P45

Give the P45 when employment ends

A P45 records the employee's leaving date, tax code and pay and tax in that employment for the tax year so far. The employer reports the leaver through payroll and gives the employee their parts of the form.

An employee may use it for a new job or a benefits claim. A P60 covers the tax-year endpoint for someone still employed on 5 April; if they later leave, they will also receive a P45. The forms answer different points in the employment timeline. The GOV.UK P45 guide explains what the form contains and what the employee does with it.

Use the leaving figures payroll reported

Confirm the leaving date, final regular payment and tax-year totals before issuing the form. The P45 should agree with the payroll submission, not a separate leaver spreadsheet.

Store the issued copy with the employee's leaver record and make sure they can receive it after account access closes. If the pay or tax amounts are wrong, the GOV.UK P45 guidance says to correct the details and send the employee an amended P45. Correct the source and payroll records first, then retain the amended form and evidence of the correction so the leaver records agree.

Handle a later payment without issuing a second P45

Holiday pay, a bonus or another amount can become due after someone has left. The HMRC leaver guidance explains how to report a payment after leaving and which original leaver details to keep.

Record why the later amount arose, which pay period it belongs to and how payroll treated it. That keeps the P45, later payment and final employment record understandable without pretending they happened in one transaction.