Temping and P45

[BreezyCat]

I have given up job searching and decided to temp instead at the age of 57.

I have signed up with 4 agencies so far, had a 4 week assignment in September, and now have a gap and going to start a 3-month assignment next week.

It's a different agency, but still plan to stay signed up with all 4. What happens in terms of tax? Do you just fill in new starter tax form each time as not technically leaving any of the agencies to request P45 each time?

I did ring the tax helpline, and the advisor was so unsure.

If you don't actually have a P45 then just fill in a new starter form. If you get a P45 then give it to the new agency.

It doesn't matter that you plan to stay signed up with all of the agencies. Request a P45 every time a contract or temp assignment ends, unless the new assignment is with the same agency of course. Agencies are used to temps requesting a P45 at the end of an assignment/contract.

Your tax code may will take a while to catch up every time you change agency. You may pay too much tax in the short term. You can also log into your own government gateway account and update some of your employment details in there.