Your Payslip, Explained Line by Line

Every employee is legally entitled to an itemised payslip. Here is what each line means, using a £40,000 salary paid monthly in 2026/27.

Gross pay

Your pay before deductions: £3,333.33 a month on a £40,000 salary.

Tax code

Usually 1257L — it sets your tax-free allowance. Wrong code, wrong tax: see tax codes explained.

Income tax (PAYE)

On £40,000 the year's tax is £5,486.00, collected as about £457.17 a month. PAYE is cumulative, so the monthly figure can wobble after bonuses or a mid-year start.

National Insurance

£2,194.40 a year — about £182.87 a month. NI is per-period, not cumulative.

Pension and student loan

Shown as separate lines when they apply. Auto-enrolment minimums are 8% of band earnings in total, with at least 3% from your employer.

Net pay

The amount that lands in your bank: £2,693.30 a month on this salary. The “year to date” columns track cumulative totals since 6 April — useful for spotting whether a tax-code fix has flowed through.

Check your own payslip against the take home pay calculator — if the annual figures disagree materially, your tax code is the first thing to check.