Guides
UK pay and tax, explained properly
14 guides written for the 2026/27 tax year. Every rate and threshold matches the figures our calculators use, and every one is checked against gov.uk and gov.scot.
Pay and payslips
Understanding your payslip
Every line on a UK payslip decoded, the errors worth checking for, and what to do when a figure looks wrong.
Tax codes explained
What 1257L means, why emergency codes overtax you, how K codes work, and how to get a wrong code corrected.
How to check you are paying the right tax
A ten-minute audit of your payslip, tax code and year-to-date totals that anyone can run without an accountant.
How bonuses are taxed
Why a bonus month looks wrong, when you have genuinely been overtaxed, and what happens if you sacrifice a bonus into your pension.
Tax rules
National Insurance explained
Class 1, Class 2 and Class 4 for 2026/27: the thresholds, the rates, and what your contributions actually buy.
Scottish income tax vs the rest of the UK
The 2026/27 Scottish bands, who counts as a Scottish taxpayer, the crossover salary, pension relief at Scottish rates, and the difference at six salary levels.
The personal allowance taper
How adjusted net income is worked out between £100,000 and £125,140, and which reliefs pull you back under the line.
The 60% tax trap, explained
Why £100,000 to £125,140 carries the highest marginal rate in the UK system, and the pension move that escapes it.
Student loan plans compared
Plans 1, 2, 4, 5 and postgraduate: which one you are on, the 2026/27 thresholds, and what each costs a month.
Pensions and sacrifice
Salary sacrifice explained
How giving up gross pay cuts tax and National Insurance on both sides of the payroll, how other benefits are taxed, and the £2,000 NI cap from April 2029.
Pension tax relief: the three methods
Relief at source, net pay and salary sacrifice produce different outcomes for different people - here is how to tell which one you are on.
Self-employed and MTD
Self-employed vs employed: the real difference
Identical headline income, different take-home: allowable expenses, payments on account, and what Making Tax Digital adds.
MTD quarterly updates explained
What goes into a quarterly update, the four deadlines, the points-based penalty regime, and the mistakes that catch people out.
Choosing Making Tax Digital software
What HMRC requires from your software, the main options compared, and how to pick one without overpaying.
Prefer numbers to words?
Every guide here is built on the same engine as our tools. Run your own figures through the take-home pay calculator, the hourly to salary converter or the Making Tax Digital checker.