Editorial Standards

Editorial ownership

Content is written and reviewed by James Whitfield, AfterTaxSalary’s editorial owner. James has a background in UK payroll and employment taxation and writes about take-home pay, tax thresholds and salary planning for UK employees. All salary pages and guides published on this site are checked by James against current HMRC and ONS data before publication.

For corrections or factual feedback, contact James via the contact page or at contact page.

Our editorial principles

• Factual accuracy first. Rates and thresholds come from official HMRC and ONS sources. All income tax bands, National Insurance rates, student loan thresholds and Scottish tax band data are verified at the start of each tax year and updated promptly when HMRC publishes changes.
• Plain British English. Content is written for employees making real salary decisions — not for tax professionals. Jargon is explained on first use. Worked examples use actual £ figures, not abstract percentages alone.
• Practical usefulness, not generic definitions. A page about NI rates should tell a reader what their NI deduction will be, not just define what NI is. We prefer pages that answer a specific question over pages that cover a topic in general terms.
• Transparency about limitations. Calculator pages state clearly that results are estimates based on default PAYE assumptions. Where assumptions change the result materially (pension, student loan plan, tax code), these are called out explicitly.
• No financial advice. AfterTaxSalary is a planning and estimation tool. We do not provide tax advice or recommend financial products. Pages always recommend consulting HMRC or a qualified adviser for decisions with significant financial consequences.

Sources and data standards

All rates, thresholds and statistical references used in guides and salary pages are sourced from:

• HMRC income tax rates and allowances
• HMRC National Insurance — employee rates
• Scottish income tax rates (Scottish Government / HMRC)
• Student loan repayment thresholds (Student Loans Company / HMRC)
• ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) — for salary benchmark comparisons

Statistical salary data (median salaries, sector comparisons) is sourced from ONS ASHE and is updated annually after each release. Salary figures quoted in guides include the survey year and are labeled clearly as estimates.

How we maintain content

• Calculator logic and salary page assumptions are updated at the start of each tax year (April) when HMRC publishes new rates.
• Guides are reviewed for accuracy against updated thresholds at the same time. Where a rate change materially alters the worked examples in a guide, the guide is rewritten rather than just having a date updated.
• Pages with low utility (pages that do not help readers make practical decisions) are improved or removed rather than left in place.
• Internal links are checked when page content changes to ensure they remain relevant.

Last reviewed: July 2026.

Corrections policy

If you identify an error in a guide, salary page or calculator assumption, report it via the contact page. We aim to review and respond to factual corrections within five working days. Verified errors are corrected promptly and the page’s last-reviewed date is updated. For calculation methodology details, see the methodology page.