Where to find your P2 Tax Coding Notice
On letters and returns
- Look for a letter from HMRC headed as a tax code notice. It arrives when your tax code changes.
- Check the tax year at the top: a notice for the current year affects your next payslip, and one for the next tax year affects your pay from 6 April.
In the HMRC app
- Sign in to the HMRC app to see your current tax code.
In your personal tax account
- Sign in and use 'Check your Income Tax for the current year' to see your tax code and Personal Allowance, and whether your code has changed.
From your employer
- Your payslip shows the tax code your employer is using. It should match the latest notice.
What it looks like
Tax Code Notice (P2): what each part shows
- Tax year. The tax year, or the rest of it, that the new code applies to.
- Your details and the job. Your National Insurance number and the employer or pension the code is for, with its PAYE reference. One notice can list several jobs or pensions.
- Allowances. Your Personal Allowance plus anything that adds to it, such as job expenses or Marriage Allowance received.
- Amounts taken away. Items that reduce your tax-free amount so tax on them is collected through your pay, such as company benefits or untaxed income.
- Tax-free amount. Allowances minus amounts taken away: what you can earn in this job before Income Tax.
- Tax code. The tax-free amount with its last digit dropped, plus a letter. L means the standard Personal Allowance with no special treatment.
Specimen with fictional data. The layout is simplified to show where each detail sits; your own document may look different.
If you've lost it
- Find your current code on your latest payslip, in the HMRC app, or in the Check your Income Tax for the current year service.
- The online service also shows whether your tax code has changed and lets you update the income and benefits behind it.
Notice, payslip and online: which to trust
The notice is HMRC's explanation of the code. Your employer only uses the code HMRC sends them, so making sure it's right is up to you. If your payslip shows a different code from your latest notice, check the online service, which shows the code HMRC currently holds.
A code starting with S means your income is taxed at Scottish rates; C means Welsh rates. If you live in Scotland and your code doesn't start with S, that's worth checking.
Three things to check when it arrives
HMRC's own checklist is short. First, is the income right? Second, are any taxable company benefits you get, such as a company car, listed? Third, which tax year is it for? If anything doesn't look right, tell HMRC online so it can review your code.
For what the letters and numbers in the code mean, see our tax codes guide; to test a code against your pay, use the tax code checker.
What happens if it's wrong and you do nothing
A wrong code can mean you pay too much tax or too little. HMRC reconciles this after the tax year ends, and if the amounts don't match you'll get a P800 tax calculation: a refund, or a bill usually collected through next year's code.
Related
What else will you need?
- Where to find itYour P800 tax calculationA P800 is HMRC's tax calculation letter.
- Where to find itFind your P45A P45 is the form your employer gives you when you stop working for them.
- Where to find itFind your P60A P60 summarises the pay you received and the tax deducted in a tax year, from 6 April to 5 April.
- Where to find itHMRC app and tax accountThe HMRC app and your personal tax account on GOV.UK are where you find most personal tax references.
Rather we did it?
Countify can handle this for you, for a fixed fee agreed upfront.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
When does HMRC send a P2?
When your tax code changes. The notice says which tax year it's for, so you can tell whether it affects your next payslip or your pay from 6 April.
I've lost my P2. Can I see my tax code another way?
Yes. Your payslip shows the code your employer is using, and the HMRC app and the Check your Income Tax for the current year service show the code HMRC holds.
Do I need to send the P2 to my employer?
No. HMRC sends your employer the code. You check the notice and tell HMRC online if anything is wrong.
What should I check on the notice?
That your income is correct, that any taxable company benefits are listed, and which tax year the notice is for.
Checked against GOV.UK on · Reviewed by Kamran Ishaq FCCA, Founder & CEO, on .
Sources: P2, P800 and PA302: understanding common letters (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs); Check your Income Tax for the current year (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs); Tax codes (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs); Tax codes: what your tax code means (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs); Income Tax in Scotland (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs); Download the HMRC app (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs).
Countify is an independent accountancy practice. We aren't part of, or endorsed by, HMRC, Companies House or Revenue Scotland. Always file using the official form or service.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (opens in a new tab).