The deadline for providing P60s for 2023/24 to your employees is 31 May 2024. Your payroll software will produce the P60s but who should you provide one to, and what are the consequences if you don’t?
P60 deadline
Even though you’ve completed your 2023/24 PAYE end-of-year routine you might have one task remaining. You must provide a P60 by 31 May 2024 to each employee who was working for you on 5 April 2024. Your payroll software can generate the form but before doing so make sure that you have the latest version installed.
End-of-year certificate P60
There are two parts to the PAYE end-of-year certificate, a P60 and a P14 , each part containing the same information. Each has a different purpose: the P14 is for HMRC (although you retain a copy of this for your payroll/PAYE records) and the P60 is for the employee. You must keep a copy of the P60/P14 for no less than three years from the end of the tax year to which it relates.
Are there exceptions?
You don’t need to send P60s to employees who:
- were always paid below the lower earnings threshold (£123 per week for 2023/24)
- didn’t receive any statutory parental pay; and
- didn’t pay any tax or student loan deductions.
However, you can choose to provide a P60 if you wish, as long as the employee was on your payroll on 5 April.
Tip. If an employee left your employment during 2023/24, you must not send them a P60 even if they ask for one.
Multiple employments
If an employee has had more than one period of employment with you in the same tax year, you should provide them with a P60 for the period that included 5 April 2024. Example. Sally left employment with Acom Ltd in May 2023 and was employed by it again in January 2024. Acom’s software generates two P14s , i.e. one for each employment, but it should only provide Sally with the P60 for the second period as it includes 5 April 2024.
Required format
P60s can be issued on paper or electronically. If choosing the digital route, you must ensure you protect your employees’ personal data, e.g. by using password encryption.
Errors
If there’s a mistake on the P14/P60 , you must correct your PAYE records (using a full payment summary) as soon as possible and send a replacement P60 to the employee.
Duplicate P60
In the bad old days if an employee requested a duplicate P60 you could only provide one if you clearly wrote or printed “duplicate” at the top of the form. These days no annotation is required. Simply create a fresh version of the P60 and send it to the employee.
Issuing P60s late
Failing to provide a P60 to an employee by 31 May can initially land you with an HMRC penalty of £300 per P60 , then £60 for every day the failure continues. That can quickly add up to a sizeable fine so don’t be late!
For 2023/24 you must provide a P60 by 31 May 2024 to all employees who were on the payroll on 5 April 2024. If you’re late HMRC can charge penalties for each P60, initially at £300 and then £60 per day until you provide the document. However, there are exemptions where you don’t need to provide a P60 for very low paid workers.
This article has been reproduced by kind permission of Indicator – FL Memo Ltd. For details of their tax-saving products please visit www.indicator-flm.co.uk or call 01233 653500.