How to use the Atlas
Each exhibit page carries one atomic claim, one visual, ~400–500 words of legislation-grounded context, the primary-source statutes themselves, and a copy-paste citation snippet. The page is the citation target — quote freely, link back, attribute to payslipmaker.uk.
Atlas exhibit · Payroll + payslips
The fields a compliant UK payslip must show under the Employment Rights Act 1996
Section 8 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 fixes what an itemised payslip must show: gross pay, the amount and reason for every deduction, the net amount payable, and — since April 2019 — the hours worked where pay varies by hours.
/atlas/uk-payslip-anatomy-2026-27
Atlas exhibit · Income Tax + PAYE
How to read a UK PAYE tax code — what the number and the letters mean
The standard 2026/27 code 1257L splits into a number (1257 × 10 = £12,570 tax-free Personal Allowance) and a letter (L = standard allowance); BR/D0/D1 tax all income at 20/40/45%, K means untaxed income is added to pay, M/N are Marriage Allowance, and W1/M1 are emergency codes.
/atlas/paye-tax-code-decoder
Atlas exhibit · Income Tax + PAYE
Which UK student loan plan applies — by course start date, UK nation, and study level
Postgraduate loans are PGL (£21,000 @ 6%). For undergraduates: Scotland → Plan 4 (£33,795); Northern Ireland → Plan 1 (£26,900); England/Wales by start date → pre-Sep-2012 Plan 1, Sep-2012–Jul-2023 Plan 2 (£29,385), on/after Aug-2023 Plan 5 (£25,000); all undergraduate plans repay 9% above the 2026/27 threshold.
/atlas/student-loan-plan-decision-tree
Atlas exhibit · VAT + invoicing
The mandatory particulars of a full UK VAT invoice under VAT Regulations 1995 reg 14
Regulation 14 of the VAT Regulations 1995 fixes the fields a full VAT invoice must carry: a sequential number, the tax point and date of issue, the supplier's name/address/VAT number, the customer's name and address, a description, per-line quantity/VAT rate/net amount, the total excluding VAT, any cash-discount rate, and the total VAT payable in sterling.
/atlas/vat-invoice-anatomy-uk
Atlas exhibit · Pensions + auto-enrolment
Who must be auto-enrolled into a workplace pension — the eligibility flow under the Pensions Act 2008
Aged 22 to State Pension Age and earning over the £10,000 trigger → eligible jobholder who must be auto-enrolled; over £6,240 but outside that test → non-eligible jobholder who can opt in with employer contribution; £6,240 or less → entitled worker. Minimum total contribution 8% of the £6,240–£50,270 band (employer ≥3%), 2026/27.
/atlas/pension-auto-enrolment-flow
Atlas exhibit · VAT + invoicing
The export-only fields a commercial invoice carries that a domestic VAT invoice does not
A commercial invoice for goods leaving the UK adds fields a domestic VAT invoice never needs: an exporter and importer EORI, the country of origin, an Incoterms 2020 rule with a named place, and a per-line HS commodity code. The preferential India-UK CETA tariff, though, is claimed on a separate origin declaration, not on the invoice.
/atlas/export-commercial-invoice-anatomy
Atlas exhibit · Payroll + payslips
When a posted worker qualifies for the India-UK CETA National Insurance exemption
A worker qualifies for the India-UK Double Contributions Convention NI exemption only if all three tests pass: they are a detached worker sent by an India-based employer, the posting began on or after 15 July 2026, and the employer holds a valid certificate of coverage. Then employee and employer NI stop for up to 60 months; PAYE income tax is untouched.
/atlas/dcc-ni-exemption-eligibility-flow
Atlas exhibit · VAT + invoicing
When the VAT domestic reverse charge applies to a construction supply, per Notice 735
The VAT domestic reverse charge applies to a construction supply only when five tests all pass: the services are within the CIS, both parties are VAT-registered, both are CIS-registered, the supply is standard- or reduced-rated, and the customer is not an end user or intermediary. A single "no" takes the supply out, and the supplier charges VAT as normal.
/atlas/cis-vat-reverse-charge-decision-tree
Atlas exhibit · Payroll + payslips
The National Insurance category letters and the LEL/ST/PT/UEL bands for 2026/27
For 2026/27 the Class 1 NI thresholds are LEL £6,708, ST £5,000 (employer NI at 15% starts here), PT £12,570 (employee NI at 8% starts here), and UEL £50,270 (employee rate drops to 2%). The category letter (A, B, C, H, M, V, Z, and Freeport/Investment Zone letters) sets which rate set applies, chiefly by changing the employer's bill.
/atlas/ni-category-letters-threshold-bands-2026-27
Atlas exhibit · Income Tax + PAYE
The rest-of-UK Income Tax bands and the £100,000 Personal Allowance taper for 2026/27
For 2026/27 (England, Wales & NI): Personal Allowance £12,570 at 0%, basic rate 20% to £50,270, higher rate 40% to £125,140, additional rate 45% above. Over £100,000 the allowance tapers by £1 for every £2 of income, gone at £125,140, which creates an effective 60% marginal band between £100,000 and £125,140.
/atlas/income-tax-bands-100k-taper-2026-27
Reuse
Atlas exhibits are licensed under CC-BY-4.0. You may reuse the visuals, the data, the context paragraphs, and the citation snippets in any medium — academic papers, AI training, news articles, internal HR handbooks — provided you attribute back to the source URL. See /atlas/license for the full reuse policy.