Tax and take-home pay
Income tax, National Insurance, tax codes, student loans and payslips, using the 2026/27 rates.
Blind Person's Allowance
Blind Person's Allowance adds £3,250 to your tax-free income in 2026/27. Who qualifies, how it changes your tax code and how to pass it to a partner.
BR tax code
A BR tax code taxes every pound from a job at 20% with no allowance. When that is right for a second job, when it is wrong, and how to get it changed.
Child Benefit rates and claiming
Child Benefit is £27.05 a week for the eldest child and £17.90 for each other child. How to claim, how it is paid and when higher earners pay it back.
Claiming a tax refund
How overpaid tax happens on PAYE, what a P800 letter means, how to claim money back for the current or earlier years, and how to spot refund scams.
Dividends tax for employees with shares
How dividends are taxed in 2026/27 for employees who own shares: the £500 allowance, the new 10.75% and 35.75% rates, and how they stack on salary.
Do employees need to do Self Assessment?
Most employees taxed through PAYE never file a tax return. The situations that do bring one in, the deadlines, and how to register with HMRC.
Emergency tax codes
Why a new job can put you on 1257L W1, M1 or X, how much it can cost while it lasts, and the steps that get HMRC to issue the right code.
Employer National Insurance
Employers pay 15% National Insurance on your earnings above £5,000 a year. What it costs on public sector salaries and why it affects pay and jobs.
Getting a National Insurance number
Who needs to apply for a National Insurance number, how the gov.uk application works, starting a job before it arrives and finding a lost one.
Gross vs net salary
What gross and net salary mean on a UK job advert and payslip, which deductions sit between them, and a worked example for a council salary in 2026/27.
High Income Child Benefit Charge
The High Income Child Benefit Charge starts at £60,000 of adjusted net income and takes back all Child Benefit by £80,000. How it is worked out and paid.
HMRC personal tax account
What you can check and change in your HMRC personal tax account or app: tax codes, income estimates, refunds, NI record and State Pension forecast.
Holiday pay and tax
Holiday pay is taxed exactly like normal pay. What happens with pay for untaken leave when you leave, rolled-up holiday pay and holiday paid in advance.
How bonuses are taxed
Bonuses are taxed through PAYE as ordinary pay. Why a bonus month can show extra tax, how cumulative codes put it right, and which one-off payments count.
How income tax works in the UK
The 2026/27 income tax bands for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, how PAYE takes tax from your pay, and a worked NHS salary example.
How much of a pay rise do you actually keep?
Marginal deduction rates on a UK pay rise in 2026/27, with worked NHS examples showing how tax, National Insurance, pension and student loans share it.
How to check your tax code
Where to find your tax code on a payslip, in the HMRC app or your personal tax account, what the common codes mean, and how to fix one that looks wrong.
How to read your payslip
A line-by-line guide to a public sector payslip: tax code, NI letter, pension, tax, NI, student loan and year-to-date totals, with an NHS example.
Is overtime taxed more?
Overtime is taxed at the same rates as the rest of your pay. Why a big overtime month can look heavily taxed, and what you actually keep from extra shifts.
Is redundancy pay taxed?
The first £30,000 of redundancy pay can be tax-free, but notice pay, holiday pay and arrears are taxed. How a public sector redundancy package is split.
K tax codes
A K tax code means income or benefits HMRC must tax are bigger than your allowance. How the number works, why you might have one and how to check it.
Marriage Allowance
Who can use Marriage Allowance in 2026/27, how the £1,260 transfer cuts a partner's tax by up to £252, and how it shows in M and N tax codes.
Mileage allowance and tax relief
How HMRC's approved mileage rates work, when mileage your employer pays is tax-free, and how to claim relief if it pays less than the approved amount.
Moving to or from Scotland: what happens to your tax
Scottish income tax depends on where you live, not where you work. How residence is decided in the year you move, the S code and what it costs or saves.
National Insurance category letters
What the National Insurance letter on your payslip means, how each letter changes what you and your employer pay in 2026/27, and what to do if it is wrong.
National Insurance explained
The 2026/27 National Insurance thresholds and rates for employees, employers and the self-employed, and how NI is worked out on each payday.
P45, P60 and P11D explained
What a P45, P60 and P11D are for, when your employer has to give you each one, what to do with them and how to get the figures if one goes missing.
Payroll giving
How payroll giving takes charity donations from your pay before Income Tax, what a £10 gift costs at each tax rate, and how it differs from Gift Aid.
Pension tax relief: net pay vs relief at source
The two ways pension tax relief is given, why public sector schemes use net pay, and why people earning under £12,570 can miss out on relief.
