Salary Increase Calculator
Find out how much of a pay rise you’d actually keep once tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan are taken off.
Enter your current salary and the rise as a percentage or a new salary. The calculator uses the same engine as our take-home pay calculator, so the figures always match.
What the rise means for your pay
Before and after, deduction by deduction
Annual figures for both salaries, with the change in each deduction.
| Current | After the rise | Change |
|---|
Why you don’t keep all of a pay rise
Each extra pound of salary is taxed at your marginal rate — the rates that apply at the top of your income — not your average rate. For someone in England earning £35,000, an extra £1 attracts 20% Income Tax and 8% National Insurance, so they keep 72p. Add 9% student loan and it’s 63p. The calculator works this out exactly by running both salaries through the same take-home pay engine and comparing every deduction.
How much of a £1,000 rise you’d keep
Worked out by the calculator for 2026/27, with the standard tax code, no pension contribution and no student loan:
| Current salary | Kept from a £1,000 rise — England, Wales & NI | Kept from a £1,000 rise — Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £720 (72%) | £720 (72%) |
| £40,000 | £720 (72%) | £710 (71%) |
| £60,000 | £580 (58%) | £560 (56%) |
| £105,000 | £380 (38%) | £305 (31%) |
| £130,000 | £530 (53%) | £500 (50%) |
Rises that cross a threshold are partly taxed at one rate and partly at the next, so the share you keep can sit between these figures.
Thresholds worth knowing about
- Higher rate: from £50,270 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Income Tax rises from 20% to 40% while National Insurance drops from 8% to 2%. In Scotland the 42% higher rate starts lower (£43,663 in 2026/27).
- £100,000 to £125,140: the Personal Allowance is withdrawn, giving an effective 60% Income Tax rate in this band (62% with National Insurance; more in Scotland).
- Student loan thresholds: crossing your plan’s threshold adds 9% to the deductions on everything above it.
Pension contributions grow with your salary
If your pension contribution is a percentage of salary, a rise increases it too. That money isn’t lost — it goes into your pension — but it does reduce the extra take-home pay you see. The before-and-after table shows the pension change separately so you can see where every pound of the rise goes.
Limits of this comparison
Both salaries are assumed to apply for the whole tax year. A rise part-way through the year will increase that year’s take-home pay proportionally less. The calculator doesn’t model means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit, or the High Income Child Benefit Charge, which can reduce the overall gain from a rise. It also doesn’t account for inflation — a rise below the rate of price increases can still leave you worse off in real terms.
Sources
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HMRC — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
PAYE Income Tax bands for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, Class 1 National Insurance thresholds and rates, and student and postgraduate loan thresholds for 2026/27.
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HMRC — Rates and thresholds for employers 2025 to 2026
The same figures for the 2025/26 tax year.
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GOV.UK — Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances
Current bands and the rule that the Personal Allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000.
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GOV.UK — Scottish Income Tax
Scottish starter, basic, intermediate, higher, advanced and top rate bands.
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GOV.UK — Repaying your student loan: what you pay
Plan 1, 2, 4 and 5 and Postgraduate Loan thresholds and how repayments work when you have more than one loan.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my take-home pay rise smaller than the percentage increase?
Because the extra salary is taxed at your highest rates. A 5% rise in gross pay is usually a smaller percentage increase in take-home pay, since Income Tax, National Insurance and any student loan take a share of every extra pound.
Can a pay rise leave me worse off?
Not through Income Tax and National Insurance alone — the highest combined marginal rates are below 100%, so you always keep some of a rise. However, things this calculator doesn’t model, such as means-tested benefits or the High Income Child Benefit Charge, can reduce or occasionally outweigh the gain.
What happens to a pay rise between £100,000 and £125,140?
In that band your Personal Allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of extra income, so you lose 60% of a rise to Income Tax plus 2% National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish taxpayers lose more.
Does a pay rise increase my student loan repayments?
Yes, if you earn above your plan’s threshold. Repayments are 9% of earnings above the threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan), so 9% of the rise goes to your loan once you’re over it.
Should I enter my rise as a percentage or a new salary?
Whichever you know. If your employer has given you a new figure, enter it directly; if you’ve been offered a percentage, enter that and the calculator works out the new salary.