P60 Request Letter (England & Wales)
What Is a P60 Request Letter (England & Wales)?
A P60 Request Letter in the United Kingdom records an employment request, entitlement, or HR particular and the information the parties need to action it, with its requirements set by the Employment Rights Act 1996.
The employer's duty to issue a P60 is established by regulation 67 of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2682), which were made under section 684 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003). Regulation 67 is unambiguous: every employer must issue a P60 to each employee who remains on the payroll on 5 April — the final day of the tax year — no later than 31 May following the end of that tax year. The obligation is statutory and cannot be contracted out of or waived by agreement between employer and employee. Employees who leave employment before 5 April receive a P45 under regulation 36 of the PAYE Regulations instead, recording their income and tax for the portion of the year they were employed.
The United Kingdom P60 Request Letter (England & Wales) P60 Request Letter template generates a clear, professionally drafted letter that asserts the employee's entitlement under regulation 67, identifies the specific tax year for which the certificate is required, states the purpose for which the document is needed, specifies the preferred format (paper or electronic, the latter authorised by regulation 67(3)), and — where necessary — includes a firm but courteous reminder of the statutory consequences of non-provision, including the employer's potential exposure to HMRC compliance action and penalties under the Taxes Management Act 1970. The letter also references the employee's rights under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR should the employer fail to engage. It is suitable for current and former employees requesting P60s from current or past employers and can be adapted for urgent requests tied to specific deadlines such as mortgage completions.
The legal framework governing the P60 Request Letter (England & Wales) in United Kingdom draws on several key statutes and regulatory bodies. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Employment Tribunal adjudicates workplace disputes. Section 94 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provides the right not to be unfairly dismissed. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) provides early conciliation under Section 18A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996. The UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 govern personal data handling. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) administers PAYE and National Insurance contributions under the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. Parties executing a P60 Request Letter (England & Wales) in United Kingdom should confirm the document reflects current law, including any amendments enacted since the original drafting date. The Employment Rights Act 1996 sets the foundational requirements.
When Do You Need a P60 Request Letter (England & Wales)?
A P60 Request Letter is needed whenever an employee requires their P60 End-of-Year Certificate and the employer has not yet provided it, has failed to meet the 31 May deadline, or the employee has lost the original and requires a duplicate. There are numerous practical situations in which having a P60 promptly and in the correct format is critical.
The most common situation requiring a formal P60 request letter is when the employer has missed the statutory 31 May deadline set by regulation 67 of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003. While many employers issue P60s automatically through payroll software, smaller employers without sophisticated HR systems sometimes fail to distribute P60s on time, leaving employees without documentation they urgently need. A formal written request creates a clear audit trail and demonstrates that the employee has put the employer on notice of the breach.
The second major situation arises when an employee needs a P60 from a previous tax year — whether for a mortgage application requiring two or three years of income evidence under the Mortgage Credit Directive Order 2016, for a retrospective Self Assessment tax return under sections 8 and 9 of the Taxes Management Act 1970, for an amended benefits claim with the Department for Work and Pensions, or for a visa application to UK Visas and Immigration. Previous-year P60s may not be automatically reissued, and a formal written request is often necessary to prompt the payroll department to reprint the relevant document.
Employees who have changed jobs and need a P60 from a previous employer are particularly likely to need this letter. Former employees retain the same entitlement to their P60 under regulation 67 as current employees, provided they were on the payroll on the relevant 5 April, but former employers may be less responsive to informal requests. A formal letter citing the relevant legislation is more likely to produce a timely response.
The letter is also valuable where an employee has lost or destroyed their original P60 — for example, following a house move, a hard drive failure, or a fire — and needs a duplicate for a time-sensitive purpose such as a mortgage application with a lender's deadline, a visa submission with a Home Office cut-off date, or a court application requiring proof of income. In all these circumstances, a clear, legally-grounded letter is the most effective way to secure a prompt response from the employer's HR or payroll function.
What to Include in Your P60 Request Letter (England & Wales)
A well-drafted P60 Request Letter contains a number of essential elements that distinguish it from an informal request and confirm it carries the weight needed to prompt a timely response from an employer's HR or payroll department.
