How to use the take home pay calculator
- Enter your yearly salary before tax (your gross pay). If you only know your monthly or hourly pay, multiply it up to a year first.
- Pick where you pay tax. Scotland has its own Income Tax bands, while England, Wales and Northern Ireland share one set.
- Add your pension contribution as a percentage of your salary, and choose how it comes out: relief at source (taken after tax) or salary sacrifice (taken before tax and National Insurance). Your payslip or HR team can tell you which you have.
- Choose your student loan plan, and tick the Postgraduate Loan box if you have one of those too. You’ll see your take home pay for the month, year and week, plus a line by line breakdown.
The calculator uses 2026/27 rates for an employee on the standard 1257L tax code, worked out over a full year. Your payslip might be a few pounds out because of rounding, pay timing and things like a company car.
How the maths works
Your take home pay is your salary minus four things: Income Tax, National Insurance, student loan repayments and your pension. Each has its own rules, so I’ll go through them one at a time.
Income Tax in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Income Tax works in bands. You only pay each rate on the slice of your income inside that band, not on your whole salary. A pay rise that tips you into a higher band never leaves you with less money overall.
| Income | Rate | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £12,570 | 0% | Personal Allowance |
| £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% | Basic rate |
| £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% | Higher rate |
| Over £125,140 | 45% | Additional rate |
So on £51,270 you pay nothing on the first £12,570, 20% on the next £37,700 and 40% on only the last £1,000.
Income Tax in Scotland
Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands on wages, so the calculator has a separate option. The Personal Allowance is the same.
| Income | Rate | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £12,570 | 0% | Personal Allowance |
| £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% | Starter rate |
| £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% | Basic rate |
| £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% | Intermediate rate |
| £43,663 to £75,000 | 42% | Higher rate |
| £75,001 to £125,140 | 45% | Advanced rate |
| Over £125,140 | 48% | Top rate |
The Personal Allowance and the £100,000 trap
Your Personal Allowance is the £12,570 you can earn before Income Tax starts, as long as you’re on the standard 1257L tax code. Once your income goes over £100,000, you lose £1 of allowance for every £2 above it, and by £125,140 it’s gone completely.
That makes income between £100,000 and £125,140 feel like it’s taxed at 60% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Paying more into your pension is the usual way people bring their income back under £100,000, and the calculator tells you if you’ve lost any allowance.
National Insurance
National Insurance is the same across the whole UK. As an employee you pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% on anything above that. There’s no £100,000 taper for National Insurance.
Your employer works it out on each pay packet, so if your pay jumps around (overtime, a bonus) your real figure can be a little different from the yearly one here.
Student loans
You repay 9% of everything you earn above your plan’s threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan). Below the threshold you pay nothing, and how much you owe doesn’t change your monthly repayment.
| Plan | Who it’s for | You repay above |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | England or Wales courses that started before 1 September 2012, and loans from Northern Ireland | £26,900 |
| Plan 2 | England courses that started from 1 September 2012 to 31 July 2023, and Wales courses from 1 September 2012 | £29,385 |
| Plan 4 | Loans from Scotland | £33,795 |
| Plan 5 | England courses that started on or after 1 August 2023 | £25,000 |
| Postgraduate Loan | Master’s and doctoral loans from England or Wales | £21,000 |
If you have a Postgraduate Loan as well as an undergraduate plan, you repay both at the same time.
Pensions: relief at source or salary sacrifice
With relief at source, your contribution comes out of your pay after tax. You pay 80% and your pension provider claims the other 20% from the government, so £80 from you becomes £100 in your pension. Higher rate taxpayers can claim more back through Self Assessment, and the calculator estimates how much.
With salary sacrifice, you give up part of your salary before tax and National Insurance, and your employer pays it straight into your pension. You save tax and National Insurance on it, which is why it usually leaves you a bit better off.
The calculator assumes your pension is a percentage of your whole salary. Some employers only use part of your pay (often called pensionable pay or qualifying earnings), so check your payslip if the number looks off.
Worked example: a £35,000 salary
Take someone in England on £35,000, paying 5% into a relief at source pension, with no student loan. These are the exact figures the calculator gives.
| Yearly | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | £35,000.00 | £2,916.67 |
| Income Tax | £4,486.00 | £373.83 |
| National Insurance | £1,794.40 | £149.53 |
| Pension (you pay) | £1,400.00 | £116.67 |
| Take home | £27,319.60 | £2,276.63 |
Income Tax is 20% of £22,430, the bit above the Personal Allowance. National Insurance is 8% of the same £22,430. Your £1,400 pension payment becomes £1,750 once the tax relief is added. Weekly, that’s £525.38.
Switch the pension to salary sacrifice and take home rises to £2,288.30 a month, with the full £1,750 still going into your pension. Add a Plan 2 student loan instead and you’d repay 9% of £5,615 (the bit above £29,385), which is £505.35 a year. Take home drops to £2,234.52 a month.
How your tax gets paid
If you’re employed, your employer takes Income Tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension payments through PAYE (Pay As You Earn) before your wages land. Your payslip lists each one, so it’s worth checking it against this calculator every so often.
If you’re self-employed, nothing comes off at source. You work out what you owe and pay it through a Self Assessment tax return each year.
Your tax code tells your employer how much tax-free pay you get. The most common is 1257L, which means £12,570. A different code, like 1000L, usually means HMRC is collecting tax you owe or adjusting for a benefit. You can check yours with the government’s tax code checker.
What to do next
Once you know your take home pay, give every pound a job. Put your monthly figure into my budgeting calculator to split it into needs, wants and savings.
- Salaries and tax guides: what different salaries really look like after tax.
- Is £35k a good salary? If you’re wondering how your pay stacks up.
- Best pension providers: if you want to pay more into a pension yourself.
- Five salary and career podcast episodes on pay rises, negotiating and career moves that actually shift the number on your payslip.
Not sure where to start?
Pick your goal (debt free, start investing, side income, saving for something big) and get a free money plan you can level up on. Takes about two minutes.
Get your free money planTake home pay FAQs
What’s the difference between gross and net salary?
Gross salary is your pay before anything comes off. Net salary, or take home pay, is what lands in your account after Income Tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension.
How much is £35,000 after tax?
In England, Wales or Northern Ireland you’d pay £4,486.00 Income Tax and £1,794.40 National Insurance in 2026/27. With no pension or student loan that leaves £28,719.60 a year, or £2,393.30 a month.
When do I start paying Income Tax?
When you earn more than your Personal Allowance, which is £12,570 on the standard 1257L tax code. National Insurance starts at the same point, £12,570.
How can I reduce my tax bill?
Paying more into your pension is the most common way, especially through salary sacrifice. For more ideas, watch this episode of The Money Gains Podcast with qualified accountant and tax adviser Charlotte Baroukh.
Why doesn’t my payslip match exactly?
The calculator works over a full year, while your employer works month by month. Rounding, bonuses, benefits in kind and your tax code can all make a small difference. If you’re on an odd code after starting a new job, read my guide to emergency tax.
Does this work if I’m self-employed?
Only as a rough guide. It’s built for employees. Self-employed people pay a different type of National Insurance on their profits and pay their tax through Self Assessment.