How to Generate a UK Payslip Online (2026/27): Step by Step, with PAYE, NI and Pension

Short answer: Open the UK payslip generator, enter the employer, the employee, the pay period and the gross pay, and add the tax code. It works out PAYE Income Tax, employee National Insurance, student loans and the workplace pension with the 2026/27 rates, then shows a live preview. Download a free watermarked PDF to check it, or pay £2.29 for 24 hours of watermark-free payslips.

This guide follows the form step by step, works through real examples, and is clear about what you still need to type in yourself. For the rules on what a payslip must show, see UK payslip requirements. For the rules in other countries, see how to make a payslip.

Figures checked 29 October 2026 against the generator and GOV.UK's 2026/27 rates.

What to have ready

Step by step

The form has five steps. A live preview beside it shows the payslip as you type.

1. Employer. The company name (required), address and PAYE reference. The PAYE reference prints in the payslip's header.
2. Employee. Name (required), employee reference, address and National Insurance number.
3. Pay. Annual salary or hourly pay, how often it's paid (monthly, weekly, fortnightly or four-weekly), the pay period and pay date, and the tax code. The form shows the tax period (for example, Month 7) from the pay date. Leave the tax code blank and the standard £12,570 allowance is used.
4. Earnings & deductions. Pick the student loan plan, the NI category and the pension details: the employee's and employer's percentages, and how the scheme takes contributions. Add overtime (hours and rate), bonuses, commission or allowances as their own lines, and tick "one-time payment" for a bonus. Add any other deductions, such as a union subscription. You can also type over any calculated figure to match your payroll exactly.
5. YTD & payment. Year-to-date totals are always shown on UK payslips. Let the generator estimate them from the paydays since 6 April, give the number of pay periods, or type in the real totals from the last payslip or P45. Then, if you like, show how the pay was made: bank transfer (with the last four digits of the account) or cheque.

Then check the preview and download. A watermarked PDF is free. With the £2.29 pass you can download watermark-free payslips for 24 hours, for as many employees as you need, and up to 12 consecutive pay periods in one PDF. Details you save for next time stay in your browser.

What the generator works out, and what you type in

Worked example: £30,000 a year, paid monthly

Jane earns £30,000 a year, paid £2,500 a month, with tax code 1257L, in England. The generator gives:

Under relief at source, the scheme claims the other 20% (£19.80) from HMRC. With a net pay arrangement the full £99 comes off before income tax instead, so tax is £270.55 and take-home pay is the same £2,014.29. With salary sacrifice it also comes off before National Insurance, which drops to £108.24, and take-home pay is £2,022.21.

The tax-free amount is £12,579, not £12,570, because a tax code's number is multiplied by 10 and 9 is added. Payroll software works tax out cumulatively through the year, so its figure can differ by a few pence (£290.20 in month 1, then £290.40). If you're copying a payroll run, type its exact figure over the calculated one. The UK YTD guide explains why.

The same pay in Scotland

With tax code S1257L, Scottish bands apply and Income Tax is £287.43 a month. National Insurance and pension are the same, so net pay is £2,017.21. The Scottish payslip generator starts with an S code filled in and has the six Scottish bands and more samples.

Hourly pay at the National Living Wage

Sam works 37.5 hours a week at £12.71, the 2026/27 National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over. That's £476.63 a week.

National Insurance is (£476.63 − £242) × 8%. The pension is 5% of (£476.63 − £120), £17.83, of which Sam pays 80% under relief at source. A BR code gives no tax-free pay, so all £476.63 is taxed at 20%.

Situations to watch

One-off bonus. Add it as its own earnings line and tick "one-time payment". Income tax on it is then worked out on top of a year of regular pay, as payroll's cumulative PAYE does. A £5,000 bonus on £2,500 a month is taxed at 20%: £1,290.35 in tax that month, not the £1,952.37 you'd get if £7,500 came every month. National Insurance is still worked out on that month alone (£317.50).

New starter without a P45. HMRC's starter checklist decides the code, often 1257L on a W1/M1 basis, or BR. Enter the code the employee was given.

Student loan. Pick the plan from the employee's P45 or HMRC's notice. Repayments are 9% of pay above the plan's threshold (6% for a postgraduate loan), worked out each payday and rounded down to the pound. For example, Plan 2 on £3,000 a month is (£3,000 − £2,448.75) × 9% = £49. The thresholds are in the YTD guide.

Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity Pay and other statutory pay. Under Other Earnings, choose "Add statutory pay". Pick the payment, enter the sick days or the weeks to pay, and optionally the average weekly earnings, and the amount is worked out and added as an earnings line. SSP is £123.25 a week in 2026/27, or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower; a day's SSP is the weekly rate divided by the days the employee normally works, so 3 days of a 5-day week is £73.95. Maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, bereavement and neonatal care pay are £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, and the first 6 weeks of maternity or adoption pay are 90% of earnings with no cap. Statutory pay is taxed and has NI taken like other pay, and the generator treats it that way. If the employee isn't paid their usual salary for that time, lower the salary or hours too.

Company directors. Directors' National Insurance uses an annual earnings period. The generator works NI out per payday, as payroll's "alternative method" does, which gives the same yearly total for equal monthly pay. A director paid £1,047.50 a month (£12,570 a year) pays no Income Tax or employee NI either way. See payslips for company directors.

Giving the payslip to the employee

• When: on or before payday, every payday.
• How: printed or electronic. The employer chooses, and the employee doesn't need to agree to electronic payslips.
• Records: keep payroll records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.
• Reporting: a payslip isn't a report to HMRC. If you employ someone, you still send a Full Payment Submission through RTI on or before each payday, which payroll software does.

The UK payslip requirements guide covers who's entitled, what the law requires and what happens when a payslip is missing.

Honest use

A payslip you make here is your record of pay that was actually made. Making one for pay that wasn't made, or to show income someone doesn't have, is fraud, whatever tool made it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I generate a payslip online in the UK?

Open the UK payslip generator, enter the employer, employee, pay and tax code, check the live preview, and download the PDF. A watermarked PDF is free; watermark-free payslips cost £2.29 for 24 hours.

Does it work out PAYE and National Insurance?

Yes. It works out PAYE Income Tax from the tax code (including Scottish, Welsh, K, BR, D0, D1 and NT codes), employee National Insurance (categories A and C), student and postgraduate loans, and the workplace pension, all with 2026/27 rates. You can type over any figure to match your payroll.

Can I include student loan deductions?

Yes. Pick Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5, and tick the postgraduate loan if the employee has one. Repayments are worked out each payday and shown with year-to-date totals.

Can I make payslips for several employees or months?

Yes. The 24-hour pass covers as many payslips as you need, and up to 12 consecutive pay periods can go in one PDF, with year-to-date totals that build up from one to the next.

Which pay frequencies can I use?

Monthly, weekly, fortnightly and four-weekly. National Insurance, pension and student loan thresholds follow the pay period, and the payslip shows the tax month or week.

Do you keep the payslip details?

No. Details you save for next time stay in your browser. We count each PDF in a few anonymous categories, such as the pay type and frequency, kept as daily totals without names or amounts; the privacy policy lists them.