UK Take-Home Pay Calculator
Estimate your pay after Income Tax, National Insurance, pension contributions and student loan repayments.
Enter your gross pay and choose the options that apply to you. Everything is calculated in your browser using HMRC’s published thresholds — nothing is sent anywhere.
Your estimated take-home pay
Deductions breakdown
Annual figures divided evenly into 12 months and 52 weeks.
| Per year | Per month | Per week |
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How your Income Tax is worked out
| Band | Rate | Income taxed in this band | Tax |
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How take-home pay is calculated
The calculator turns your pay into an annual figure, works out each deduction for the tax year and region you choose, then divides the result back into months and weeks:
- Income Tax is charged on income above your Personal Allowance (£12,570 with the standard 1257L code), in bands. If your income is over £100,000, the allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 above that, disappearing completely at £125,140. Scotland has six bands instead of three.
- National Insurance (employee Class 1, category A) is 8% of earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year and 2% above that. It’s the same across the UK.
- Student loans are 9% of earnings above your plan’s threshold, plus 6% above £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan. They’re based on the same earnings as National Insurance.
- Pension contributions are treated according to how your scheme takes them — see below.
How each type of pension contribution is treated
- Net pay arrangement: your contribution is taken before Income Tax, so you get tax relief at your highest rate straight away. National Insurance and student loan repayments are still worked out on your full salary.
- Relief at source: your contribution comes out of pay after tax. The percentage you enter is the total going into your pension: 80% is taken from your pay and your provider claims the other 20% from HMRC. Higher or additional-rate taxpayers can claim extra relief through Self Assessment or a tax code change — that isn’t included here.
- Salary sacrifice: you agree a lower salary and your employer pays the difference into your pension. Because your pay is lower, Income Tax, National Insurance and student loan repayments all fall. Salary sacrifice can affect things linked to your salary, such as some benefits and mortgage applications.
Contributions are worked out as a percentage of your whole gross salary. Many auto-enrolment schemes use “qualifying earnings” (a band of pay) instead, so your scheme’s actual deduction may be lower.
Tax codes
With 1257L the calculator applies the standard allowance and tapers it above £100,000, as HMRC would for your annual liability. Any other number-and-letter code (such as 1100L, 1383M or 1131N) is used exactly as entered — allowance = the number × 10 — on the basis that HMRC has already set it to reflect your circumstances. 0T, BR, D0, D1, NT and the Scottish D2 and D3 codes are also supported. K codes aren’t, and the calculator will say so rather than guess. An S or C prefix is accepted; your region setting decides which rates apply.
Rates used
These are the figures the calculator uses, taken from HMRC’s published rates and thresholds for employers.
2026/27 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027)
Income Tax — England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the standard Personal Allowance:
| Band | Rate | Annual income |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | 0% | Up to £12,570 |
| Basic rate | 20% | £12,571 to £50,270 |
| Higher rate | 40% | £50,271 to £125,140 |
| Additional rate | 45% | Over £125,140 |
Income Tax — Scotland:
| Band | Rate | Annual income |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | 0% | Up to £12,570 |
| Starter rate | 19% | £12,571 to £16,537 |
| Basic rate | 20% | £16,538 to £29,526 |
| Intermediate rate | 21% | £29,527 to £43,662 |
| Higher rate | 42% | £43,663 to £75,000 |
| Advanced rate | 45% | £75,001 to £125,140 |
| Top rate | 48% | Over £125,140 |
Employee National Insurance (category A) and student loan repayments:
| Deduction | Annual threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| National Insurance — main rate | £12,570 to £50,270 | 8% |
| National Insurance — above upper limit | Over £50,270 | 2% |
| Student loan — Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
| Student loan — Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% |
| Student loan — Plan 4 | £33,795 | 9% |
| Student loan — Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Student loan — Postgraduate loan | £21,000 | 6% |
2025/26 (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026)
Income Tax — England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the standard Personal Allowance:
| Band | Rate | Annual income |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | 0% | Up to £12,570 |
| Basic rate | 20% | £12,571 to £50,270 |
| Higher rate | 40% | £50,271 to £125,140 |
| Additional rate | 45% | Over £125,140 |
Income Tax — Scotland:
| Band | Rate | Annual income |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | 0% | Up to £12,570 |
| Starter rate | 19% | £12,571 to £15,397 |
| Basic rate | 20% | £15,398 to £27,491 |
| Intermediate rate | 21% | £27,492 to £43,662 |
| Higher rate | 42% | £43,663 to £75,000 |
| Advanced rate | 45% | £75,001 to £125,140 |
| Top rate | 48% | Over £125,140 |
Employee National Insurance (category A) and student loan repayments:
| Deduction | Annual threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| National Insurance — main rate | £12,570 to £50,270 | 8% |
| National Insurance — above upper limit | Over £50,270 | 2% |
| Student loan — Plan 1 | £26,065 | 9% |
| Student loan — Plan 2 | £28,470 | 9% |
| Student loan — Plan 4 | £32,745 | 9% |
| Student loan — Plan 5 | Not published for this year | — |
| Student loan — Postgraduate loan | £21,000 | 6% |
What this calculator doesn’t cover
- Your payslip may differ by a few pounds. Payroll works out tax, National Insurance and student loans for each pay period separately (with period thresholds and rounding), while this calculator works on the annual figure and divides it evenly.
- It assumes you’re under State Pension age and pay category A National Insurance, with one job and a regular salary paid through PAYE all year.
- Not included: bonuses or irregular pay, benefits in kind, overtime that varies, self-employment, dividends or savings income, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, Marriage Allowance or Blind Person’s Allowance (unless already reflected in your tax code), and Scottish residence rules — choose Scotland if HMRC treats you as a Scottish taxpayer.
- Only one undergraduate student loan plan can be selected. If you have two, you repay 9% above the lower threshold.
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
Will this match my payslip exactly?
It should be close for a regular salary, but not always to the penny. Payroll software calculates each pay period separately using monthly or weekly thresholds and rounds student loan deductions down to whole pounds, while this calculator works on the annual figure. Bonuses, benefits in kind and tax code changes will also make your payslip differ.
Why was my first payslip in a new job different?
You may have been on an emergency tax code such as 1257L W1 or M1, which calculates tax on each payment in isolation, or HMRC may not yet have had your details. For a steady salary paid all year these codes give the same annual result, so this calculator ignores the W1, M1 or X suffix.
How do Scottish Income Tax rates affect take-home pay?
If HMRC treats you as a Scottish taxpayer (usually because you live in Scotland), Income Tax is charged using six Scottish bands from 19% to 48% instead of the rest of the UK’s three. National Insurance and student loan repayments are the same across the UK.
What is the 60% tax trap?
Between £100,000 and £125,140 of income, you lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 you earn. Combined with 40% higher-rate tax, that means an effective Income Tax rate of 60% on income in that band, plus 2% National Insurance. Pension contributions that reduce your taxable income can bring it back below £100,000.
Which student loan plan am I on?
Broadly: Plan 1 for older loans in England and Wales and loans in Northern Ireland, Plan 2 for English courses starting from September 2012 to July 2023 and Welsh courses starting from September 2012, Plan 4 for Scottish loans, Plan 5 for English courses starting from August 2023, and the Postgraduate Loan for master’s and doctoral loans. Your Student Loans Company online account shows your plan.
Does salary sacrifice increase take-home pay?
No — it reduces it, but by less than the amount going into your pension, because you save Income Tax, National Insurance and possibly student loan repayments on the sacrificed amount. Switch the pension type above to compare the methods for your salary.