P60, P11D and Year-End Payroll: UK Employer Guide

The UK payroll tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. At year-end, employers have two main obligations: issuing P60s to all employees still on payroll as at 5 April, and — where applicable — submitting P11D forms for taxable benefits in kind.

A P60 summarises each employee's total pay and deductions for the year. It must be issued by 31 May following the tax year. Employees use their P60 to verify their annual tax and NI contributions, and it is required for mortgage applications and certain benefit claims. Generating a P60 does not require a separate process in Mellow — year-end payroll produces them automatically from the cumulative data for each employee.

P11D forms report benefits in kind — company cars, private medical insurance, interest-free loans — that are not run through payroll. They must be submitted to HMRC by 6 July. Many employers are moving to payrolling benefits instead: running the taxable value of benefits through payroll each month so the tax is collected in real time rather than through P11Ds. Mellow supports payrolled benefits. If you currently issue P11Ds, ask whether payrolling would simplify your year-end process.