Your P45 helps your new employer understand how much tax you've already paid during the current tax year.

Providing your P45 when you start a new role means you're more likely to:

• pay the correct amount of tax from your first payslip
• avoid an emergency tax code
• reduce the likelihood of overpaying or underpaying tax
• make the transition between employers much smoother.

If you join an umbrella company, sharing your P45 during onboarding can help ensure your payroll is set up correctly from the start.

Don't worry if you don't have your P45. You can still start a new job.

Instead, your employer will ask you to provide the information covered by HMRCs Starter Checklist. This helps your employer work out which tax code to use until HMRC provides any updated instructions.

You might not have a P45 if:

• It's your first job
• You've lost your P45
• Your previous employer hasn't issued it yet
• You were previously self-employed

If your previous employer hasn't provided your P45 after you've left, you should contact them to request it.

If you lose your P45, your previous employer generally won’t issue a replacement P45. However, you may be able to get the information you need from other records.

However, if you need details from your P45, you can:

• Ask your previous employer for a statement showing your pay and tax information
• Check your Personal Tax Account with HMRC
• Refer to your final payslip, which often contains similar information

No. While having your P45 is helpful, it isn't essential.

If you're joining Focused Umbrella and don't yet have your P45, we’ll guide you through the relevant Starter Checklist information as part of our quick and straightforward onboarding process. If HMRC subsequently updates your tax code, any necessary adjustment may be made automatically through PAYE.

This means you can start your assignment without unnecessary delays.

Although they contain similar information, a P45 and a P60 are issued for different reasons.

P45:

• Issued when you leave an employer
• Shows pay and tax up to your leaving date
• Given by your employer when employment ends

P60:

• Issued at the end of the tax year
• Shows your total pay and tax for the entire tax year
• Given to employees after year end if you’re still employed by that employer

Yes. Your new employer will ask you to complete a Starter Checklist so they can pay you and deduct tax correctly.

Most employers issue your P45 shortly after your employment ends, often with your final payslip.

It shows how much you've earned from that employer during the current tax year up to the date you left, rather than your annual salary.

HMRC may update your tax code after receiving your employment information. If you think your tax code is wrong, you can check it with HMRC. Depending on your circumstances, an overpayment or underpayment may be adjusted through PAYE.