P45 Box 5 — Student Loan deductions — Student loan deductions to continue
Ticked if you had Plan 1, 2, 4, 5 or Postgraduate loan deductions at the time of leaving. Your new employer continues deductions from day one.
At a glance
- Entry
- Student loan deductions to continue
- Feeds to
- New employer's payroll — they start Plan-X deductions automatically. Also reported in the student loan section of your Self Assessment return if you file.
- Check against
- Your payslips from the old employer (student loan line should have been present); SLC online account.
What this means
Box 5 on a P45 is a tick-box indicator telling your new employer that you have an active student loan deduction — they will continue 9% (undergrad) or 6% (postgraduate) deductions above the plan-threshold from your first pay period.
If Box 5 is ticked but you've since cleared the loan, the deduction continues until SLC tells HMRC to stop — which can take a few months. Any over-deduction is refundable via SLC directly.
Implications for your tax
- Payroll at your new employer continues the deduction automatically — no action needed from you.
- Plan type isn't stated — the new employer has to look it up via HMRC or ask you which plan you're on (get this right to avoid wrong-rate deductions).
- If Box 5 is blank but you are on a plan, your new employer won't deduct — fix by completing a Starter Checklist with the correct plan info.
Common pitfalls
- Postgraduate loan (PGL) is separate from undergraduate plans — the P45 form has a separate indicator for PGL. Check both if applicable.
- If you've cleared your loan since the P45 was issued, you may have a few months of over-deduction to reclaim from SLC.
FAQ
What is p45 box 5 — student loan deductions?
Where does this P45 box feed?
Related P45 entries
Parts 1, 1A, 2 and 3 — The four parts of a P45 — who gets what
A P45 comes in four parts. Part 1 goes to HMRC from your old employer; Part 1A is yours to keep; Parts 2 and 3 go to your new employer.
Box 6 — Tax code at leaving date — Tax code, with or without Week 1/Month 1 marker
Your PAYE tax code as at your last day. If followed by W1 or M1, it's non-cumulative — the new employer should not apply earlier pay/tax to your new employment.
Box 8 — Total pay / tax to date — Year-to-date pay and income tax from this employment
Cumulative pay and PAYE income tax from this employer for the tax year up to your leaving date. Your new employer uses these to run cumulative PAYE.
At year end the same pay and tax figures surface on your P60 — see the P60 Box Guide.
Reconciling your pay? Use the take-home pay calculator to verify PAYE and NI on any salary for 2025/26 or 2026/27, and the tax code checker to decode your final tax code.
Sources
P45 structure per HMRC PAYE forms guidance. Thresholds and rates current for 2025/26 (tax year 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026); 2026/27 figures included where published.
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