Written and reviewed by James Whitfield · Updated for 2026/27 · Editorial standards · Methodology
A glossary of the short codes on UK payslips: tax and NI lines, the NI category letter, tax period and year-to-date figures, student loan, pension and salary sacrifice lines, statutory pay and court-order deductions, with a decoded example.
The most common payslip abbreviations are PAYE (income tax), EE NI (your National Insurance), ER NI (your employer's NI, not taken from you), TP (tax period: month 1 starts 6 April), YTD (year to date), SL or PGL (student or postgraduate loan), and the NI letter (A for most people). Your tax code and NI letter decide how much is taken, so check those first23.
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Typical default outputs for quick context.
| On the payslip | Means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| PAYE / Tax | Income tax under Pay As You Earn | Rises and falls with pay; compare with a calculator |
| Tax code (e.g. 1257L) | Your allowance ÷ 10 plus a letter | 1257L is the standard 2026/27 code |
| BR / D0 / D1 | Flat 20% / 40% / 45% on all pay | Normal on a second job, wrong on your only job |
| 0T | No allowance at all | Often a new job without a P45 |
| W1 / M1 / X | Emergency, non-cumulative | Should be replaced within a few pay periods |
| K (e.g. K243) | Untaxed income or benefits above your allowance | Check the benefits listed by HMRC |
| NI / NIC / EE NI | Your (employee) National Insurance | 8% of pay between £1,048 and £4,189 a month, 2% above |
| ER NI | Employer National Insurance | Paid by the employer, not taken from your pay |
| NI letter / NI cat | National Insurance category letter | A for most people; M under 21; C over State Pension age |
| NINO / NI no. | Your National Insurance number | A missing one can lead to an emergency code |
| On the payslip | Means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| TP / Tax period / Pd | Tax week (1–52) or month (1–12) | Month 1 runs from 6 April to 5 May |
| YTD / TD | Year to date, since 6 April | Tax YTD should match a cumulative calculation |
| Gross / Total pay | Pay before deductions | Includes overtime, bonus, holiday pay |
| Taxable pay | Gross after salary sacrifice and net-pay pension | Can be lower than gross |
| NIable pay / NI pay | Pay NI is worked out on | Salary sacrifice lowers it; net-pay pension does not |
| OT / HOL / Comm | Overtime, holiday pay, commission | All taxed in the normal way |
| Net pay | What reaches your bank | Gross minus every deduction |
| On the payslip | Means | 2026/27 detail |
|---|---|---|
| SL / SLR / Plan 2 | Student loan repayment | 9% above £29,385 a year for Plan 2 |
| PGL | Postgraduate loan | 6% above £21,000 a year |
| EE Pens / Pension | Your pension contribution | Automatic-enrolment minimum is 5% of qualifying earnings |
| ER Pens | Employer's pension contribution | Paid on top; not taken from your pay |
| Sal Sac / SS | Salary sacrifice | Reduces both taxable and NIable pay |
| BIK / P11D / Payrolled | Benefit in kind taxed through pay | Not cash: a notional amount added for tax |
| SSP | Statutory Sick Pay | £123.25 a week, or 80% of normal weekly earnings if lower |
| SMP / SPP / ShPP | Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Shared Parental Pay | SMP: 90% of average weekly earnings for 6 weeks, then £194.32 or 90% if lower |
| AEO | Attachment of earnings order | A court order to pay a debt straight from wages |
Statutory sick and maternity pay are taxed, and NI is deducted, like ordinary pay45. Student and postgraduate loan thresholds are the 2026/27 figures6.
Here is a month-6 payslip (September) for someone on £32,000 a year with a Plan 2 student loan, tax code 1257L and NI letter A, in England. The year-to-date column is six times the monthly line, because nothing has changed since April.
| Line | This month | Year to date |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £2,666.67 | £16,000.02 |
| PAYE tax | £323.83 | £1,942.98 |
| EE NI (A) | £129.53 | £777.18 |
| SL Plan 2 | £19.61 | £117.66 |
| Net pay | £2,193.70 | £13,162.20 |
Payroll software rounds each line its own way, so a real payslip can differ from these figures by a few pence or a pound.
Current tax-year thresholds used across this guide and calculator.
EE is the employee: an EE NI or EE pension line is taken from your pay. ER is the employer: ER NI and ER pension are paid by your employer on top and are shown for information.
Tax period: the week (1 to 52) or month (1 to 12) of the tax year. Month 1 runs from 6 April to 5 May.
Year to date: totals since 6 April. PAYE is cumulative, so the tax to date should match the tax due on your pay to date with your tax code.
Your National Insurance category letter. A is the standard letter. M is under 21, H is apprentices under 25, C is over State Pension age (no employee NI), J and Z are for people deferring NI because they pay it in another job.
Student loan repayment. For Plan 2 in 2026/27 it is 9% of pay above £29,385 a year. PGL is a postgraduate loan, 6% above £21,000.
An attachment of earnings order: a court order that makes your employer pay part of your wages towards a debt.
The rates, thresholds and rules on this page are drawn from the official UK government sources below, using the confirmed 2026/27 figures. Each link opens the relevant HMRC or GOV.UK page in a new tab.
Verified against published UK government guidance for 2026/27.