When should I receive my P45?

A P45 is a form that your employer is legally required to give you when your employment ends, under the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003. It details your tax code, total earnings in the current tax year up to the date of leaving, and how much income tax has been deducted. Your employer should ideally provide the P45 on your last day of work, but in practice it is sometimes posted to your home address shortly afterwards. Since the introduction of Real Time Information (RTI) reporting, employers submit leave information to HMRC electronically, and the P45 is now provided electronically or in paper form directly to the employee. You should present your P45 to your new employer when you start a new job so they can set your tax code correctly and avoid you being placed on an emergency tax code. If you do not receive a P45, you should contact your former employer. If they refuse or fail to provide it, you can contact HMRC, who can advise on your tax position and recover records using their systems. It is important to keep your P45 safe. If you become unemployed, you may need to provide your P45 when claiming certain benefits or registering as self-employed. You cannot receive a second copy of a lost P45 — instead, your new employer will ask you to complete a starter checklist (which replaced the old P46 process) so that the correct tax code can be applied. Your personal tax history is also accessible via your personal tax account at GOV.UK.