P46

The P46 was a form that employers would give new starters to make sure they pay the correct amount of Income Tax when they first start a new job.

The form asked you to give information about your financial situation, i.e if you’re expected to repay any student loans or if you claim certain benefits. 

Your new employer passed this information to HMRC so they could put you on the correct tax code. That was all before HMRC discontinued the P46 form.

So, what’s the difference between a P45 and P46?

A P46 made sure you paid the correct amount of Income Tax. And well, a P45 makes sure you pay the correct amount of Income Tax, too. 

Wait, what? 😵‍💫

Let us explain…

Employers are only allowed to give out one P45 per fallen employee (yes, HMRC said so). So if you lose it, you can’t request a new one. Instead, your current employer would’ve just given you a P46 form to fill out.

Essentially, the P46 was just a backup (peep the alphabetical order) in case for whatever reason you couldn’t give your current employer a P45.

Why is the P46 no longer in use?

The P46 was scrapped way back in 2013. HMRC instead decided to create a form that all new starters could use, not just the ones who are P45-less. 😅

This is where the ✨new starter checklist✨ comes in!

This checklist asks new employees to provide information such as their National Insurance Number (NINo), details of any student loans, and any other information your employer will need to work out how much tax to deduct from your first pay.

What if I don’t have a P45 or P46?

If you don’t give your new employer a P45 and they don’t ask you to fill out a new starter checklist (remember, the P46 was scrapped), you’ll be put on an emergency tax code which means you’ll more than likely be taxed incorrectly.

On the bright side, you can get a refund if you’ve paid too much tax.