P45 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 a glance
- Entry
- Year-to-date pay and income tax from this employment
- Feeds to
- New employer's payroll — cumulative PAYE calculation. Also enters your P60 "In previous employment" box at the new employer.
- Check against
- Sum of taxable pay and PAYE tax on every payslip from this employer in the current tax year.
What this means
Box 8 has two numbers: total pay to date and total tax to date, both running from 6 April of the current tax year up to your leaving date. These feed the new employer's cumulative PAYE calculation so you aren't over- or under-taxed on the first pay period there.
If you didn't hand over Parts 2 and 3, the new employer has no YTD figures and must run emergency PAYE. This typically means over-deduction, which self-corrects after HMRC issues an updated code — or at the P800 year-end reconciliation if it lasts all year.
Implications for your tax
- Feeds cumulative PAYE — ensures your new employer gets your tax right from payday 1.
- Transfers directly into the "Pay: In previous employment(s)" box on your P60 at the new employer at year-end.
- If you file Self Assessment, this is already captured in the new employer's P60 — no separate entry needed.
Common pitfalls
- If Box 8 pay is higher than your salary expectation, check for bonus, overtime, or backdated pay included in the old employer's final pay.
- Zero tax deducted with substantial pay usually means you were on an NT code (e.g., foreign employment exemption) — verify with the old employer before your new one starts PAYE.
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 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.
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.
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.