Tax & Income
Enter your gross salary to see your take-home pay after income tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and student loan repayments.
Annual gross income
Monthly take-home pay
£2,393
| Monthly | Weekly | Daily | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross | £2,917 | £673 | £135 |
| Income Tax | −£374 | −£86 | −£17 |
| National Insurance | −£150 | −£35 | −£7 |
| Take-home | £2,393 | £552 | £110 |
| Band | Rate | Taxable income | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | 20% | £22,430 | £4,486 |
| Total income tax | £4,486 | ||
National Insurance: 8% up to £50,270, then 2% above.
Tax Guide
Income tax in the UK is charged on a progressive band system. You pay different rates on different portions of your income, not a flat rate on everything. Understanding how each deduction interacts is the key to knowing what you actually take home.
Everyone receives a personal allowance, which is the amount you can earn completely tax-free. For 2026/27 this is £12,570, frozen since 2021/22. Above £100,000 the allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 you earn over the threshold, creating an effective 60% marginal rate (67.5% in Scotland for 2026/27) until the allowance disappears entirely at £125,140. Making pension contributions can reduce your income below £100,000 and restore the full allowance.
After the personal allowance, income tax is charged in three bands: 20% Basic rate on earnings up to £50,270, 40% Higher rate between £50,270 and £125,140, and 45% Additional rate above £125,140. Critically, each band only applies to the income within it, not your entire salary. A salary of £55,000 does not mean you pay 40% on all of it; only the £4,730 above £50,270 is taxed at the higher rate.
Scotland uses six bands: Starter (19%), Basic (20%), Intermediate (21%), Higher (42%), Advanced (45%), and Top (48%), giving higher earners a greater liability than in the rest of the UK. National Insurance rates are the same throughout the UK. Toggle the "I pay Scottish income tax" option in the calculator to compare your liability under Scottish rates.
Employee Class 1 NI is 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on anything above. It builds entitlement to the State Pension and certain benefits, but is effectively another deduction from your pay. Employer NI is separate and does not reduce your take-home. If you are in a salary sacrifice pension arrangement, your NI is also reduced because it is calculated on your lower pensionable pay, making salary sacrifice the most tax-efficient pension option.
The three main pension arrangements work differently for tax. With salary sacrifice, your employer reduces your contractual pay before calculating tax and NI, saving on both. With a net pay arrangement, the contribution is deducted from gross pay before income tax, so you get full tax relief at your marginal rate but no NI saving. With relief at source, you contribute from net pay and your provider claims 20% basic rate relief from HMRC; higher-rate taxpayers can claim additional relief via self-assessment.
When you use salary sacrifice, your employer also saves secondary NI (15% in 2026/27) on the sacrificed amount. Many employers pass this saving straight to your pension pot. Use the "Employer details" section in the calculator to model the full picture, including whether contributions are based on your total gross salary or the auto-enrolment qualifying earnings band (£6,240–£50,270).
Student loan repayments are collected through PAYE alongside tax and NI. The rate is 9% of earnings above the plan threshold, or 6% for the Postgraduate Loan. Each plan has a different repayment threshold, and the thresholds change annually. This calculator covers Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 (Scotland), Plan 5, and the Postgraduate Loan, using the correct thresholds for each selected tax year. Repayments reduce your take-home but are credited to your loan balance, not treated as tax.
This calculator covers income tax for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland; employee Class 1 National Insurance; pension contributions across all three scheme types and both earnings bases; employer contributions and NI pass-through; and student loan repayments across all plans for each supported tax year.
It does not account for benefits in kind, dividend income, rental income, bonus payments, employment allowance, or tax code adjustments. All results are estimates based on a consistent salary throughout the year. Your actual payslips may differ due to HMRC's cumulative PAYE system.