The first element is accurate identification of the employee. The letter must include the employee's full legal name, home address, National Insurance number, and payroll or employee reference number. The National Insurance number is particularly important because it is the unique identifier used in HMRC's RTI system and in the employer's payroll records. Providing the payroll number alongside the NI number eliminates any ambiguity about which employee's records are being sought, especially in large organisations with multiple employees of similar names.
The second element is precise identification of the tax year. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April, and P60s are year-specific documents. The letter must specify the exact tax year required — for example, '2024/25 (6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025)' — to enable the payroll team to locate the correct records immediately.
The third element is the statutory basis for the request. Citing regulation 67 of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003 and section 684 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003) establishes that this is a legal entitlement, not merely an informal request. This is particularly important when addressing a reluctant or unresponsive employer.
The fourth element is a clear statement of what information the P60 must contain. Regulation 67 specifies the required content: gross pay, income tax deducted, National Insurance contributions by category, student loan deductions, statutory payments, the employer's PAYE reference, and the employee's tax code. A well-informed request that references these requirements demonstrates to the employer that the employee knows what they are entitled to receive.
The fifth element is format preference. Regulation 67(3) of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003 expressly permits electronic delivery of P60s. Specifying whether a paper original posted to the employee's home address or an electronic PDF emailed to a specified address is preferred, and confirming consent to electronic delivery where applicable, helps the employer issue the document in the most efficient manner available to them.
The sixth element, where relevant, is a clear statement of urgency. Where the P60 is required to meet an external deadline — a lender's mortgage offer expiry, a Home Office visa deadline, or an HMRC filing deadline — stating the required date and the reason for urgency clearly in the letter gives the employer a fixed target to work towards and makes it harder for them to treat the request as low priority.
The seventh element is the consequences of non-provision. A professional but firm reminder that failure to provide the P60 may result in a formal complaint to HMRC, potential penalties under the Taxes Management Act 1970, and the exercise of Subject Access Request rights under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR significantly increases the likelihood of a prompt response. This section should be written in measured, professional language — not as a threat but as a matter-of-fact statement of the employee's legal rights and the employer's legal obligations. The forms-legal.com P60 Request Letter (England & Wales) template covers the mandatory elements under Employment Rights Act 1996.
Frequently Asked Questions
A P60 is an official HMRC End-of-Year Certificate that summarises an employee's total pay and deductions for a complete UK tax year (6 April to 5 April). It records gross pay, income tax deducted under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, National Insurance contributions (broken down by NI category letter), any student loan deductions, and statutory payments such as Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity Pay. The employer's legal obligation to issue a P60 is found in regulation 67 of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2682), made under section 684 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003). Regulation 67 requires every employer to provide a P60 to each employee who is on the payroll on 5 April — the last day of the tax year — by no later than 31 May following the end of that tax year. The obligation is absolute: it applies regardless of how long the employee has been employed and whether or not the employee requests it. Employees who leave employment before 5 April receive a P45 instead (which covers the period of employment in that tax year) and are not entitled to a P60. HMRC specifies the form and content requirements for P60s, and employers may use approved HMRC stationery or software-produced equivalents provided they contain all required information. Employers who fail to issue P60s risk HMRC compliance action and penalties under the Taxes Management Act 1970.
A P60 serves as official proof of income and tax paid for a complete UK tax year, and it is required or accepted in a wide range of personal financial and administrative contexts. The most common uses are: (1) Completing a Self Assessment tax return — under sections 8 and 9 of the Taxes Management Act 1970, individuals who file a Self Assessment return must declare their employment income and tax deducted at source. The P60 provides the figures needed for this declaration and supports any claim for tax repayment if too much tax was deducted. (2) Mortgage and remortgage applications — lenders regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Mortgage Credit Directive Order 2016 require documentary proof of income from employed applicants. Most high-street lenders require two or three years of P60s alongside recent payslips. (3) Benefits and tax credits claims — the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC may require P60s as proof of income when assessing entitlement to Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit, or Child Tax Credit. (4) Rental applications — many letting agents and private landlords request P60s as income verification alongside payslips. (5) Visa and immigration applications — UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) routinely requires P60s as financial evidence in Skilled Worker visa, Spouse visa, and Indefinite Leave to Remain applications.
