My Taxes - 2023

Today, I am publishing my end of year tax records (P60), for 2023.

A part of why I publish my payslip each year is so that you can see, to the penny, what I take home and what taxes I pay. This is because you, as a local taxpayer, are my employer and you pay my wage as a Councillor.

Showing my payslips also shows everyone the true cost of a Councillor to the council / you. For example, most people don't seem to know that the council pays Employer National Insurance Contributions for every Councillor they pay. This is normal for an employer, but did you know Councillors are 'employed' by the council?

This term 'employed' upsets a number of councillors, but I think it is accurate.

Councillors must sign agreements with the Borough, codes of conducts, submit ourselves to their disciplinary process, and they pay us. So, employed is the correct term, as well as elected.

My pay for April remains as most months. My gross pay was £1492.67. This was made up of £867.67 for my role as a Councillor and £625.00 for my additional role as Chairman of the Places Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The council will elect the next chair on May 22nd and there is no guarantee that I will continue in that role.

After taxes, I took home £1158.70.

I paid £333.97 in taxes and Havering Council paid £101.38 in Employer N.I Contributions to HMRC.

My payslips are at the end of this page, my tax details are published below.

Second Job

I am extremely lucky in that I have a full-time job, outside of being a Councillor. This second job means that none of my councillor pay is tax-free (people can take earn around £12,000 a year before they pay any tax).

Not every councillor is in this position. For some, this may be their only job or they may be retired. This means that everyone's tax circumstances will differ. My payslip should not be used to workout what others are paid.