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UK Take-Home Pay Calculator

Net pay after UK income tax and National Insurance for 2026/27, including the allowance taper above £100,000 that creates a 62% marginal rate. Not Scotland.

UK Take-Home Pay Calculator: with the default inputs, take-home pay (£ / year) is 35,920.

£
of salary
Try an example
Tax year 2026/27, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. **Scotland sets its own income tax rates and bands** — a Scottish taxpayer's income tax would be different, though National Insurance is UK-wide. Rates verified against gov.uk on 9 September 2026.
National Insurance here is annualised. Employers actually calculate it per pay period, so an uneven year — a large bonus, a mid-year start, or overtime bunched into one month — produces a different NI total from the figure shown.
Left out: student loan and postgraduate loan repayments, the Marriage Allowance and Blind Person's Allowance, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, taxable benefits in kind, and any tax code other than the standard one. Anything under a non-standard tax code will differ.
Take-home pay (£ / year)
35,920

Salary less income tax, National Insurance and your pension contribution.

Take-home per month (£)
2,993.3
Take-home per week (£)
690.76
Income tax (£ / year)
6,486
National Insurance (£ / year)
2,594
Pension contribution (£ / year)
0
Personal Allowance (£)
12,570
Taxable income (£)
32,430
Effective deduction rate
20.18%
Marginal rate on your next £100
28%
Assumptions
  • Tax year 2026/27, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland's own income tax rates and bands are not modelled. All figures verified against gov.uk on 9 September 2026.
  • Personal Allowance £12,570, tapered £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000 and nil at £125,140. Basic rate 20% to £37,700 of taxable income, higher rate 40% to £125,140, additional rate 45% above.
  • Employee Class 1 National Insurance, category A: Primary Threshold £12,570, Upper Earnings Limit £50,270, 8% and 2%. Employer NI is not shown because it does not come out of your pay.
  • National Insurance is calculated annually. Employers calculate it per pay period, so an uneven year produces a different total.
  • Standard tax code assumed. No student loan or postgraduate loan repayments, Marriage Allowance, Blind Person's Allowance, High Income Child Benefit Charge, benefits in kind, or salary-sacrificed benefits other than pension.
  • Employment income only, taxed at the main rates. Dividends, savings interest and self-employment (Class 4 NI) all follow different rules.
Where your salary goes
  • Take-home pay35,92080%
  • Income tax6,48614%
  • National Insurance2,5946%
Marginal rate on the next pound, by salary — note the spike above £100,000
0%20%40%60%£20,000£60,000£100,000£120,000£140,000£180,000Gross salary
Marginal rate %
Income tax bands, 2026/27 (England, Wales & Northern Ireland)
BandTaxable incomeRateYour income here (£)Tax (£)
Personal Allowancefirst £12,570 of income0%12,5700
Basic rate£0 – £37,70020%32,4306,486
Higher rate£37,700 – £125,14040%00
Additional rateabove £125,14045%00

Bands are measured on taxable income — income after the Personal Allowance has been subtracted.

Take-home at other salaries, on your pension setting
Gross salary (£)Take-home (£ / year)Per month (£)Marginal rate
20,00017,9201,49328%
40,00032,3202,69328%
60,00045,3573,78042%
80,00056,9574,74642%
100,00068,5575,71362%
110,00072,3576,03062%
120,00076,1576,34662%
125,14078,1116,50947%
140,00085,9867,16647%
180,000107,1868,93247%
Math verified by automated testsUpdated 2026-09-093 sources cited

How this is worked out

The formula

Personal Allowance = £12,570, reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000
                      (nil at £125,140)
Taxable income = income − Personal Allowance

Income tax  = 20% on the first £37,700 of taxable income
            + 40% from £37,700 to £125,140
            + 45% above £125,140

Employee National Insurance (Class 1, category A)
            = 8% on earnings from £12,570 to £50,270
            + 2% on earnings above £50,270

Take-home pay = salary − income tax − National Insurance − pension contribution

Tax year 2026/27, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Thresholds are frozen to 5 April 2031.

Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.

What you enter

Gross annual salary
Before any deductions. Employment income only — this does not handle dividends, self-employment or savings income.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 45000
Pension contribution
Your own contribution. Employer contributions do not affect your take-home pay.a percentage · from 0 to 100 · defaults to 0
How your pension is deducted
Salary sacrifice lowers your gross pay, so NI falls too. A net pay arrangement lowers taxable pay but NI is still charged on the full salary.Salary sacrifice — saves income tax and National Insurance · Net pay arrangement — saves income tax only
Other taxable income(under More options)
Rental profit, taxed pension income and so on. Added to taxable income but not to National Insurance, which is charged on employment earnings only.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 0

What you get back

Take-home pay (£ / year)main answer
Salary less income tax, National Insurance and your pension contribution.
Take-home per month (£)
Take-home per week (£)
Income tax (£ / year)
National Insurance (£ / year)
Pension contribution (£ / year)
Deducted from pay but not lost — it goes into your pension.
Personal Allowance (£)
£12,570, tapered away between £100,000 and £125,140.
Taxable income (£)
Effective deduction rate
Income tax plus National Insurance as a share of gross salary.
Marginal rate on your next £100
Income tax plus employee NI on your next pound. Hits about 62% between £100,000 and £125,140.

