An employee’s payslip will usually show two deductions on the right-hand side: one called tax and one called National Insurance, employee NI, NIC, or simply NI. The tax is Income Tax, often called PAYE tax because it is deducted through payroll. PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn — a rare example of payroll terminology doing what it says on the tin.

HMRC have launched a “Don’t get caught out” campaign aimed at protecting workers from tax avoidance schemes. 

The Scottish Parliament has made Scottish income tax a little more complex again by introducing a new rate. This new rate applies to non-savings, non-dividend income but the Personal Allowance is not affected as this is set by the UK Government.

HMRC have requested that employers, and their payroll teams, promote Personal Tax Accounts (PTAs) to their employees. Employees can update their address and personal details in this way.