Take-home pay calculator
What you actually keep after income tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension. 2026/27 rates.
More options
Your income tax, band by band
Only the money inside each band is charged at that band's rate. Crossing into the higher rate does not tax your whole salary at 40%.
| Band | Rate | Income in band | Tax |
|---|
Personal Allowance used:
Tax year 2026/27 Rates checked 2026-07-16 Runs entirely in your browser
Deductions
Where the money goes
Four things come out of a UK salary before it reaches your bank account, and only the first two apply to everyone.
If you work part time and the salary you have been quoted is the full-time figure, get the pro-rata number first with Toolbay's pro-rata salary calculator, then bring it back here.
Income tax
Charged on what you earn above your Personal Allowance, which is £12,570 for most people. It goes up in steps, and only the money inside each step is charged at that step's rate. Earning £1 into the higher rate does not tax your whole salary at 40%, which is the single most common misunderstanding about UK tax.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
| Band | Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | over £125,140 | 45% |
Scotland
| Band | Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Starter rate | £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% |
| Basic rate | £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% |
| Intermediate rate | £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% |
| Higher rate | £43,663 to £75,000 | 42% |
| Advanced rate | £75,001 to £125,140 | 45% |
| Top rate | over £125,140 | 48% |
National Insurance
8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above that. It is UK-wide, so it does not change if you live in Scotland. That creates an odd window: the Scottish higher rate starts at £43,663 while NI stays at 8% until £50,270, so Scottish taxpayers in between lose 50p of every extra pound.
Student loan
9% of everything over your plan's threshold, or 6% for a postgraduate loan. Plans stack, so an undergraduate and a postgraduate loan are both charged.
| Plan | Threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | 6% |
Pension
How you pay in changes what it costs you, and the difference is real money. Salary sacrifice reduces your contractual pay, so you dodge income tax and National Insurance on the contribution. Net pay comes off your taxable income but after NI is worked out, so it saves the tax only. Relief at source is paid out of your net wages and the provider claims 20% back into the pot; if you are a higher-rate taxpayer you have to claim the rest yourself, because payroll will never give it to you.
Questions
How much of my salary do I actually take home?
It depends on where you live, what you earn and what you pay into a pension. On £35,000 in England you keep roughly £28,500 a year, or about £2,375 a month. Put your own figure in above for an exact answer.
Why is my payslip different from this?
Usually your tax code. This tool assumes the standard code; if yours differs, because of a company car, unpaid tax from a previous year, or a benefit in kind, your payslip will differ too. National Insurance is also worked out on each pay period rather than annually, so a month with a bonus in it gets charged more NI than an annual calculation suggests.
Does salary sacrifice really save more than a normal pension?
Yes, and the saving is National Insurance. Salary sacrifice reduces your contractual pay, so you pay no tax and no NI on the sacrificed amount. A net-pay pension only saves you the tax. On a £5,000 contribution that difference is £400 a year at the 8% NI rate.
What is the 60% tax trap?
Between £100,000 and £125,140 your Personal Allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 you earn. That withdrawn allowance is then taxed at 40%, on top of the 40% you already pay on the extra income. The effective rate on that band is 60%, or 62% once NI is counted. Pension contributions reduce the income the taper is measured against, which is why they are unusually valuable in that window.
Is Scottish income tax different?
Yes. Scotland has six bands rather than three, and the higher rate starts at £43,663 rather than £50,270. National Insurance is UK-wide, so between £43,663 and £50,270 a Scottish taxpayer pays 42% tax and 8% NI at the same time, a 50% marginal rate.
Provenance
How this is worked out
Every rate on this page comes from gov.uk and was checked on 2026-07-16. Nothing is estimated or averaged. The sources are income tax rates, Scottish income tax, National Insurance rates and student loan repayment.
The calculation runs in your browser. What you earn is never sent to us, and we could not read it if we wanted to.
Two things it does not model. Your tax code is assumed to be the standard one. And National Insurance is annualised, where real payroll charges it on each pay period, so a month containing a bonus is charged more NI than an annual figure implies.