UK Take Home Pay Calculator

How this calculator works

Enter your gross annual salary (the figure in your contract, before anything is deducted) and the percentage of salary you pay into a workplace pension. The calculator then works through the deductions in the same order a payroll would for a typical employee in England, Wales or Northern Ireland:

1. It takes your pension contribution off your salary first. This mirrors a "net pay arrangement", where pension is deducted before Income Tax is worked out.
2. It works out your Personal Allowance. Everyone starts with £12,570, but it falls by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income above £100,000, and disappears completely at £125,140.
3. It applies the basic, higher and additional rates of Income Tax to the rest.
4. It works out employee Class 1 National Insurance on your gross salary: 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above that.
5. It subtracts tax, National Insurance and pension from gross pay and shows the yearly figure and a monthly figure (the yearly figure divided by 12).

Worked examples

These figures come from running this page's calculator. Your payslip may differ slightly because payroll works pay period by pay period.

Example 1: £35,000 salary with a 5% pension

The pension contribution is £1,750, leaving £33,250 for tax. After the £12,570 Personal Allowance, £20,680 is taxed at 20%, giving Income Tax of £4,136. National Insurance is 8% of £22,430 (£35,000 minus £12,570), which is £1,794.40. Estimated take-home pay is £27,319.60 a year, or £2,276.63 a month.

Example 2: £60,000 salary with a 5% pension

The pension is £3,000, leaving £57,000. Taxable income after the allowance is £44,430: £37,700 at 20% (£7,540) and £6,730 at 40% (£2,692), so Income Tax is £10,232. National Insurance is £3,016 at 8% plus £194.60 at 2% on pay above £50,270, a total of £3,210.60. Estimated take-home pay is £43,557.40 a year, or £3,629.78 a month.

Example 3: £110,000 salary, no pension

Income is £10,000 over £100,000, so the Personal Allowance falls by £5,000 to £7,570. Taxable income is £102,430, giving Income Tax of £33,432. National Insurance is £4,210.60. Estimated take-home pay is £72,357.40 a year, or £6,029.78 a month. Between £100,000 and £125,140 each extra £1 of salary loses 50p of allowance, which is why pension contributions are often looked at in this income range.

2026/27 Income Tax and National Insurance figures used

Income Tax bands apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Welsh rates for 2026/27 are the same as England's. Scotland has its own bands (19% to 48%), which this calculator does not use.

Assumptions and what this calculator does not cover

• Scottish taxpayers: Scottish Income Tax bands are not used here. If you live in Scotland, use the Scottish take-home pay calculator.
• Tax code: it assumes the standard 1257L code. Codes that collect underpaid tax, include benefits in kind or give extra allowances will change your pay.
• Student and postgraduate loans: repayments are not deducted here; estimate them with the student loan repayment calculator.
• Pension type: it treats the pension as a net pay arrangement. If your scheme uses relief at source, your pension is taken from pay after tax and your provider claims basic-rate relief, so the take-home figure will be different. Salary sacrifice also reduces National Insurance, which is not modelled here; compare the methods with the salary sacrifice and pension tax relief calculator.
• Other items: bonuses, overtime, multiple jobs, benefits in kind, Marriage Allowance, the Blind Person's Allowance, Child Benefit and the High Income Child Benefit Charge are not included.
• NI category: it uses category A rates for most employees under State Pension age.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my payslip different from this estimate?

Payroll calculates tax and National Insurance for each pay period, using your tax code and any adjustments HMRC has made. National Insurance in particular is worked out per pay period, not on an annual total. Student loan repayments, salary sacrifice, benefits in kind and a non-standard tax code are also common causes of differences.

Do people in Wales pay different Income Tax?

The Welsh Government sets Welsh rates of Income Tax. For 2026/27 they are the same as the rates in England and Northern Ireland, so this calculator gives the same result for Welsh taxpayers.

Can I use this calculator if I live in Scotland?

Only as a rough guide. Scotland has six tax bands for 2026/27 (19%, 20%, 21%, 42%, 45% and 48%), so a Scottish taxpayer will normally pay a different amount of Income Tax. National Insurance is the same across the UK.

What happens to tax between £100,000 and £125,140?

Your Personal Allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000. Once income reaches £125,140 the allowance is zero. Combined with the 40% rate, this means the marginal Income Tax rate on that slice of income is effectively 60%.

Does the pension contribution reduce National Insurance?

Not in this calculator. In a net pay arrangement your pension reduces the income that is taxed, but National Insurance is still charged on your full gross pay. Only salary sacrifice arrangements reduce National Insurance.

Where can I check my actual tax?

You can view your tax code, the tax you have paid so far and an estimate for the year in your HMRC personal tax account, using the GOV.UK "Check your Income Tax" service.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances
• GOV.UK: Income Tax in Wales
• GOV.UK: Income Tax in Scotland
• GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and categories
• GOV.UK (HMRC): Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
• GOV.UK: Workplace pensions – what you, your employer and the government pay
• GOV.UK: Tax codes
• GOV.UK: Check your Income Tax for the current year
• GOV.UK: Repaying your student loan

Rates for tax year 2026/27, last reviewed October 2026.

Results are estimates for planning, not financial or tax advice. See our terms and methodology.