How to read your payslip
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Your employer must give you a payslip every time you are paid. Here is what each part means, with a worked example at 2026/27 rates.
Your details and tax code
The payslip shows your National Insurance number and your tax code. The most common code, 1257L, means you get the standard £12,570 personal allowance. A code ending in M or N relates to the Marriage Allowance; BR, D0 or D1 tax all pay at a flat rate (often a second job); an S prefix means Scottish rates and C means Welsh rates.
Gross pay
Your salary for the period plus overtime, bonuses and commission. Salary sacrifice amounts are taken off before the gross used for tax and National Insurance.
Deductions
- PAYE income tax: worked out cumulatively over the tax year from your tax code.
- National Insurance: 8% of pay between £242 and £967 a week (£1,048 to £4,189 a month), 2% above.
- Pension: your workplace pension contribution, at least 5% of qualifying earnings under auto-enrolment.
- Student loan: 9% above your plan’s threshold (6% for postgraduate loans).
Example: £35,000 a year with a 5% pension
| Year | Month | Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £35,000.00 | £2,916.67 | |
| Tax-free personal allowancenot deducted: income on which no tax is due | £12,570.00 | £1,047.50 | |
| Income tax | − £4,136.00 | − £344.67 | |
| National Insurance | − £1,794.40 | − £149.53 | |
| Pension contribution | − £1,750.00 | − £145.83 | |
| Take-home pay | £27,319.60 | £2,276.63 |
With a net pay arrangement the pension comes off before income tax, so you take home £2,276.63 a month.
Year-to-date figures
Most payslips also show totals since 6 April. They should match your P60 at the end of the tax year.
Check your own payslip
Enter your salary in the take-home pay calculator. If your tax looks wrong, check your tax code in your HMRC personal tax account; an emergency code (such as 1257L W1/M1 or 0T) is a common cause.