Reconcile Your Payslips Against Your P60: UK 2026/27 Guide

A P60 is your annual pay-and-tax summary from your employer, issued by 31 May following the tax year end. Most employees file it and forget it. Doing 30 minutes of reconciliation against your monthly payslips catches errors that quietly cost hundreds of pounds - and gives you the audit trail you'll need for a mortgage, visa application, or tax-refund claim.

What a P60 contains

A standard UK P60 shows:

• Total pay this employment - sum of gross pay across the tax year.
• Total tax paid this employment - PAYE income tax deducted.
• Total National Insurance - employee Class 1 contributions.
• Pay and tax from previous employments - if you changed jobs in the year (carried forward from your P45).
• Statutory payments - SSP, SMP, SPP, ShPP, SAP if applicable.
• Student loan deductions - by plan (Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4, Plan 5, PG).
• Tax code at year end - the code applied in the final pay period.
• NI letter - your category for the final period.
• Employer details - PAYE reference, employer name and address.

The 30-minute reconciliation

You'll need:

• Your P60 (one per employer for the tax year).
• All 12 monthly payslips (or 52 weekly, or 4 quarterly).
• A calculator (or spreadsheet).

Step 1 - Total your gross pay

Add the gross pay from all 12 monthly payslips. Compare to Total pay this employment on the P60.

Should match exactly. If not:

• Check whether the P60 includes statutory pay you also see itemised separately (some employers double-count).
• Check for pay periods missing entirely (e.g. unpaid leave or industrial action - those payslips may show £0 gross or no payslip at all).

Step 2 - Total your tax

Add the PAYE tax (or income tax) deducted across all 12 payslips. Compare to Total tax paid this employment.

Should match exactly. If not:

• A negative tax line in any month (a refund through payroll) needs subtracting from the total.
• Some employers apply a year-end true-up in March - your March payslip may include a one-off correction. The P60 should still match the year's net.

Step 3 - Total your NI

Add the National Insurance deducted across all payslips. Compare to Total National Insurance on the P60.

Should match exactly.

Step 4 - Total your pension

If you contribute to a workplace pension via salary sacrifice, the pension contribution is already removed before tax + NI are calculated. Your gross-pay totals should reflect the post-sacrifice gross.

If you contribute via "net pay" arrangements, the pension is deducted after tax. Your gross pay still includes the pre-pension amount.

If via "relief at source" (less common in workplace schemes), tax relief is added by the pension provider afterward - the payslip shows the pre-relief contribution.

Check that your annual pension contribution equals your scheme rate × annual gross.

Step 5 - Check your tax code at year end

The P60 shows the tax code applied in your final pay period. Verify it matches the code on your March payslip. If they differ, your March pay may have included a year-end correction - look for it.

Common reconciliation issues

Pay total doesn't match - short by £X

Likely causes:

1. Statutory pay double-counted - some employers list SSP/SMP/SPP separately on the payslip but include it in "Total pay" on the P60.
2. Bonus paid in next tax year - if your bonus was paid 6 April or later, it's in next year's P60.
3. Salary sacrifice missed in totals - if you went onto a sacrifice scheme mid-year, the gross figure shifts. Check both the pre- and post-sacrifice rates.

Tax total doesn't match

Most common cause: employer payroll error carrying forward incorrect cumulative tax. Catch via your Personal Tax Account.

If your March payslip shows a one-off true-up that doesn't appear on the P60, that's a P11D issue (year-end true-ups for benefits in kind don't always reconcile cleanly).

NI total doesn't match

The most subtle of the three. NI is calculated per pay period, not cumulatively, so the total of period-by-period NI should equal the P60 figure exactly. If they differ:

• Check your NI category letter is the same across all periods. A mid-year change (e.g. you became a state pensioner - letter switches to C) explains the difference.
• Check whether any periods had NI deferment applied (rare, applies to people with multiple jobs above the UEL).

Tax code on P60 differs from final payslip

This usually means HMRC issued a year-end coding adjustment that took effect on your final pay period. Either:

• Your March payslip has the new code (expected behaviour).
• Or the change happened after March and the P60 reflects the new code your April payslip will start using.

What a clean P60 looks like

A correctly reconciled P60 has:

• Gross pay = sum of 12 monthly gross pays (within ~£1 rounding).
• Tax paid = sum of 12 monthly tax deductions.
• NI = sum of 12 monthly NI.
• Tax code on P60 = tax code on March payslip OR matches the code your April payslip starts using.
• No "Pay and tax from previous employments" if you stayed at the same employer all year.

What an unclean P60 needs

If reconciliation surfaces material differences:

1. Photocopy your evidence (P60 + all 12 payslips + your reconciliation worksheet).
2. Email payroll with: "I've reconciled my 2025/26 P60 against my monthly payslips and find a discrepancy of £X in [Pay/Tax/NI]. Please confirm the figures."
3. Allow payroll 14 days to respond.
4. If unresolved, escalate to HR with the same email thread.
5. For tax-side issues unresolvable internally, contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300 with your NI number and the employer's PAYE reference.

Why this matters

Reconciling matters because:

• Mortgage applications - lenders compare your payslips to your P60. Discrepancies cause delays or refusals.
• Visa applications - UKVI cross-checks declared earnings against the HMRC record. If your P60 says £X but you declared £Y, the visa is at risk.
• Tax-refund claims - claiming overpayment via PTA requires accurate annual figures.
• Pension reconciliation - your pension provider's annual statement must match the contributions on your P60.
• State Pension qualifying year - verifying your NI total exceeded the LEL ensures the year counts toward your 35-year State Pension qualifying record.

When the P60 disappears

Your employer is legally required to issue a P60 by 31 May following the tax year end. If you haven't received it by mid-June:

1. Email payroll asking when to expect it.
2. Most modern employers make it available digitally via a payroll portal - log in and check.
3. If still missing by 30 June, you can request a duplicate from your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account - HMRC has the same data your employer has via RTI.

Disclaimer

PayslipIQ provides automated educational guidance based on the figures you supply. It is not regulated tax or accounting advice. P60 reconciliation depends on accurate payslip records - keep all 12 monthly payslips for at least 6 years. For substantial discrepancies that payroll cannot resolve, contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300 or use an ACA/ACCA-qualified accountant.