What the HMRC app does, how to set it up, and how to use it to check your tax code, find your P60 and claim a refund. A plain-English guide for 2026.
Most people meet the HMRC app for the first time because something went wrong. A payslip looked smaller than expected, a tax code changed without warning, or a new employer asked for a National Insurance number nobody could find.
That is a shame, because the app is genuinely one of the better pieces of government software, and it answers the questions that cost UK workers the most money. Here is what it does, how to get into it, and the handful of things it is actually worth opening.
It is a free mobile app that shows you HMRC’s own record of your tax affairs, which means it is the canonical answer whenever your payslip and your assumptions disagree.
That last part matters more than it sounds. Your employer’s payroll system holds a copy of your tax code, and that copy can be out of date. The HMRC app holds the original. When the two disagree, the app is right and payroll needs updating.
Download it from the App Store or Google Play, then sign in with a Government Gateway ID. If you have ever filed a Self Assessment return, claimed a refund online or checked your State Pension, you already have one.
If you do not, the app walks you through creating it. You will need to verify your identity, and this is where most people stall. HMRC asks for two forms of evidence from a list that includes:
Here is what I would check first if you get stuck: the payslip and P60 route is the one most PAYE workers can complete immediately, because the app only asks for figures you already have on paper. If you are trying to verify with a passport and it keeps failing, switch to the payslip option rather than retrying the same document.
Once you are in, the app offers a six-digit PIN or biometric login, so you only do the hard part once.
Six things earn their place. The rest is padding.
Tap Pay As You Earn and your current code sits at the top, with the employer it applies to underneath. If you have two jobs, you will see two codes, and the second one is usually BR.
The app also explains why your code is what it is. If your allowance has been reduced, it itemises the reduction: a company car worth so much, an underpayment from a previous year being collected, medical insurance. This is the single most useful screen in the app, because a wrong tax code is silent. Nobody tells you. Your payslip just quietly takes too much.
The app shows your year-to-date pay and tax for the current tax year, taken from the Real Time Information your employer submits every payday. If your employer has not reported correctly, you will spot it here before HMRC does.
It is on the home screen, and you can save it to your phone’s wallet. This alone justifies the download, given how often a new employer, letting agent or bank asks for it.
Your P60 for past tax years is in the app, which is useful when you have moved house three times and the paper copies are somewhere in a box. Mortgage applications and Self Assessment returns both tend to want these.
If HMRC works out that you have overpaid, the app shows the amount and lets you request it straight to your bank account. In my experience it lands in about five working days. You do not need to write a letter, and you certainly do not need to pay a refund company a third of it.
For the self-employed, your Unique Taxpayer Reference is in the app under Self Assessment. Since “how to get a UTR number” is one of the most searched things new freelancers ask, it is worth knowing the answer is usually “it is already on your phone”.
Say you are on £34,000 a year and your code quietly changed from 1257L to 857L because HMRC thinks you have a company car you gave back last year.
Add a benefit adjustment that also pushes part of your income past a threshold and the number climbs further. Now here is the thing: at no point does your payslip say “we think you have a company car”. It just shows a smaller number.
The app tells you within about thirty seconds, and the screen that lists your allowance reductions names the exact benefit HMRC is taxing you on. If the car is gone, you report the change in the app and the code corrects, usually within one or two pay periods.
Two things changed this year and both make the app more necessary rather than less.
P2 notices went digital-first in April 2026. A P2 is the letter that tells you your tax code has changed and why. HMRC now delivers most of these to your online account instead of posting them. If you have not enabled notifications, your code can change without you noticing anything except a different payslip. Turn push notifications on. It is the one setting worth changing.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax started in April 2026 for self-employed people and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000. Instead of one Self Assessment return, that group now files quarterly updates, with the first period running from 6 April to 5 July 2026 and due by 7 August 2026. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. The app is where you check whether HMRC has you in scope.
What did not change: the personal allowance is still £12,570, frozen until at least the 2030 to 2031 tax year, so 1257L remains the standard code for most people.
It is worth being clear about the limits, because assuming the app covers everything is how people miss deadlines.
It will not file a full Self Assessment return. It will not let you dispute a decision. It will not show your workplace pension, which sits with your pension provider, not HMRC. And it will not tell you whether your employer is paying you correctly under your contract, only what they have reported paying you.
For anything that needs a human, the PAYE helpline is 0300 200 3300. Have your National Insurance number ready, which is, conveniently, on the app’s home screen.
Refund scams spike every spring. HMRC does not text or email you a link to claim a refund. If a message asks you to enter bank details on a web page, it is fraudulent, regardless of how convincing the branding is. Open the app yourself and check. If there is a real refund waiting, it will be in there.
Once the app has told you what your tax code is, the next question is usually what your take-home pay should actually look like on it. The NetPay app does that calculation, including National Insurance, pension, student loan and salary sacrifice, so you can check the number on your payslip against the number it ought to be. Free to download.
See your real take-home pay in seconds
NetPay does this maths for every shift, invoice and payslip, automatically.
Download the app now
Yes. The HMRC app is free to download on iOS and Android, and there is no charge for anything you do inside it. HMRC will never ask you to pay to check your tax code, claim a refund or view your records.
Open the app, sign in with your Government Gateway ID, then tap Pay As You Earn. Your current tax code appears at the top along with the employer it applies to. If you have more than one job, each one shows its own code.
Often, yes. If HMRC has calculated that you overpaid tax, the app shows the amount and lets you request it as a bank transfer. Refunds usually arrive within about five working days once you have confirmed your account details.
Most login problems are a forgotten Government Gateway ID rather than a broken account. Use the recovery link on the sign-in screen, which sends your user ID to the email address on file. If you have lost access to that email too, call HMRC on 0300 200 3300.
Want to see your actual take-home pay?
NetPay UK works out your real net pay after tax, NI, pension and salary sacrifice, for hourly, shift and variable-income workers. Free to download.
Download the app now
A note on financial advice: NetPay UK calculates take-home pay based on official HMRC tax rules. This article reflects rules in force at the time of publication (6 September 2026). Tax rules change. For complex situations, consult a qualified UK accountant or visit gov.uk/income-tax.
