Home › UK Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27
Work out your UK take-home pay for the 2026/27 tax year. Enter your salary, optional bonus, pension contribution, student loan plan and tax code, and see exactly what lands in your account after income tax, National Insurance and other deductions.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income tax | £0 |
| National Insurance | £0 |
| Student loan | £0 |
| Pension contribution | £0 |
This is general information, not financial advice. Confirm with your payslip or HMRC's official tools for definitive figures. See how this calculator works.
PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is how the UK collects income tax and National Insurance from employees. Your employer calculates your tax and NI each pay period and sends it to HMRC before paying you the rest. You see the net figure on your payslip; HMRC sees the gross.
Three things determine your take-home: your gross pay, your tax code, and any voluntary deductions (pension, student loan, salary sacrifice schemes).
Above £100,000, your personal allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 of income, fully disappearing at £125,140. This creates an effective 60% marginal rate in that band — worth understanding if you're approaching it.
NI is a separate deduction on top of income tax, calculated on gross salary:
The 8% main rate was reduced from 12% in early 2024. Self-employed workers pay Class 2 and Class 4 NI on different bands; this calculator covers employed PAYE only.
UK workplace pensions auto-enrol most workers at a minimum 5% personal contribution, with 3% from the employer. Contributions reduce your taxable income.
Relief at source vs salary sacrifice: most workplace pensions use relief at source — your contribution comes from your net pay, and the pension provider claims 20% basic-rate tax back. Salary sacrifice instead reduces your gross salary before tax and NI are calculated, saving you an additional 8% (basic-rate) or 2% (higher-rate) in NI. If your employer offers salary sacrifice, it's almost always worth using.
This calculator assumes relief at source. If you use salary sacrifice, your real take-home will be slightly higher than shown.
Five plans, each with different thresholds and rate:
If you have both an undergraduate and a postgraduate loan, you'll be deducted under both plans. Thresholds typically rise slightly each April.
When you compare jobs, the salary is the headline number. Take-home pay is what actually pays your bills. Two roles with the same headline can produce different take-home if one offers salary sacrifice pension, a different bonus structure, or different student loan implications.
It's also the foundation for every other personal finance calculation. Your budget, your savings rate, your house deposit timeline — all built on what actually arrives in your account, not what the contract says.
Your tax code tells your employer how much of your salary to treat as tax-free. The standard 2026/27 code is 1257L, giving £12,570 tax-free. Codes can change for benefits in kind, multiple jobs, or HMRC adjustments. The calculator defaults to 1257L; change it if yours is different.
No — it treats pension contributions as 'relief at source' (deducted after gross is used to calculate NI). With salary sacrifice, your gross salary is reduced before NI is calculated, which saves you 8% NI on the contribution. Most workplace pensions auto-enrol into relief-at-source, but if you have salary sacrifice your take-home will be slightly higher than this calculator shows.
Marginal rate is what you pay on the next pound you earn. It includes income tax plus National Insurance. A basic-rate taxpayer earning between the NI primary threshold and upper earnings limit has a marginal rate of 28% (20% tax + 8% NI), not 20%. Higher-rate marginal is 42% (40% + 2%). Add 9% on top if you're repaying a student loan.
This calculator uses the income tax rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has different bands (Starter, Basic, Intermediate, Higher, Advanced, Top). Scottish residents should use HMRC's official calculator at gov.uk for accurate figures.
NI is charged on gross salary (not after pension, unless salary sacrifice). Nothing below the £12,570 primary threshold. 8% between £12,570 and £50,270. 2% on everything above £50,270. The 8% main rate was reduced from 12% in early 2024.
Plan 1: started before September 2012 in England/NI. Plan 2: started Sept 2012 to July 2023 in England/Wales. Plan 4: Scotland. Plan 5: started August 2023 onwards in England. Postgraduate loan: for Master's or PhD funding. Check your student loan account at gov.uk if unsure.
A bonus is added to gross and taxed at your marginal rate. A £5,000 bonus on a £45,000 salary pushes part of the income into the higher-rate band, so the bonus is taxed at a mix of 20% and 40% plus NI. The calculator shows the all-in effect.
UK workplace pensions auto-enrol most workers at a minimum 5% personal contribution (with 3% from the employer). You can opt out, but doing so usually loses the employer match. Most people should contribute at least enough to capture the full employer match.
See how regular saving from your take-home pay grows over time.
Open calculator →Project what regular contributions could grow into over 5, 10 or 20 years.
Open calculator →Plan your £20,000 allowance across Cash, Stocks & Shares, Lifetime and Innovative Finance ISAs.
Open calculator →Where to keep tax-wrapped savings — typically the destination of money your take-home covers.
Open comparison →Age-based UK saving targets and the priority order for each pound.
Read guide →Independent review of the UK Open Banking budgeting app for tracking where your take-home actually goes.
Read review →This is general information, not financial advice. The calculator uses 2026/27 UK tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish residents should use HMRC's official calculator for accurate figures. For complex situations, consult an FCA-authorised adviser or HMRC.