What’s On the Card
Every payslip has three parts: what you earned (gross pay), what came off (deductions), and what landed in your account (net pay). This one-page PDF explains every field in between — gross pay, tax code, NI category, Income Tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, student loan, net pay and year-to-date (YTD) figures — plus a quick-reference table of common tax code letters.
Common Tax Code Letters at a Glance
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| L | Standard Personal Allowance (most common) |
| M / N | Marriage Allowance received (M) or transferred (N) |
| BR | All income taxed at basic rate — often a second job or emergency code |
| D0 / D1 | All income taxed at higher / additional rate |
| 0T | No Personal Allowance applied — check this urgently |
| K | Negative allowance — tax is added to income, not deducted |
| W1 / M1 | Emergency code — taxes each pay period alone, not cumulatively |
BR, 0T or W1/M1 codes lasting more than 2 months usually mean you’re overpaying tax. Check yours free with our Tax Code Checker.
Frequently Asked Questions
The number x10 is your tax-free Personal Allowance — 1257L means £12,570 tax-free. The letter shows adjustments: L is standard, M/N relate to Marriage Allowance, BR taxes everything at basic rate, 0T removes your allowance entirely, and K adds extra taxable income rather than deducting it.
It tells HMRC which National Insurance rates apply to you. Most employees are category A (standard rate). Others include B (legacy reduced rate), C (over State Pension age), H (apprentices under 25) and M (under 21).
Year-to-date — the cumulative total since 6 April. Payslips show YTD gross pay, tax, NI, pension and net pay, which are the figures HMRC uses for your year-end tax position.
Yes — completely free to download, no email signup, no registration.
Sources
- Tax code letters from GOV.UK — Tax codes (checked July 2026)
- National Insurance categories from GOV.UK — National Insurance classes