Guide
Two jobs or a job change: which P60 and P45 figures should you use?
Several forms do not necessarily mean several separate amounts of income. Build an employment-by-employment record first, then identify figures that have already been carried forward.
Quick answer
Keep the pay and tax for each employment separate. A later P60 may already include an earlier P45 in its previous-employment and year-total boxes, so do not add every printed total together.
On this page
Two jobs at once and a job change create different records
If you still work for two employers on 5 April, you would normally receive a P60 from each. If you left the first employer earlier in the year, its leaving record is normally a P45; the later employer’s P60 may include figures supplied from it.
Put the tax year, employer and employment dates on a private working list. Treat a corrected P60 as a replacement for the earlier version, not another job. If two documents are actually from the same employment, establish which is the final corrected record before totalling anything.
The final-payslip guide explains leaving payments and P45 checks. A payment after a P45 can have a separate statement and needs to be tracked rather than disappearing because there is no second P45.
A worked job-change example: £12,000 then £18,000
Suppose Job A’s employment-specific P45 shows £12,000 pay and £600 tax. Job B’s P60 shows £12,000/£600 in previous employment and £18,000/£2,886 in this employment. Its year-total boxes are £30,000/£3,486.
| Employment | Own pay | Own tax | Carried into Job B? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job A | £12,000 | £600 | Yes, in previous-employment boxes |
| Job B | £18,000 | £2,886 | Not applicable |
| Total distinct records | £30,000 | £3,486 | Count each job once |
Adding Job A’s £12,000 to Job B’s £30,000 combined year total would create £42,000. That is duplicate record counting, not additional pay. These tax figures illustrate reconciliation only; they do not establish the tax that was legally due.
Two jobs still active at year end
For simultaneous jobs, organise the employment-specific values from each P60. If one records £18,000 for that job and the other £12,000 for its job, the distinct pay is £30,000, subject to any other employment records or corrections.
Check earlier-employer sections as well, because a job change and concurrent work can happen in the same year. Do not assume that every previous-pay box is an extra employment that has not already appeared elsewhere.
The two final tax codes show separate payroll instructions. They do not give you two independent Personal Allowances. Use the two-jobs calculator for a supported planning comparison, while keeping the actual annual records for a full tax check.
Use the tax-return fields for the selected year
A P60 identifies employment-specific fields for a return; a P45 also has a field for pay in that employment. Follow HMRC’s employment notes for the tax year being filed rather than entering a combined total as the pay for every employer.
Keep loan deductions, benefits and pension relief in their appropriate places. They are not all deductions from the employment-pay box. A self-employed side business is a different income type: its profit does not become a second PAYE employment merely because you also have a salary.
If you have a job and a trade, follow the employed-and-self-employed guide and retain both the employment records and business-income/expense evidence. Foreign or pension-provider records may need their own notes and treatment.
Handle refunds, corrected certificates and missing information
Preserve the sign of a tax refund. A £120 refund reduces net recorded tax, rather than adding £120 to deductions. Where a later record corrects earlier tax, ask which record has been replaced and which annual total should be retained.
If you cannot identify a carry-forward, leave that part unresolved and ask payroll which starter information it used. A blank or unavailable P45 value is not automatically zero. HMRC’s account/app can help you obtain pay and tax information, but it does not resolve every employer-record mismatch.
A useful question is: “This later certificate includes previous pay of £12,000. Please confirm which employment supplied it and whether any correction or post-leaving payment changes the employment-specific totals.” Avoid sending actual documents through public comments or an unsecured form.
What to do next
- Match tax year, employer and employment dates for every form.
- Separate a job’s own figures from earlier-employment carry-forwards.
- Use the latest corrected record and keep the correction explanation.
- Create a one-row-per-employment ledger using the appropriate employment-specific figures.
- Ask payroll where a carry-forward came from if the records do not reconcile.
- Use HMRC’s selected-year employment notes before entering tax-return boxes.
Try the tool
Count each employment once.
Reconcile the records and their carry-forwards before comparing the total with tax paid.
About this guide
Written by Dan. Dan has spent 20 years working across payroll, HR, benefits and reward. IsMyPayRight is an independent personal project, not connected with any employer or with HMRC.
AI tools help with research and drafting. The official sources used are listed at the end of the guide.
This is general guidance, not a professional review of your circumstances. Read our editorial process and the corrections log.
Methodology and sources
See how the calculations work, which sources they use, how results are tested, and which payroll details the estimates cannot verify.
Common questions
- Do I add a P45 to the total on my new employer’s P60?
- First check whether the earlier employment is already included in the P60’s previous-pay and year-total boxes. Count each employment-specific amount once; do not add a carried-forward value again.
- Will I get a P60 for a job I left before 5 April?
- Normally the leaving record is a P45. A P60 is normally supplied by an employer you still work for on 5 April. Track any later payment separately and request its statement.
Official sources
Use these references to check the rules behind this guide. Check the tax year and your circumstances before applying an example to your own pay.