UK Finance Planning

UK payslip calculator (2026/27)

Rebuild your monthly payslip line by line so you can sanity-check what your employer has deducted. Enter your salary, tax code and pension contribution to see the expected breakdown.

How to read a UK payslip

A payslip normally shows gross pay for the period, each deduction, net pay, and year-to-date totals. Your tax code, National Insurance category and payroll number usually appear alongside.

What your tax code means

A tax code such as 1257L means £12,570 of tax-free allowance spread across the year. An "S" prefix means Scottish rates. A "K" code means deductions exceed your allowance. "BR", "D0" and "D1" tax all income in that source at a single rate, which is common for second jobs.

Checking your deductions

Compare each line on your payslip with the estimate here. Small differences are normal because of rounding and pay-period timing. Large differences usually point to an incorrect tax code, an unexpected benefit in kind, or a student loan plan set incorrectly in payroll.

What to do if something looks wrong

Speak to your payroll team first — most discrepancies are payroll data issues. If the tax code itself is wrong, you can check and update it in your HMRC personal tax account.

Methodology, assumptions and limitations

  • 2026/27 UK rates, bands and thresholds, verified against primary sources on 21 August 2026.
  • Pay is treated as even across all 12 months (cumulative PAYE), so a mid-year pay change will not match exactly.
  • Class 1 employee National Insurance only — no Class 1A, Class 2 or Class 4 self-employment NI.
  • Scotland is detected from an "S" prefix on the tax code; other UK nations use the rest-of-UK bands.
  • Results are estimates for comparison and education, not a payroll calculation or a tax return.
  • Benefits in kind, company cars, taxable expenses and P11D adjustments are not modelled.
  • Week 1 / month 1 and emergency tax code operation is not modelled — codes are treated cumulatively.
  • This is not regulated financial advice and does not take your personal circumstances into account.

UK Finance Planning provides calculation and planning tools for education and comparison. It is not a financial adviser, is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and is unconnected to any similarly named advice firm. All results are estimates.

Related calculators