Based on current HMRC guidance and UK PAYE rulesUpdated for the current UK tax year

TaxDecod

UK salary and take-home guidance

Tax refund estimator

Check if you may have overpaid Income Tax

This tool helps PAYE users estimate whether the Income Tax already paid looks higher, lower, or roughly in line with the estimated tax due.

Current tax-year framing

This feature is built as a first-check PAYE estimator using TaxDecod's current 2025/26 site assumptions. It works best when users know their gross income, tax code, and tax already paid.

Last reviewed: 16 April 2026

Using 2025/26 site assumptions

PAYE Income Tax estimate only

Best with P60 or payslip tax paid

HMRC decides final refund or underpayment

What this tool is for

This is a fast refund / underpayment signal, not a formal HMRC outcome. It is designed to help users understand whether their paid Income Tax looks too high or too low before they take the next step.

PAYE refund / underpayment check

Check if your Income Tax looks too high or too low

This estimator compares the Income Tax you have already paid with the estimated Income Tax due based on your salary, tax code, and current TaxDecod assumptions.

Best input

P60 or tax paid to date

Focus

Income Tax only

Step 1

Enter your tax and salary details

Use your completed-year figures or your payslip tax-paid-to-date figures for a rough current-year check.

£
£

Step 2

Read the refund / underpayment signal

This compares your paid Income Tax against the estimated Income Tax due for the selected reference period.

Refund reading

£1,186

possible underpayment signal

Possible underpayment

You may have underpaid Income Tax

Based on this paye employment estimate, the Income Tax already paid looks lower than the estimated tax due for the full tax year.

Expected tax (full tax year)

£5,486

Tax already paid

£4,300

Estimated annual tax due

£5,486

Confidence

Stronger estimate when using a completed-year salary and total tax paid

This is an estimator, not an HMRC decision. It is most useful as a first check before a user looks at their P60, payslip tax paid, P800 letter, or HMRC account.

Open calculator

Check your full take-home pay and deduction mix.

Compare salaries

See whether another salary changes your monthly outcome.

Reverse from take-home

Work backwards from the monthly income you want to keep.

Best inputs

  • P60 total tax paid
  • Payslip year-to-date tax paid
  • Correct tax code
  • Expected full-year gross income

Understand tax code and PAYE

Helpful when a refund signal may be caused by the wrong code or a payroll mismatch.

Check your salary normally

Move back into the full salary reading if you want the broader net-pay picture.

Explore salary pages

Browse common UK salary levels and related take-home routes.

Follow-up and saving

Send your refund estimate to your email

Save the refund or underpayment reading so you can compare it with a payslip, P60, or another salary scenario later.

Send refund estimateKeep the result without relying on email delivery

For now, the most reliable way to keep this result is to save the route where available, bookmark the page, or return through the same salary path later. This keeps the experience calm and avoids promising a delivery step that is not central to the product.