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Your P60, HMRC & us

How to find out the answers to your questions

What is a P60?

Your P60 is a summary of the income we've paid you during the previous tax year and the tax deducted. A P60 also shows the tax code we applied to your last payment made in the previous tax year.

HMRC issue your tax code, that tells us how much tax we should deduct. Take a look at our helpful explainer video, for details on what’s in your P60 and where to go if you have more questions.

P60 video

The basics

  • If your total taxable income is more than £12,570 you will have to pay tax.
  • As well as paying tax on your pension income, you’ll also pay tax on any other income.
  • There are exceptions. Some sources of income aren’t taxable. ISAs, for example.
  • Your State Pension counts towards your taxable income but the government pays it to you before tax is deducted and asks your employer or private pension provider to deduct any tax you owe on your State Pension.
  • If you think you’re paying too much tax, please contact HMRC and they can take a look at changing this for you.

How can HMRC help?

  • If you’re contacting HMRC you’ll need your National Insurance number. You may also need your PAYE reference which you can find on your P60.
  • You can call them on 0300 200 3300 or visit GOV.UK.
  • You can check the amount of tax you’re paying and your tax code at GOV.UK.
  • When you first receive your pension sometimes a tax code isn’t issued in time and an emergency tax code is used. This means you're likely to pay more tax than you should. It’s usually corrected for any future payments. There’s information about claiming a tax refund at GOV.UK.

For more information about tax codes and how they’re calculated visit GOV.UK.

The income you receive from your pension is subject to income tax.

The income tax bands for the year 2024/25 are shown below.

If your total taxable income from all sources adds up to more than your Personal Allowance you’ll have to pay tax at the rate shown below:

Income tax band Tax band limits Rate of tax
Personal Allowance* Up to £12,570 0% (tax-free)
Basic rate £12,571 - £50,270 20%
Higher rate £50,271 - £125,140 40%
Additional rate Over £125,140 45%


If you live in Scotland or Wales you may have a different income tax rate or band.

* You won’t receive a Personal Allowance if your income is higher than £125,140. Your Personal Allowance may be higher if you claim Marriage Allowance or Blind Person’s Allowance, there’s more information about this on GOV.UK.

Any tax due will be deducted from your income payments by the pension provider and paid to HMRC.

It depends. Your taxable income will include things like:

  • the State Pension you get (either the basic State Pension or the new State Pension)
  • any additional State Pension
  • income from a private pension (workplace or personal)
  • earnings from employment or self-employment
  • any taxable benefits you get
  • any other income, such as money from investments, property or savings.

You'll have to pay tax if your total taxable income adds up to more than your Personal Allowance. If you're not sure whether your income should be taxable, please contact HMRC directly or speak to your financial adviser or an accountant.

HMRC will send details of your tax code before 6 April each year. If you haven’t received yours, you can request a copy directly from HMRC.

Or you can sign up to your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK to find out more. 

If you want to understand more about tax codes, including what the numbers and letters mean, please visit GOV.UK

You can check the amount of tax you're paying, your Personal Allowance and tax code at GOV.UK.

You’ll also be able to check the tax you've paid in previous tax years.

We use the tax code that we receive from HMRC to work out how much tax to deduct from your annuity income.

If you think this is wrong and you’re paying too much tax, you should contact HMRC.

There is a lot of useful information on GOV.UK about claiming a tax refund and adjusting your tax code.

Next steps

Want to know more about tax in retirement? Read about:

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Need some help?

Wherever you are on your retirement journey, there’s help at hand.

Contact HMRC

If you need to contact HMRC you can call them on:

0300 200 3300

or visit the website.

Speak with us

Our colleagues in Cardiff are always happy to answer your questions or help you apply for a quote.

Get advice

Find an independent financial adviser in your area through Unbiased.