What this assumes

  • Tax year 2026/27, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland's own income tax rates and bands are not modelled. All figures verified against gov.uk on 9 September 2026.
  • Personal Allowance £12,570, tapered £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000 and nil at £125,140. Basic rate 20% to £37,700 of taxable income, higher rate 40% to £125,140, additional rate 45% above.
  • Employee Class 1 National Insurance, category A: Primary Threshold £12,570, Upper Earnings Limit £50,270, 8% and 2%. Employer NI is not shown because it does not come out of your pay.
  • National Insurance is calculated annually. Employers calculate it per pay period, so an uneven year produces a different total.
  • Standard tax code assumed. No student loan or postgraduate loan repayments, Marriage Allowance, Blind Person's Allowance, High Income Child Benefit Charge, benefits in kind, or salary-sacrificed benefits other than pension.
  • Employment income only, taxed at the main rates. Dividends, savings interest and self-employment (Class 4 NI) all follow different rules.

About this calculator

Your gross salary and your bank balance are separated by two taxes with completely different shapes. Income tax is progressive with a tax-free allowance underneath it. National Insurance is the opposite at the top: it charges 8% in the middle of the range and only 2% above £50,270, so it is regressive where income tax is progressive. This page runs both for tax year 2026/27 and shows what actually lands.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland only

Scotland sets its own income tax rates and bands, with more bands and different thresholds, so a Scottish taxpayer's income tax is not what this page reports. National Insurance is UK-wide and would be the same. If you pay Scottish income tax — decided by where you live, not where you work — use HMRC's Scottish rates instead.

The 62% band nobody talks about

The headline rates are 20%, 40% and 45%. The real rate schedule has a spike in it. Between £100,000 and £125,140 the Personal Allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 of income, so each extra £1 earned is taxed at 40p directly and exposes another 50p of previously tax-free income to 40% tax. That is 60p of income tax on every extra pound, plus 2% National Insurance: about 62% — a higher marginal rate than anyone pays at any income above it. The marginal-rate chart in the results makes the spike visible.

The practical consequence is that pension contributions in that band are extraordinarily efficient. A £25,140 contribution by someone on £125,140 costs about £9,553 of take-home pay and puts £25,140 into a pension. Nothing else in the UK tax system offers that.

Salary sacrifice versus net pay

Both arrangements save income tax. Only salary sacrifice also saves National Insurance, because it genuinely reduces your contractual pay before NI is calculated. On a net pay arrangement, NI is still charged on the full salary. Switch between them under the pension dropdown to see the difference — on a 5% contribution at £45,000 it is worth about £180 a year, and rather more for higher earners still under the Upper Earnings Limit.

What is deliberately not here

Student loan and postgraduate loan repayments, the Marriage Allowance, Blind Person's Allowance, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, benefits in kind such as a company car, and any tax code other than the standard one. Dividend and savings income have their own rates and allowances. This is also an annual calculation — your employer works National Insurance out pay period by pay period, so a big bonus in one month costs more NI than the same money spread evenly. Self-employment uses Class 4 NI, not Class 1, and is a different calculation entirely.

Thresholds have been frozen since 2021 and the freeze now runs to 5 April 2031, which means wage growth quietly pulls more people into higher bands every year — a real tax rise without a rate change.

Frequently asked questions

How much is take-home pay on a £45,000 salary?

For 2026/27 in England, Wales or Northern Ireland: income tax of £6,486 and National Insurance of £2,594, leaving £35,920 a year or about £2,993 a month before any pension contribution or student loan.

What is the 60% tax trap?

Between £100,000 and £125,140 the £12,570 Personal Allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 earned. Each extra pound is taxed at 40% and drags 50p of previously tax-free income into the 40% band, giving a 60% income tax rate — 62% with National Insurance. Pension contributions that bring adjusted net income back below £100,000 get relief at that rate.

What are the UK income tax rates for 2026/27?

A £12,570 tax-free Personal Allowance, then 20% on the first £37,700 of taxable income, 40% up to £125,140, and 45% above that. These are the England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates — Scotland has its own.

How much National Insurance do I pay?

As an employee on category A: nothing below £12,570, 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on everything above £50,270. The rate falls at the top, which is why NI is regressive above the Upper Earnings Limit.

Does this work for Scotland?

No. Scotland sets its own income tax rates and bands, with more bands than the rest of the UK. National Insurance would be identical, but the income tax figure here would be wrong for a Scottish taxpayer.

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