An employer's claim that it cannot provide a P60 for a previous tax year is often incorrect, but the position depends on the circumstances. Under regulation 67 of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003, the duty to provide a P60 relates to each complete tax year in which you were employed. Once the deadline of 31 May has passed, there is no express statutory duty to reissue a P60 — however, HMRC guidance confirms that employers should be able to provide a duplicate or reprint on request, as their payroll software retains the necessary records. If your employer genuinely cannot locate the records for a particular year, you have two alternative routes. First, you can contact HMRC directly via the online Personal Tax Account at www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account or by calling the income tax helpline on 0300 200 3300. HMRC holds records of PAYE submissions made by your employer under Real Time Information (RTI) reporting, which employers have been required to submit electronically since 2013 under regulation 67A of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003. HMRC can provide a statement of your employment income and tax deductions for any year for which RTI data exists. Second, if your employer is refusing to engage with reasonable requests, this may constitute a breach of the statutory duty under regulation 67 and you can report it to HMRC Employer Compliance using the online reporting tool.
Yes. Regulation 67(3) of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003 expressly permits an employer to provide a P60 in electronic form, provided the employee consents to receiving it electronically. An electronic P60 (typically a PDF) is legally equivalent to a paper original and is accepted by HMRC, mortgage lenders, the DWP, and most other institutions that require income verification. The vast majority of payroll software packages — including those used by large employers such as Sage, Xero, Moorepay, and ADP — generate P60s in electronic format and can email them directly to the employee's work or personal email address. There is no requirement for a physical signature or stamp on either a paper or electronic P60; the employer's name, address, and PAYE reference number on the face of the document is sufficient authentication. If an organisation is insisting on a physical paper copy when an electronic one has been provided, you may wish to obtain a printout of the PDF, which carries the same legal weight as the original. Some mortgage lenders have historically requested original paper P60s, though this practice has largely been replaced by electronic verification. If a specific institution requires a paper version, you can ask your employer to post or courier one to you in addition to or instead of the electronic copy. The key practical point is that a legible, complete PDF P60 obtained from your employer's payroll system is a valid and widely accepted document for all standard purposes.
If the employer that should have issued your P60 has ceased trading, dissolved, or entered insolvency proceedings (administration, liquidation, or receivership under the Insolvency Act 1986), the position is more complex but your income and tax information remains recoverable. The most direct route is through your HMRC Personal Tax Account (www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account), which provides access to your employment history and PAYE records for all years from 2013 onwards, when Real Time Information (RTI) reporting became mandatory under regulation 67A of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003. You can download a formal employment income record from your Personal Tax Account, which states your gross pay, tax deducted, and National Insurance contributions as reported by the employer to HMRC. This HMRC-generated document is generally accepted in place of a P60 by most organisations, including mortgage lenders and the DWP. If the employer went into formal insolvency, the appointed administrator or liquidator has a duty to deal with outstanding payroll obligations under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and HMRC may have received final RTI submissions before the company ceased. HMRC's employer helpline (0300 200 3200) can advise on the specific position. For tax years before 2013, when RTI was not yet in force, HMRC may hold records based on end-of-year returns submitted by the employer. If no records are available, HMRC can issue a Statement of Employment History setting out its best available information.
Under section 12B of the Taxes Management Act 1970, employed individuals who do not file a Self Assessment tax return are legally required to keep records relevant to their tax position for a minimum of one year after the 31 January filing deadline following the end of the relevant tax year — in practice, this means keeping P60s for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year to which they relate. However, HMRC strongly recommends retaining P60s for a minimum of four complete tax years, and individuals who are self-employed or who file Self Assessment returns must keep records for five years after the 31 January deadline under the same section of the Taxes Management Act 1970. The practical advice for most people is to retain P60s indefinitely, as the storage cost is negligible (particularly for electronic copies) and they may be needed for pension tracing, lifetime mortgage applications, or retrospective benefit claims many years later. If you lose a P60, your primary recourse is to contact the employer who issued it and ask for a duplicate or reprint — the P60 request letter generated by this tool is designed for exactly that purpose. Most modern payroll systems retain historical records for several years. If the employer is unable to assist, HMRC's Personal Tax Account (www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account) provides access to your employment income and tax deduction records for tax years from 2013/14 onwards, in a format accepted by most institutions.
This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Consult a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation.Full disclaimer
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