What a Police Superintendent payslip looks like
A typical UK police superintendent payslip is paid monthly and shows a basic pay line at the top. Police Superintendent is the senior command rank leading large divisions or strategic functions. The line items below depend on grade, shift pattern and contractual additions, but the structure usually mirrors HMRC's recommended payslip layout: a payments block, a deductions block, a year-to-date column, and a net pay summary.
Common employers in this occupation include Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester Police, West Midlands Police. Each employer runs payroll slightly differently, but the underlying PAYE computation against tax code 1257L or K-prefix and Class 1 National Insurance is identical across the UK (excluding Scotland for income tax). The biggest variability between two police superintendent payslips at the same gross will be in the additions block: Superintendent pay runs £84,177 to £99,015 across four pay points, in force from 1 September 2025. The 14.22% pension contribution comes off before the personal-allowance taper is measured, so the top of the scale counts as £84,935 and promotion to chief superintendent at £103,797 counts as £89,037 — still £10,963 short of £100,000, so none of it meets the 60% effective rate.
Year-to-date columns are critical to verify on this role because the additions and salary sacrifice items change month to month. If your YTD gross divided by months elapsed in the tax year does not match your expected annual run-rate, that is the single best signal that something is mis-coded.
Superintendent: £84,177 to £99,015 from 1 September 2025
The top of the superintendent scale stops just under £100,000, but the 14.22% pension contribution comes off before the personal-allowance taper is measured, so the figure that counts is £84,935, not £99,015. Promotion to chief superintendent at £103,797 is £89,037 on the same basis — still £10,963 short of the taper, so none of it meets the 60% effective rate.
| Step | Published / year | Pension | Tax + NI | Net / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay point 1 (entry) | £84,177 | £11,970 (14.22%) | £20,009 | £4,350 |
| Pay point 2 | £88,449 | £12,577 (14.22%) | £21,560 | £4,526 |
| Pay point 3 | £92,955 | £13,218 (14.22%) | £23,196 | £4,712 |
| Pay point 4 (top) | £99,015 | £14,080 (14.22%) | £25,397 | £4,962 |
- From £84,177 to £99,015 is £14,838 of gross progression and £7,340 after deductions, which is £612 a month, or 49p in the pound.
- Pension comes off before tax and every step still clears £50,270: £84,177 at Pay point 1 (entry) is taxed on £72,207, £21,937 above the threshold. At the top, £99,015 is taxed on £84,935, of which £34,665 falls in the 40% band.
- Chief superintendent (pay point 1) starts at £103,797, £4,782 above the top of this grade and about £197 a month more in the hand.
Home Office circular 011/2026, Annex F (Police Regulations 2003). Forces other than the Metropolitan and City of London, which have their own tables from inspector upwards, and before London weighting of £3,150 or a South East allowance. Net figures are estimates on 1257L with rUK bands and no student loan, Police Pension Scheme 2015 off before tax but not before NI. Full scale, allowances and Police Pension Scheme 2015 tiers.
Common deductions for a Police Superintendent
- PAYE income tax.Calculated against tax code 1257L or K-prefix. Cumulative coding means refunds can appear if you start mid-year.
- National Insurance (Class 1).8% between £12,570 and £50,270 of annual earnings, then 2% above. Period-by-period method is standard.
- Pension.Auto-enrolment minimum 5% employee on qualifying earnings (£6,240 - £50,270), unless your employer runs a more generous scheme such as the NHS, Teachers Pension or Civil Service alpha.
- Salary sacrifice patterns.Common in this occupation: cycle-to-work, electric-car salary sacrifice, additional pension contributions, and where applicable workplace nursery vouchers (still tax-efficient via pre-existing schemes).
- Union or professional body.Tax-deductible for HMRC-listed bodies. Police Superintendents commonly hold subscriptions covered by section 344 ITEPA 2003 (List 3).
Police Superintendent payslip FAQ
How much does a Police Superintendent earn in 2026/27?
Superintendent is published at £84,177 to £99,015, effective 1 September 2025, in Home Office circular 011/2026, Annex F (Police Regulations 2003). Forces other than the Metropolitan and City of London, which have their own tables from inspector upwards, and before London weighting of £3,150 or a South East allowance.
What is the take-home pay for a Police Superintendent?
At the top of the grade, £99,015, income tax and National Insurance come to about £25,397 a year, and Police Pension Scheme 2015 takes a further £14,080, leaving roughly £4,962 a month. At the bottom of the grade, £84,177, it is roughly £4,350 a month. Estimated on tax code 1257L with England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands and no student loan.
What is unusual about a Police Superintendent payslip?
Superintendent pay runs £84,177 to £99,015 across four pay points, in force from 1 September 2025. The 14.22% pension contribution comes off before the personal-allowance taper is measured, so the top of the scale counts as £84,935 and promotion to chief superintendent at £103,797 counts as £89,037 — still £10,963 short of £100,000, so none of it meets the 60% effective rate.
Which tax code should a Police Superintendent typically be on?
Most people in this role on standard PAYE will see 1257L or K-prefix. Check the prefix and suffix carefully: a K-prefix means deductions exceed your allowance (often after a bonus or P11D benefit), 0T means you have no allowance left at this employer, and BR means basic rate on the whole job (common in second jobs).
Related roles
Pay figures: Home Office circular 011/2026, Annex F (Police Regulations 2003), the determination in force from 1 September 2025. Tax, National Insurance and pension figures are estimates from this site's 2026/27 engine.