AIBU to expect a take home pay of roughly £920 from an annual salary of £11,745?

[AlohaMolly]

A month ago, I took a new job that paid around £700 more annually than my previous job. More money on paper and also in practice because of the difference in commute. The annual salary was £11,745. Ive just been paid £787 for my first month of work and I can’t figure out how that works? I absolutely gutted as it’s roughly £150 less a month than I was earning before. Have I been really stupid? I asked about the annual salary, not the monthly one and did some rough calculations based on the NIC I paid in my last job. I feel like such a fool, this job was supposed to better my life.

Have you provided them with your P45 from previous job? They may be taking too much off for taxes (as they are meant to if they do not have the previous tax figures).

The good news is that if that is the case, IR will eventually send you a check for the overpaid amount.

TAs should get paid for 44 weeks because you have the 39 weeks that you work, plus the minimum allowed holiday allowance of 5 weeks a year.

This is then spread out through the year so you get the same money each month instead of a certain amount most months, then little or nothing in the school holidays.

The pay for 26.25 hours a week would work out at a minimum annual salary of £11,795 which is based on working 39 weeks of the year

That sounds like you'll earn just under £1k pm with some deductions, so your take home should be around £920 that you've calculated.

Plus it will actually increase slightly when the new NI comes in later in the year - it was going up, but they've changed it again and anyone earning under around £35k will pay less than they were going to do, with the lowest earners benefitting by about £300 per year.

My betting is that you're on emergency tax or its a short month and it should sort itself next month, but no-one can say without seeing the details on your payslip.

It’s pay for 39 weeks but delivered in 12 monthly instalments.

No it's not 39 weeks because that would allow for no holiday pay. I work 39 weeks a yr but get paid for 45 weeks spread across 12 months

You can’t expect to be on the right tax code if you haven’t handed your P45 to your new employer.

Hopefully once you’ve handed that to them, they can sort out the correct tax for subsequent pay and at some point you’ll get a rebate of the tax you’ve overpaid. Paying 20% tax is a killer so get it to them without further delay.

Most likely you are the wrong tax code & have deductions for not working the entire month

Don't panic until you have had a chance to review your payslip.

I'm a teacher, but have never started mid-year so I don't know if this is right but...

You are paid 'term-time' only. So this academic year, you'll only be paid for another ~15 weeks. If that is then going to be spread out over the remaining months until September, you'd get less each month than if you'd worked since September (Work full year: 39/12 = 3.25 ; work from now until Summer: 15/6 = 2.5) So could it be that you'll get less per month this academic year but then the larger pay packet from September?

www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php

I doubt you've been paid a full month's wages.

You are paid 'term-time' only. So this academic year, you'll only be paid for another ~15 weeks. If that is then going to be spread out over the remaining months until September, you'd get less each month than if you'd worked since September

No annual salaries are divided by 12 so starting mid year has no difference.

If you have an online account you can update your expected salary somewhere if its wrong. Not sure if that will help. Sorry I can't remember exactly where it wad on another thread.

You don't need your pay slip to check your tax code, you can make a login on the HMRC government gateway site and see for yourself what's going on. If they've got you down as still working for your old employer as well as the new one you can tell them you've left. I had to do this when I started a new job before my old employer had processed payroll and told HMRC I'd left.

@raspberrymuffin

You don't need your pay slip to check your tax code, you can make a login on the HMRC government gateway site and see for yourself what's going on. If they've got you down as still working for your old employer as well as the new one you can tell them you've left. I had to do this when I started a new job before my old employer had processed payroll and told HMRC I'd left.

That's the one, the government gateway.

@theresapossuminthekitchen

I'm a teacher, but have never started mid-year so I don't know if this is right but...

You are paid 'term-time' only. So this academic year, you'll only be paid for another ~15 weeks. If that is then going to be spread out over the remaining months until September, you'd get less each month than if you'd worked since September (Work full year: 39/12 = 3.25 ; work from now until Summer: 15/6 = 2.5) So could it be that you'll get less per month this academic year but then the larger pay packet from September?

Are you a maths teacher?

