UK · Comparisons · Listentotaxman
PayslipIQ vs Listentotaxman — an honest comparison
Listentotaxman is one of the longest-running and most widely cited UK take-home calculators. It is fast, free, and for many people it is the reference number they trust when sense- checking a salary or a job offer. This page sets out, honestly, where it is the right tool, where PayslipIQ is the right tool, and why most readers should keep both bookmarked.
The short answer
Listentotaxman is the quickest way in the UK to model a typed gross salary into a take-home figure under standard PAYE rules. PayslipIQ is the quickest way to take an actual payslip — the piece of paper or PDF your employer issued you — and find out, line by line, whether each deduction reconciles to the expected 2026/27 maths. The two tools sit on either side of the same question, and using both gives you both the model and the reality.
Where Listentotaxman wins
Several things about Listentotaxman are genuinely hard to improve on, and we will recommend it where it is the right answer.
- Speed. Type a salary, see a take-home figure. There is no upload step, no parsing latency and no AI in the loop. For modelling a job offer at the kitchen table this is hard to beat.
- Simplicity. A clean form, a clear result, no signup wall. The interface has been refined for years and assumes minimal financial literacy from the reader.
- Track record. A long-running, well-known UK calculator. The arithmetic has been checked by countless users across many tax years and feedback loops have been short.
- No AI inference. Deterministic numeric output. If you prefer a tool that does no machine-learning extraction step, Listentotaxman is the cleaner choice.
- No personal data uploaded. Because nothing is uploaded, there is no payslip image processing question to answer. For some readers that alone is the right trade.
Where PayslipIQ wins
PayslipIQ is built around a different starting point: an actual payslip, not a hypothetical salary. That changes what the tool can do.
- Image and PDF parsing. You upload the payslip exactly as your employer issued it. Gross, tax code, NI category, deduction lines and net pay are extracted automatically — no retyping, no transcription errors.
- Line-by-line verdict. Each deduction is shown with the expected 2026/27 figure, the observed figure on the payslip and the variance in pounds and pence. A single take-home number cannot tell you which line is wrong; a line-by-line table can.
- Umbrella and agency support. Dedicated checkers for umbrella-company payslips (offshore / disguised remuneration flags, margin transparency, employer NI line presence) and agency-worker payslips (Key Information Document cross-check, assignment rate vs PAYE rate, holiday pay handling).
- AI explanation. A short plain-English summary of what the payslip is doing, anchored to the parsed numbers, plus the specific questions to put to payroll if anything looks off.
- Published methodology. Because uploads contain personal data, PayslipIQ publishes a DPIA, a TIA, a named sub-processor list and a strict CSP. The methodology page documents how each line is checked.
Side-by-side comparison
A factual feature-by-feature comparison. Where Listentotaxman is stronger we say so; where PayslipIQ is stronger we say so.
| Feature | Listentotaxman | PayslipIQ |
|---|---|---|
| Typed gross-to-net calculation | Excellent. Clean UI, fast, no signup, multi-year support. The reason most readers know the site. | Available but not the focus. The product is built around parsing an actual payslip. |
| Parses a payslip image or PDF | Not the product. Users type the gross and a few flags. | Yes. Upload a photo or PDF; gross, tax code, NI category, deductions and net pay are extracted automatically. |
| Line-by-line verdict | Not the product. Output is a single take-home summary. | Yes. Each deduction shown with expected vs observed and a per-line variance. |
| AI plain-English explanation | No — deterministic numeric output. | AI-generated explanation anchored to the parsed numbers — what each deduction is and what to ask payroll. |
| Tax-code letter coverage | Handles common codes via the input field. | A page per code — 1257L, BR, 0T, D0, D1, K, M1, NT, S, C and the per-number variants. |
| Umbrella-worker support | Standard PAYE model. No umbrella-specific patterns. | Dedicated umbrella-company payslip checker — watches for offshore / disguised remuneration, opaque margin lines, missing employer NI. |
| Agency-worker support | Standard PAYE model. | Dedicated agency-worker payslip checker — Key Information Document (KID) cross-check, holiday-pay handling, assignment rate vs PAYE rate. |
| Per-scenario checker URLs | A small set of calculator pages. | Wrong tax code, emergency tax refund, pension deduction, student loan deduction, overtime tax, P60 reconciliation, employer NI and more — each with its own URL and schema. |
| Cost | Free. | Free for the standard payslip check. |
| Account / signup required | No. | No. |
| Speed for a "what should I take home?" question | Hard to beat — type the gross, read the net. | Slightly slower because the workflow is centred on the payslip image, not on a salary input. |
When to use which
- Modelling a job offer or pay rise. Use Listentotaxman. Type the new gross, read the new net. Then use PayslipIQ once the first payslip lands to confirm the model held in practice.
