UK Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27

How UK take-home pay works

Four deductions sit between your gross salary and your bank account: income tax, National Insurance, student loan repayments, and workplace pension contributions. The first two are universal for PAYE employees. The other two depend on what you've signed up for.

Income tax is banded. The first £12,570 you earn (your personal allowance) is tax-free, then 20% on the next £37,700, then 40% up to £125,140, then 45% above. Scotland uses different bands above £43,000 — see the salary band glossary entry for the breakdown. National Insurance is 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. Both run on annual income, even though they're collected monthly.

The £100,000 personal allowance taper is the most common surprise in this calculation. Earn between £100k and £125,140 and your effective marginal rate is 60% — every extra pound loses 60p once you stack income tax with the shrinking allowance. Pension salary sacrifice is how most people in this band protect their effective rate, which the counter-offer guide covers in the context of negotiating exits at this earnings level.

The Scottish difference

Scotland sets its own income tax bands. The differences kick in above £43,000 — Scottish higher rate is 42% versus 40% in the rest of the UK, and Scotland adds an Advanced rate of 45% from £75,000 plus a Top rate of 48% above £125,140. National Insurance is set UK-wide and doesn't change. So a £75,000 salary nets meaningfully less in Scotland than in England — typically around £2,500 less per year. Pick "Scotland" in the dropdown above and the calculator switches band sets automatically.

Salary sacrifice vs relief at source

UK workplace pensions come in two flavours. Salary sacrifice takes your contribution from gross pay before income tax and NI are calculated, which means you save tax AND National Insurance on what you contribute. Relief at source takes contributions from net pay and HMRC adds 20% basic-rate tax relief into your pension pot — but you don't save NI, and higher-rate taxpayers have to claim the extra relief through Self Assessment. The calculator above assumes salary sacrifice, which is the most common modern setup.

Why the figure might not match your payslip

This calculator assumes a steady annual salary, the standard 1257L tax code, and a clean tax position with no benefits in kind. Real payslips are messier. Tax codes get adjusted mid-year. Bonuses arrive in lumps and look heavily taxed in the month they land. Workplace pension schemes vary. Two months of underpayment from January gets corrected in March. None of this changes the annual total — it just changes how the deductions distribute through the year.

For salary negotiation conversations, including the notice period calculation and timing your exit, the annual figure is the one that matters. If you need exact monthly variance, HMRC's online calculator or your payroll team's projection is more precise. For deciding whether a £55,000 offer beats a £48,000 offer once tax is factored in, this tool is the fast answer.

Why I built this

I've placed candidates for twelve years and the most common follow-up question after "what's the offer?" is "what's that actually worth in my pocket?" Multiplying by 0.7 is the back-of-envelope shortcut, but it's wrong above £50,000 and seriously wrong above £100,000. So I built a calculator that handles the bands, the £100k taper, Scotland, and student loans without forcing you to sign up for anything.

For more on salary timing and the conversations around it, see the career change pillar, the UK hiring patterns analysis, and the companion UK notice period calculator.

Common questions

Why doesn't this match the figure on my payslip exactly?

Three usual reasons. First, your tax code might not be 1257L — if HMRC has adjusted it for benefits in kind, untaxed income, or a previous underpayment, your personal allowance differs. Second, this calculator assumes a steady annual salary. Mid-year pay changes, bonuses, or backdated rises throw the monthly maths off. Third, workplace pension contributions are sometimes deducted before tax (salary sacrifice) and sometimes after (relief at source) — check your scheme to be sure which one applies.

What's the £100,000 personal allowance taper?

Once your gross income passes £100,000, your £12,570 personal allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 above the threshold. By £125,140 it's fully gone, which means a marginal effective tax rate of 60% in that band — every extra £1 you earn between £100k and £125k loses 60p once you stack income tax and the disappearing allowance. Pension salary sacrifice is the standard way to avoid the cliff if you're earning in this range.

What about the Scottish tax bands?

Scotland sets its own income tax rates and bands. They're noticeably different above £43,000 — Scottish higher rate is 42% (vs 40% rest-of-UK) and Scotland adds an Advanced rate of 45% from £75,000 plus a Top rate of 48% above £125,140. National Insurance is set UK-wide so doesn't differ by country. Pick Scotland in the dropdown to apply Scottish bands.

What's the difference between Plan 1, 2, 4, 5 and Postgraduate student loans?

Plan 1 covers most pre-2012 English and Welsh loans; Plan 2 covers 2012-2023 English and Welsh loans; Plan 4 is for Scottish students; Plan 5 covers 2023-onwards English students; Postgraduate is for masters and PhD finance regardless of when you started undergrad. Each has a different threshold (the income above which 9% — or 6% for Postgrad — is collected). If you're on Plan 2 plus Postgrad, you pay both. The dropdown lets you select one — for combined Plan 2 + Postgrad use the dedicated HMRC calculator.

Does this include workplace pension contributions?

Yes if you tick the pension box and enter a percentage. The calculator assumes salary sacrifice — your contribution is taken from gross before tax and NI, so you save tax on what you contribute. If your scheme is relief-at-source instead, the income tax saving still happens but NI doesn't, and your take-home will be slightly lower than the figure shown. Most modern UK pensions are salary sacrifice, but check your scheme paperwork.

Are bonuses taxed differently?

No, bonuses are taxed exactly like salary — they're added to your annual income and taxed at your top marginal rate. The reason a bonus payslip looks brutal is that PAYE assumes you'll earn that bonus every month and taxes it accordingly, often pushing the calculation into a higher band temporarily. HMRC reconciles at year-end. The amount you actually pay over a year is the same whether the income arrives evenly or in lumps.

Which tax year does this use?

2026/27 — the UK tax year that runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Most thresholds (personal allowance £12,570, higher rate £50,270, additional rate £125,140) have been frozen until April 2028 by the 2024 Autumn Budget, so they match 2025/26. If subsequent Budgets change rates I'll update the calculator.