Students: Already working tax/NIC now leaving college

Whenever you start a new job you have to inform us. Normally your employer will do this for you, but you can contact us yourself.

Starting your first job after leaving school
If you are starting your first job after leaving school see This is my first job since leaving school: what do I do about my tax affairs?

Starting your next job
When you finish working for an employer they should give you a form P45 (PDF 65K).

The P45 shows the tax code that your employer was operating for you. You should give parts 2 and 3 of the P45 to your new employer and he can then continue operating the same tax code. Your new employer retains part 2 of the P45 and sends part 3 to us to inform us that you have started working for him.

If your previous employer did not give you a P45 when you left, or you have lost or misplaced it, your new employer will ask you to complete a form P46 (PDF 59K).

Starting a second job
If you already have a job while you are studying and you want to start a second job at the same time, you will not have a form P45 to give your new employer as you haven't left your other job.

Without a form P45, your new employer will give you a P46 to complete and deduct tax from your wages at the basic rate (20 per cent). See Claims for repayment of income tax.

If you start working for yourself
If you decide to work for yourself, say to supplement your income while you are studying, you will be 'self employed'. You'll need to tell us by registering yourself even if you already complete a tax return each year. See Self-employed students for more details.