Here’s how to understand your payslip
What does all this stuff on your payslip mean? And where does your money go, and why?
National Insurance
National Insurance is a type of tax that pays for the State Pension and benefits like statutory sick pay (as well as others). You must pay National Insurance contributions if you’re 16 or over and earning more than £190 a week.
This is why you need a National Insurance number before you can work, so you can pay these contributions. You should get it automatically before you turn 16. Have a look here if you want to learn more about National Insurance 
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Pension deductions
If you’ve just started working, you may not be paying into a pension yet.
If you haven’t, it's a good idea to start as soon as you can afford it. You may pay your pension contributions through salary sacrifice , which saves you money.
If you haven’t started paying into your pension yet, it really is a good idea to start as soon as you can afford it, as we explain here.
Tax period
This is just another name for the financial year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year.
Tax code
Your tax code looks something like '1257L' although it might be different, especially if you've just started working.
This tells you how much income tax you’ll pay on your earnings each financial year – or to be more specific, it tells how much you won’t pay (your tax free allowance). You’ll only pay income tax on anything you earn above that.
Check yours on the GOVK.UK website.
Income tax
The government takes income tax (through HMRC, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) from your earnings to pay for public services like the NHS, infrastructure, and education.
Most people in the UK pay 20% of anything they earn over their tax-free allowance in income tax, although higher earners pay more.