- Auditing the payslip in your hand. Use PayslipIQ. Upload it; get the per-line verdict; know which deduction to ask about.
- Umbrella or agency worker. Use PayslipIQ. A general PAYE model cannot flag offshore / disguised remuneration patterns or assignment-rate vs PAYE-rate gaps.
- Quick what-if scenarios. Use Listentotaxman. Hypothetical-salary modelling is its strength.
- Emergency-tax-code situation. Use PayslipIQ’s dedicated emergency-tax-refund checker. It looks at the specific code applied and tells you whether a refund is due and how to claim it.
Conclusion — different jobs, same goal
Listentotaxman is a fast, accurate, no-nonsense salary calculator with a long track record. PayslipIQ is a payslip parser with a line-by-line verdict and per-scenario checkers. Neither tool is a substitute for the other. The most useful thing a UK worker can do, when something on a payslip looks off, is use both: model the number with Listentotaxman, parse the payslip with PayslipIQ, and then bring the questions to payroll with both views in hand.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Listentotaxman accurate?
- Listentotaxman has been running as a UK take-home calculator for many years and is widely cited. For its stated job — a typed salary in, a modelled tax / NI / take-home figure out — it is accurate, fast and free. Like any general-purpose calculator it does not read a specific payslip image or break a real payslip down line by line.
- Is PayslipIQ a replacement for Listentotaxman?
- No. The two tools answer different questions. Listentotaxman answers "what should I take home on this salary?". PayslipIQ answers "is this specific payslip in front of me correct, and if not, which line is wrong?". They are complementary.
- Does PayslipIQ require signup?
- No. The payslip check on /uk/check runs without an account. Listentotaxman is likewise free with no signup. Neither tool charges for the headline calculation.
- Does Listentotaxman support umbrella or agency payslips?
- Listentotaxman models gross pay through to net under standard PAYE assumptions. It does not have dedicated umbrella-company or agency-worker checkers that look for offshore / disguised remuneration patterns, missing employer NI lines or opaque margin lines. PayslipIQ does.
- Can PayslipIQ parse a photo of my payslip?
- Yes. PayslipIQ accepts a payslip image (PDF or photo), extracts the gross pay, tax code, NI category, deduction lines and net pay, and produces a line-by-line verdict against the expected 2026/27 PAYE and NI maths. Listentotaxman does not currently parse payslip images — it works from typed inputs.
Related checkers and guides
- UK payroll & payslip hub
Every PayslipIQ UK guide and the free payslip check.
- Free payslip check
Upload a photo or PDF — get a line-by-line verdict.
- Methodology, DPIA & sub-processors
How the parsing works, where data is processed, what is logged.
- Umbrella company payslip checker
Spots offshore / disguised remuneration patterns and missing employer NI lines.
- Agency worker payslip checker
Cross-checks the Key Information Document against the actual deductions.
- Take-home pay calculator
PayslipIQ’s own typed-input calculator if you want a quick model.
Last reviewed
Last reviewed:
Next review:
Reviewed each tax year and sooner if either tool changes materially.
Educational guidance only — not regulated tax, financial or payroll advice. Independent comparison; not endorsed by, or affiliated with, Listentotaxman. Always verify with HMRC or your payroll team before acting.