During the tax year, you might receive a notice to change your employee's tax code. This can be in a letter, or digitally in your software.

If you receive a P6 or P9 online in Sage 50 Payroll, you can apply the notice automatically. To find out more, visit the IR Secure Mailbox and notifications article.

Enter a P6

HMRC issues this form to provide employers with details of an employee's tax code, their previous taxable pay and the tax they've paid.

You need to enter the tax code to your software and, if applicable, enter any previous taxable pay and tax-paid values.

1. Select Payroll, then double-click the relevant employee.
2. Go to the Employment tab.
3. If required, change the Tax Code.
   TIP: To amend the tax code for a future date, click the + button and enter the new details then click OK.
4. If required, select or clear the Wk1/Mth1 Basis check box.
5. Click Save, then click YTD Values.
6. From the P6, enter the details in the rows below under the Previous (P45) Employment column:
   
   • Gross pay for tax
   • Tax paid
7. Click OK, then click Save.
8. Click Close.

The next time you pay this employee, your software uses the new information you entered to calculate the tax.

Enter a P9

HMRC issues this form to provide employers with details of an employee's tax code. There are two different P9s you can receive, a P9(T) or a P9X:

• The P9(T) is an individual tax code change
• A P9X is a general tax code change and can apply to more than one employee

You enter both types into the software in the same way. You can change multiple employees' tax codes together using the global changes: tax codes option.

1. Select Payroll, then double-click the relevant employee.
2. Go to the Employment tab.
3. If required, change the Tax Code.
4. If required, select or clear the Wk1/Mth1 Basis check box.
5. Click Save, then click Close.

The next time you pay this employee, Sage 50 Payroll uses the tax code you've entered to calculate the tax. When an employee's tax code changes, their tax due is likely to be different to normal in the next period you process.