P46 - Download P46 Form & Starter Checklist

A guide all about P46; advice about what you need to know relating to tax regulations for UK Gov

Starter Checklist Replaces Form P46

Starter checklist is used to gather all information about a new employees career history in the UK for tax purposes. To operate PAYE in case the previous employer has not shared form P45. The starter check list has replaced form P46 which was used earlier. The information gathered from the checklist can be used by the employer to fill Full Payment Submission for the employee.

What are Starter Checklist Forms?

Essential to comply with Gov Tax regulations

In the commencement of a new work placement in any career, an employee needs to be registered with HMRC by the concerned employer. To process this, the employer may ask to fill the Starter Checklist for the employee in the absence of Form P45. Forms P45 carries details of historical payroll - received wages and all paid tax from April 6 of that year during the active employment tenure. This form also presents the tax-code which was operating against the earnings, which is provided by the employer at the time of relieving, which is then presented to the new employer to use and verify the paid tax details. In case of the absence of form P45, Starter Checklist is then filled by the employee to help the employer to decide and ensure the correct tax code should be applied and the correct amount of tax should be computed. Starter Checklist can be filled online at the very first payday to UK HM Revenue & Customs from April 6 to the year of employment.

Hence, the most common reasons when one needs to fill a Starter Checklist is: on starting a new career; employer did not issue form P45 for some reasons; on starting a new work placement after a sound gap hence had not involved in the previous tax year; or starting a new job without leaving current work placement.

What was a p46 policy?

P46 form was used by the employee to share it with the new employer in case the employee did not get P45 from the previous employer. P46 was also known as “Employee without a form P45”. It was required to fill the correct amount of tax to HMRC. It is to be filled in by the employee when they have not received P45 from the previous employer, they did not have any previous work and this is their first job ever. This form was also required if the employee was managing multiple jobs and did not quit any one of them before applying to others.

The form consisted of two sections – one was to be for the employee to check and fill and the other one was for the employer to check and fill.

Section 1 – To be filled by employee

• National Insurance Number
• Personal details (name, address, date of birth)
• Job circumstances – The employee should tick on the correct option out of the three given describing their job circumstances and whether they have been receiving jobseeker’s allowance or not.
• Availing students loan

Section 2 – To be filled by the employer

• Employee detail – Date of employment, job title, and work and/or payroll number.
• Employers detail – PAYE reference number, personal details (name, address, postcode)
• Tax code to be used

After this form was filled by the employer, they were supposed to send it to the following address -

HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1BX
United Kingdom

In addition to this, the employer was also required to fill in the employee starter information on HMRC’s website.

Where to get p46?

The employee will get p46 from their new employer in case they have not received p45 from their previous employer. You can download p46 form here for reference; however, HMRC has stopped using p46. So in that case you can download the starter checklist forms or submit it online.

ALSO READ: Download Form P45 for Employees

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For What Services Do You Need a Starter Checklist?

A starter checklist should be used by the employer whenever a new employee joins the organisation. The employer needs to fill in the information required by HMRC as to how allowances will be provided to employees in the starter checklist. If the employee did not receive p45 from their previous employer then the employee should fill the form and share it with the new employer. This will help the employer dedicate a tax code and accordingly cut taxes when they make their first payment. The employer will use this information to send a Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC telling them about the payment made to employees and what deductions have been made.

The FPS should be sent by the employer before making the first payment to the new employee. Payroll software should be used to do the same. There are four parts to it – employee information, employer information, pay and deductions, and National Insurance Contributions. FPS determines how much national insurance should be paid by the employer on behalf of the employee.

How Starter Checklist is different than P46?

The below table summaries the difference

Information Page About How to Process Form Starter Checklist

This list consists of three sections – Employee’s personal details, employee’s statement and Student loan.

1. Section 1 – The employee should share their personal detail like name, address, contact number and national insurance number.
2. Section 2 – You have to select one option out of three where you have to furnish detail as to whether you were having a job or not before 6 April of that year and whether you were receiving Jobseekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance.
3. Section 3 – Student Loan – In this, you need to share details on loan type, loan date and whether you have repaid the loan amount or not.

Where to Submit Starter Checklist in the UK

This form should not be sent to HMRC. The employee should only share this with the employer who will use this information for Full Payment Submission (FPS).

If you require any advice then you can book a free consultation to find out all you need to know to ensure you are complying with UK Gov tax regulations.

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About the author

Sumit Agarwal
Sumit Agarwal (ACMA ACA India), the Managing partner of dns accountants is a highly respected accountant with expertise in helping owner-managed businesses.