Payslip Calculator UK 2025/26

Q: How do I find my tax code?

Your tax code appears on your payslip, P45, P60, and your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK. The most common code is 1257L, which gives you the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance. If your code is different, HMRC may be adjusting for underpaid tax, benefits in kind, or other income.

Q: Why is my tax different from the calculator?

Small differences of £1-2 are normal due to rounding between HMRC's weekly and monthly PAYE tables. Larger differences could be caused by a non-cumulative tax code (W1 or M1 suffix), benefits in kind, salary sacrifice, or overtime pushing your monthly pay into a different tax band.

Q: What NI category am I?

Most employees are Category A. Category C applies if you are over State Pension age. Category H is for apprentices under 25. Category M is for employees under 21. Your employer determines your NI category based on your age and employment status.

Q: Which student loan plan am I on?

Plan 1: England/Wales before September 2012 or Northern Ireland. Plan 2: England/Wales from September 2012. Plan 4: Scotland. Plan 5: England from September 2023. Postgraduate: separate Master's or Doctoral loan. Check your plan at repayment.slc.co.uk.

Check your payslip is correct. Verify income tax, National Insurance, pension, and student loan deductions against 2025/26 HMRC rates. Enter your gross pay and tax code to see expected deductions, or paste your actual payslip amounts to flag discrepancies.

Enter your monthly pay details to check expected deductions

Monthly gross pay

Your gross pay before any deductions

Tax code

Found on your payslip or P45. Standard code: 1257L

NI category

Usually A for most employees

Pension contribution rate

Auto-enrolment minimum: 5% employee

Student loan plan

Check your plan type with SLC

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How to Use This Calculator

Check My Payslip tab

Enter your monthly gross pay, tax code (found on your payslip or P45), and NI category letter. The calculator computes the expected income tax, National Insurance, pension deduction, and student loan repayment based on 2025/26 HMRC rates. Compare the output with your actual payslip to spot any errors. Expand "More options" to set your pension rate and student loan plan.

Decode Deductions tab

Enter the actual amounts shown on your payslip for tax, NI, pension, and student loan. The calculator compares each figure against the expected amount and flags any discrepancies with a ✓ correct or &x26A0;&xFE0F; warning. This is the fastest way to check whether your employer is deducting the right amounts.

Annual Summary tab

See your annual projection by multiplying your monthly figures by 12. Compare with your P60 at year-end. The calculator shows your annual gross, tax, NI, pension, student loan, net pay, and effective tax rate. Useful for checking your P60 is correct or planning ahead.

Share your result

Every input is encoded in the URL. Click Share to send your exact scenario to your accountant, HR department, or save it for reference.

The Formula

Your net pay is calculated by subtracting all deductions from gross pay:

Net Pay = Gross Pay − Income Tax − National Insurance − Pension − Student Loan

Income Tax (2025/26):
Personal Allowance: £12,570 (tax code 1257L)
Basic rate: 20% on £12,571 – £50,270
Higher rate: 40% on £50,271 – £125,140
Additional rate: 45% above £125,140

Employee National Insurance (Category A):
8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270/year
2% on earnings above £50,270/year

Student Loan Repayment:
Plan 1: 9% above £26,065/year | Plan 2: 9% above £28,470/year
Plan 4: 9% above £32,745/year | Plan 5: 9% above £25,000/year
Postgraduate: 6% above £21,000/year

The tax code determines your Personal Allowance. The standard code 1257L gives £12,570. Special codes like BR (all basic rate), D0 (all higher rate), and K codes (negative allowance) change the calculation significantly. The calculator handles all of these.

Example

Sarah — £30,000 salary, tax code 1257L, Plan 2 student loan

Sarah earns £30,000/year (£2,500/month gross). She has a standard 1257L tax code, NI category A, 5% pension contribution, and a Plan 2 student loan.

Monthly deductions

Gross pay£2,500.00

Income tax£290.50

National Insurance£116.20

Pension (5%)£125.00

Student loan (Plan 2)£11.48

How the tax is calculated

Annual salary£30,000

Personal Allowance£12,570

Taxable income£17,430

Tax at 20%£3,486/year = £290.50/month

Result

Total deductions£543.18

Net (take-home) pay£1,956.82

Sarah takes home £1,956.82 per month from her £2,500 gross salary. Her effective tax + NI rate is about 16.3%.

FAQ

How do I find my tax code? ▼

Your tax code appears on your payslip (usually near the top), your P45 (when leaving a job), your P60 (annual summary), and on your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK. The most common code is 1257L, which gives you the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance. If your code is different, it may be because HMRC is adjusting for underpaid tax, benefits in kind, or other income. You can check and update your tax code online at gov.uk/tax-codes.

Why is my tax different from the calculator? ▼

Small differences (£1-2) are normal due to rounding between HMRC's weekly and monthly PAYE tables. Larger differences could be caused by: a non-cumulative tax code (W1 or M1 suffix, often used mid-year), benefits in kind coded into your tax code, salary sacrifice reducing your gross before deductions, or back-pay/overtime that pushes your monthly pay into a different tax band. If the difference is significant and persistent, contact HMRC or check your tax code on your Personal Tax Account.

What NI category am I? ▼

Most employees are Category A. The category is shown on your payslip as a single letter. Category C applies if you're over State Pension age (no NI contributions due). Category H is for apprentices under 25. Category M is for employees under 21. Categories H and M have the same employee rates as A for 2025/26 but different employer rates. Your employer determines your NI category based on your age and employment status.

Which student loan plan am I on? ▼

Your plan depends on where and when you studied. Plan 1: England/Wales before September 2012, or Northern Ireland. Plan 2: England/Wales from September 2012 onwards. Plan 4: Scotland. Plan 5: England from September 2023 onwards. Postgraduate: separate Master's or Doctoral loan. You can check your plan type by logging in to your Student Loans Company account at repayment.slc.co.uk. If you have both an undergraduate and postgraduate loan, both are deducted simultaneously.

What is auto-enrolment and how much pension should I pay? ▼

Auto-enrolment requires most employers to enrol employees into a workplace pension. The minimum total contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings, split as 5% employee and 3% employer. "Qualifying earnings" are earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 per year (2025/26), though many employers calculate pension on total gross pay for simplicity. You can contribute more than the minimum if you choose. Some employers match additional contributions. Pension contributions reduce your take-home pay but also reduce your taxable income if paid via salary sacrifice. This calculator applies the pension rate to your full gross pay, which is how most schemes operate in practice.

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