Employees & PAYE
Take-home pay calculator
Your salary is the headline number — but Income Tax, National Insurance and any student loan come off before it reaches your account. Put in your gross salary and see exactly what lands each month, week and year for 2026/27, with every deduction broken down. Worked in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
Your salary
Rough figures are fine. This assumes a single job on the standard tax code (1257L-style Personal Allowance), England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Where your salary goes
Three deductions come out of a normal PAYE wage before you see it. This calculator shows all three for 2026/27:
- Income Tax. Nothing on the first £12,570 (your Personal Allowance), 20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above that. The Personal Allowance is withdrawn by £1 for every £2 you earn over £100,000, which creates a 60% effective rate between £100,000 and £125,140.
- National Insurance. As an employee (Class 1, category A) you pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% on everything above £50,270. Unlike Income Tax, NI is not reduced by the £100,000 taper.
- Student loan. 9% of everything above your plan's threshold (Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000), or 6% above £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan — added on top if you have one.
Salary sacrifice changes the picture
A workplace pension set up as salary sacrifice comes off your gross pay before all three deductions, so every £1 you sacrifice saves you Income Tax and National Insurance as well as going into your pension. Put your contribution percentage in the box above to see the effect on your take-home.
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Common questions
How much of my salary do I take home in 2026/27?
It depends on your salary, your student loan plan and any salary-sacrifice pension. As a rough guide, on £30,000 with no student loan you keep about £25,120 a year (£2,093 a month); on £50,000 about £39,500 (£3,290 a month). Enter your own figures above for an exact breakdown of Income Tax, National Insurance and student loan.
How is employee National Insurance worked out?
For 2026/27 an employee on category A pays 8% Class 1 National Insurance on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% on anything above £50,270. There's no NI on the first £12,570. This is separate from Income Tax and, unlike the Personal Allowance, it isn't affected by the £100,000 taper.
Why is my take-home lower than I expected?
Usually a student loan or a workplace pension. A student loan takes 9% of everything over your plan threshold, and a pension contribution reduces your pay (though salary sacrifice also cuts your tax and NI). Between £100,000 and £125,140 the withdrawal of the Personal Allowance also pushes your effective tax rate up to 60%.
Does salary sacrifice really save tax and National Insurance?
Yes. With salary sacrifice your employer reduces your gross pay and pays the amount straight into your pension, so the sacrificed amount is never subject to Income Tax or National Insurance. That makes it one of the most tax-efficient ways to save, which is why the calculator lets you enter a contribution percentage.
Do I need to file a Self Assessment tax return if I'm on PAYE?
Not usually — PAYE collects your tax automatically. But you do need to file if you also have untaxed income: self-employment or freelance profit over £1,000, rental income, dividends over £500, or total income over £150,000. If that's you, our Tax Estimator adds your salary to that income and works out the whole bill.
Are these figures right for Scotland?
National Insurance and student loan repayments are the same across the UK, but Scottish taxpayers pay Income Tax on different bands and rates, so the Income Tax figure here won't match. This calculator uses the England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands for 2026/27.
Salary plus something on the side?
This page covers a single PAYE wage. The moment you add untaxed income — a freelance side hustle, a rental, or dividends — HMRC wants a Self Assessment return, and your salary is only the first line of it. The paid Self Assessment Tax Estimator stacks your wage, your self-employment profit and your other income together and works out the whole bill, the Class 4 National Insurance and the monthly amount to set aside — so the January deadline holds no surprises.
- Self Assessment Tax Estimator 2026/27 — your complete bill, salary plus self-employment plus other income, with the set-aside and payment-on-account dates worked out for you.
- Freelance Day-Rate & Profit Calculator — work backwards from the take-home you need.
- Rental Property ROI & Yield Calculator — for anyone with a buy-to-let alongside the day job.
- Invoice Tracker & Log — paid, outstanding and overdue, automatically.
Excel and Google Sheets. Working formulas, not just formatting. Built and checked by us, with AI assistance, and every calculation verified.
Get the Tax Estimator — £9 →£9 on its own, or all four tools for £19, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.