Postgraduate loan repayments
Postgraduate Loans are repaid at 6% above £21,000 in 2026/27, on top of any other plan. Worked examples on NHS pay and what to check on your payslip.
Salary sacrifice schemes
How salary sacrifice lowers your Income Tax and National Insurance, which public sector schemes use it, and the knock-on effects on pay-linked benefits.
Scottish S tax codes and rates
The six Scottish income tax bands for 2026/27, what the S prefix on your tax code does, who counts as a Scottish taxpayer and worked pay examples.
Student loan Plan 1 repayments
Plan 1 student loans are repaid at 9% of earnings over £26,900 in 2026/27. Who is on Plan 1, what it costs on public sector pay and how it ends.
Student loan Plan 2 repayments
Plan 2 loans are repaid at 9% above £29,385 in 2026/27, a threshold held until 2029-30. What that means for nurses, teachers and other graduates.
Student loan Plan 4 (Scotland)
Plan 4 is the student loan for students from Scotland, repaid at 9% above £33,795 in 2026/27. Costs on NHS Scotland and Scottish teacher pay.
Student loan Plan 5
Plan 5 is England's newest student loan plan, repaid at 9% above £25,000 in 2026/27. Costs for new nurses, teachers and support staff.
Student loan repayments from salary
The 2026/27 repayment thresholds for every UK student loan plan, how payroll takes 9% or 6% above them, and how to tell which plan you are on.
Take-home pay explained
How a public sector salary turns into take-home pay: pension, Income Tax, National Insurance and student loan in order, with a worked NHS band 5 example.
Take-home pay for a newly qualified teacher
What an early career teacher on M1 in England takes home each month from September 2026, after pension, tax, National Insurance and student loan.
Take-home pay for a teaching assistant
How a teaching assistant's term-time, part-time salary is worked out from the NJC pay spine, and what is left each month after LGPS, tax and NI in 2026/27.
Take-home pay for an NHS band 5 nurse
Monthly take-home pay at each NHS band 5 pay point in England for 2026/27, after NHS pension, Income Tax, National Insurance and a Plan 2 student loan.
Take-home pay for part-time workers
The 2026/27 tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan thresholds that matter on part-time pay, with worked NHS and minimum wage examples.
Take-home pay on the National Living Wage
A full-time worker on the £12.71 National Living Wage earns £24,784.50 a year in 2026/27. Here is what is left after tax, National Insurance and a pension.
Tax codes explained
What the numbers and letters in a UK tax code mean, from 1257L to BR, 0T, K and the S and C prefixes, and what to do if your code looks wrong.
Tax on NHS bank shifts
How NHS bank shifts are taxed in 2026/27, why a separate bank employer often means a BR or 0T code, and how to get the code fixed with HMRC.
Tax on savings interest
How savings interest is taxed in 2026/27: the £1,000 or £500 Personal Savings Allowance, the £5,000 starting rate and the rate rises due in April 2027.
Tax relief on professional fees and union subscriptions
Registration fees to bodies such as the NMC and HCPC, and some professional subscriptions, can cut your tax if the body is on HMRC's approved List 3.
Tax when you have two jobs
How the Personal Allowance is shared between two jobs, why the second job usually gets a BR code, when HMRC splits the allowance, and how National Insurance works.
Tax-Free Childcare
Tax-Free Childcare adds £2 for every £8 you pay in, up to £500 a quarter per child. Who qualifies, the top-up limits and how it fits with other help.
The £100,000 tax trap
Why income between £100,000 and £125,140 is taxed at an effective 60%, which public sector salaries are affected, and how childcare support is lost too.
The personal allowance explained
The 2026/27 Personal Allowance is £12,570. Here is how it reaches your pay through your tax code, how it shrinks above £100,000 and what can add to it.
UK tax year dates
The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Here are the 2026/27 dates, the Self Assessment deadlines and what changes for employees each April.
Underpaid tax and tax code adjustments
Why employees end up underpaying tax, how HMRC collects it through a P800 or a tax code adjustment, and what to do if you cannot afford the repayments.
Uniform tax relief for nurses and other workers
If you wash, repair or replace your own work uniform, you can claim a flat rate expense from HMRC and backdate it for up to 4 previous tax years.
Universal Credit while working
How Universal Credit works alongside a job: the work allowance, the taper, monthly assessment periods and why pay dates can make payments jump.
Welsh C tax codes
Why Welsh taxpayers have a C at the front of their tax code, how the Welsh rates of income tax work in 2026/27 and what to check if your code is wrong.
Working from home tax relief
Since 6 April 2022 you can only claim tax relief for working from home if your employer requires it. Who qualifies now, hybrid working and how to claim.