Payday edition · October 2026
Make sense of your payslip and extra pay
One payslip check, a clear pay-rise example, a useful tool and a simple bills task.
Published and checked . This edition keeps its stated tax-year assumptions.
Your pay check: what changed this month?
Put this payslip beside the previous one. Start with gross pay, then compare the tax code, pension, student loan and any other deductions. A change in take-home pay does not always mean a mistake.
If something is unexplained, ask payroll which pay figure or instruction changed and when you can expect an explanation. Our take-home-change guide helps you narrow down the next question.
Work through a changed payslip →A clear explanation: what a £1,000 rise leaves you with
In our 2026/27 annual model, a rise from £45,000 to £46,000 leaves £720 more a year in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, with no pension or student loan. Under Scottish Income Tax, the same example leaves £500 more.
Those are annual estimates, averaging £60 or £41.67 a month respectively. Your own pension, loans and circumstances change the result. The published research keeps its assumptions and downloadable evidence alongside the findings.
Read the pay-rise research and assumptions →A useful tool: explore extra earnings
Considering more commission or extra shifts? Enter the extra gross pay, or your actual hourly rate, paid hours and total shifts for the tax year. Add the costs and time that matter to you.
The extra-pay explorer compares annual take-home and money left after costs. It assumes pay is spread evenly for National Insurance and loans; ask payroll for an illustration if you need a particular one-off bonus payslip.
Explore extra pay after deductions and costs →One practical action: line up your bills and paydays
Write down the next payday and the bills due before the payday after it. Check the money already reserved against those dates before deciding what is available to spend.
If you are paid every four weeks, £1,300 of monthly bills works out at £1,200 to reserve from each payment in a normal 13-payment cycle: £1,300 × 12 ÷ 13. You still need an opening balance and a dated check, because the bills may arrive first. Use your employer’s actual payroll calendar.
Plan four-weekly pay around monthly bills →A question or correction? Email hello@ismypayright.co.uk. Read the other editions and email options.