UK: No P45 and too much tax in my new job — how do I fix it?

Scenario

Your former employer has not sent your P45 and your first payslip at a new job shows unexpected tax. You need to fix the next payroll and recover any overpayment while you keep requesting the P45.

What the law says

You can work and be paid without the P45: HMRC’s starter checklist lets the new employer collect the PAYE information it needs. The former employer must provide the P45 when you leave; a lost or already-issued P45 cannot simply be replaced. Incomplete employment information can lead to temporary deductions. Codes ending W1, M1 or X can indicate emergency treatment; 0T has a different meaning and is not automatically an emergency code. HMRC and payroll must check your actual code and records.

What you can claim

Ask for the missing P45 or correction of inaccurate details, a corrected tax code and repayment of PAYE paid above your correct tax liability. The overpayment is the tax actually paid minus the tax properly due for the relevant period, after accounting for other income and allowances. A corrected cumulative code may refund tax through payroll; other refunds go through HMRC’s process. There is no fixed payment just because the P45 was delayed.

What the employee can do

1. Ask the former employer in writing for the P45, leaving date and year-to-date pay and tax. Give the new payroll team an accurately completed starter checklist promptly; disclose other jobs or taxable benefits correctly.

2. Use your HMRC personal tax account or Income Tax service to check current jobs, leaving dates and tax code. Send HMRC and payroll the old and new payslips and incorrect details, and request a code correction and the appropriate refund route.

3. Act before the next payroll where possible. A formal overpayment-relief claim generally must reach HMRC within four years after the end of the relevant tax year; use the route HMRC identifies, since Self Assessment amendments have different deadlines. The tax route and any separate unpaid-wage claim have different time limits.

Common misconception, corrected

A missing P45 does not stop you starting work or being paid. Completing the checklist does not guarantee that every tax-code error or refund is resolved immediately.

Matching guides

Read Follow the missing-P45 guide.

Read Check the new payslip.