How to read a UK payslip

A line-by-line guide to gross pay, taxable pay, PAYE, National Insurance, pension, loans, tax codes and year-to-date figures.

Updated 28 July 2026Employee guide8-minute read

Start with identity and pay period

Check your name, payroll or employee number, employer, pay date and the period covered. A correct annual salary does not guarantee a correct payslip if hours, overtime, leave or the pay period are wrong.

Payments: what payroll added

The payments section may list basic salary, hourly pay, overtime, bonus, commission, holiday pay, statutory pay and taxable benefits separately. “Gross pay” is normally the total before deductions, but taxable gross and National Insurance-able gross can differ when a pension or benefit receives different treatment.

Check quantities as well as rates. For hourly work, verify paid hours and overtime multipliers. For salary, check whether unpaid leave or a mid-month start changed the period.

Deductions: where cash went

PAYE / Income TaxIncome Tax collected by the employer using your tax code and payroll record.

Employee NIClass 1 National Insurance based on pay in that pay interval and your NI category.

PensionYour contribution. The payslip or scheme documents should identify salary sacrifice, net pay or relief at source.

Student loanA Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5 deduction above the pay-period threshold. A postgraduate deduction may appear separately.

Other deductionsExamples include attachment orders, payroll giving, union fees or benefits you selected.

What the tax code means

A common code is 1257L, reflecting the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance for many employees. Scottish codes usually begin with S and Welsh codes with C. Codes such as BR, D0, D1, 0T, K or an emergency basis change how PAYE is calculated.

Do not guess that a code is correct because it appeared last month. HMRC issues codes based on information it holds. Use the official tax-code checker and contact HMRC if your circumstances are wrong.

National Insurance category

The NI category is usually a letter. Category A is common, but different categories apply to some married women and widows with reduced-rate elections, employees over State Pension age, apprentices, employees under 21 and other cases. Our calculator supports category A only.

Why year-to-date figures matter

Year-to-date gross pay, taxable pay and Income Tax show what payroll has recorded since the tax year began. PAYE is often cumulative, so a later payslip can correct part of an earlier under- or over-deduction. Keep your final payslip, P45 and P60.

A quick payslip check

Confirm pay date, period, hours and contractual rate.
Reconcile each payment and deduction with something you recognise.
Check tax code and NI category.
Compare current and year-to-date totals with the previous payslip.
Check pensionable pay and the pension method against scheme documents.
If something looks wrong, contact payroll promptly and keep the response.

Calculator difference? An annual calculator is a sense-check, not proof that payroll is wrong. Tax codes, earlier pay, exact pay dates and rounding can explain differences. Use HMRC’s official tools for the relevant pay period.

For a standard annual estimate, use the UK take-home pay calculator.