It doesn't make any difference when you start, 1/2 of the total annual amount is the same in January or June

@raspberrymuffin

You don't need your pay slip to check your tax code, you can make a login on the HMRC government gateway site and see for yourself what's going on. If they've got you down as still working for your old employer as well as the new one you can tell them you've left. I had to do this when I started a new job before my old employer had processed payroll and told HMRC I'd left.

OP says she has a P45 so barring a major snaffu at HMRC she's not going to be down with two employers, although I suppose anything is possible

Since this is your first month in this new role, it sounds very much like you're on the default emergency tax rate. It'll sort itself out in another month or two and you'll get your money back.

When you start a new job you should give them a P45.

If you don’t they should ask you to complete a New Starter Form (previously called a p46) which allows them to put you on a M1 (non cumulative code.

If neither of these have been given you almost certainly have been put on a Basic Rate code which means ALL income is taxed at 20% and that’s pretty much bang on with the figures.

I expect you’ve missed the boat to get this sorted this tax year so you’ll need to claim back the overpaid tax from HMRC

In the interim ensure you fill out a P46 for the new tax year to get put on to the right tax code for April onwards.

@MrsMariaReynolds

Since this is your first month in this new role, it sounds very much like you're on the default emergency tax rate. It'll sort itself out in another month or two and you'll get your money back.

Normally this is correct but so close to the end of the tax year it causes more issues as my post above.

You're on the wrong tax code is rapidly becoming the new “cancel the cheque”

@implantreplace

Op

It will be very straightforward to work out if a mistake

Look at your pay slip
Ensure paid for the entire period
Ensure correctly taxed, correct pension contributions etc.

Mumsnet can’t help you
Your pay slip can

@implantreplace - well your post certainly won’t help! It’s OP’s first month - how will she know she has been correctly taxed, paid correct pension and contributions?? It’s not like HMRC never get it wrong. I think OP was looking for some reassurance rather than been made to feel a fool for asking. Your post is not helpful.

I haven't read the answers yet so apologise as I'm sure someone's already covered this.

Don't panic, did you have a p45 to hand in, if so, check the tax code on your current payslip matches the one on your P45. If you don't have your P45 yet then rhey shoukd have given you a p60 o fill out which asks you to declare whether this is your only job since 6th April 2021, whether its your only job now but you've had another one within this tax year, or finally, if you have more than 1 job. This will then mean you are placed on an emergency tax code until they have your actual figures from your previous employer, at which point you will get a tax refund in the next pay period.

You were right not to ask about take home pay, that's personal to your circumstances, the employer can't make this up for you as they don't know whether you have a huge income from somewhere else, so they will only work off your gross pay. Finally have you been auto enrolled into a pension scheme?

You should however have been given details of pensions when you joined, and your payslips etc at the time of the payment being made.

Find it so weird that it's your first pay and the first thing you did was panic about the amount.

Surely basic common sense tells you it might not be quite 'right' the first month due to either starting date or emergency tax code?

Sorry p46 not p60!

It took me 4 months to get school and HMRC communicating correctly about my tax code.
The pay packet where I got all my tax back was very nice!

If you don't have the correct tax code on the Pau slip, ring HMRC and sort it. Your 920 looks yo be about right for pay when it's correct.

@Mybestyear

The op can refer to her contract
Determine what she is entitled to
And then refer to pay slip to see if applied

Isn't it likely to be a more complicated calculation because it's in a school with only some of the holidays paid but the salary annualised and divided by 12.

If someone is employed from 1st Sept - 31st August they would receive 1/12 of the salary per month, work for 39 weeks and not work for 13 weeks. If someone starts mid year it wouldn't be fair to pay them exactly the same each month at this point because they could start on 1st March, have 2 weeks off at Easter, a week at half term and 6 weeks over the summer and then leave on say 30th September. That would equate to 7 months of employment time but of that there's 9 weeks holiday. The calculation must therefore be more complex.

I would start with both payslip and a good read of your contract plus hand in the P60 - just because you weren't asked for it doesn't mean you shouldn't hand it in. Unfortunately the problem with the PAYE system is although it's largely out of your hands, it's every individual's responsibility to ensure they pay the correct amount of tax.