A P60 Request Letter is a formal written communication from an employee to their employer demanding the issue of a P60 End-of-Year Certificate for a specified UK tax year. The P60 is an official HMRC document that records an employee's total gross pay, income tax deducted under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, National Insurance contributions, student loan deductions, and any statutory payments received during a complete tax year running from 6 April to 5 April. It is one of the most important personal tax documents in the United Kingdom and is relied upon for income verification, tax return completion, mortgage applications, benefits claims, and immigration purposes.

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.

This 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.

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.

A well-drafted P60 Request Letter contains a number of essential elements that distinguish it from an informal request and ensure 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.