UK Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27
Enter your gross annual salary, pension contribution and student loan plan to estimate what actually reaches your bank account in 2026/27, after Income Tax, National Insurance and deductions. Choose Scotland for the Scottish Income Tax bands.
| Item | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | £30,000.00 | £2,500.00 |
| Pension contribution | -£0.00 | -£0.00 |
| Personal Allowance used | £12,570.00 | £1,047.50 |
| Income Tax | -£3,486.00 | -£290.50 |
| National Insurance | -£1,394.40 | -£116.20 |
| Take-home | £25,119.60 | £2,093.30 |
| Income Tax band | Rate | Income taxed | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | 20% | £17,430.00 | £3,486.00 |
How it works
Your UK take-home pay is your gross salary minus four deductions: Income Tax, employee National Insurance, any pension contribution you make and any student loan repayment. This calculator applies the 2026/27 thresholds to each in turn.
Gross pay versus take-home pay
Gross pay is the headline figure in your contract. Take-home pay — often called net pay — is what remains after statutory deductions. The gap widens as you earn more, because each band above the Personal Allowance is taxed at a higher rate.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland versus Scotland
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, income above the £12,570 Personal Allowance is taxed at 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140 and 45% above that. Scotland sets its own rates on employment income: a 19% starter rate, 20% basic rate, 21% intermediate rate, 42% higher rate, 45% advanced rate and a 48% top rate above £125,140. Choosing Scotland in the selector switches the whole Income Tax calculation.
The Personal Allowance taper
Above £100,000 of adjusted net income the Personal Allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of extra income, disappearing entirely at £125,140. Between those two points each extra pound of salary is taxed twice over, which is why pension contributions are often most valuable in that range.
National Insurance and pensions
Employee National Insurance is UK-wide: 8% of earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that, using the same thresholds regardless of where you live. The calculator treats your pension percentage as salary sacrifice, so it reduces the pay used for both Income Tax and National Insurance.
Student loan deductions
Undergraduate plans deduct 9% of income above the plan threshold and a Postgraduate Loan deducts 6% above £21,000. If you hold both, they are deducted at the same time — tick the Postgraduate Loan box to include it. Our student loan repayment calculator breaks the thresholds down plan by plan.
Why a payslip can differ
Payroll works period by period rather than annually, rounding each deduction as it goes, and your tax code may carry adjustments. Treat this as a clean annual estimate rather than a prediction of a specific payslip.
Worked example
£35,000 salary, rest of UK, no pension, Plan 2 student loan.
- Taxable income above the Personal Allowance: £35,000 − £12,570 = £22,430.
- Income Tax at 20%: £4,486.
- National Insurance at 8% on £22,430: £1,794.40.
- Plan 2 student loan: 9% of (£35,000 − £29,385) = £505.35.
- Take-home: £35,000 − £4,486 − £1,794.40 − £505.35 = £28,214.25 a year, about £2,351.19 a month.
Switching the region to Scotland changes only the Income Tax line, as the Scottish starter and intermediate rates apply to different slices of the same income.
Limitations of this calculator
- Assumes the standard Personal Allowance and no tax-code adjustments.
- Does not model benefits in kind, company cars, childcare schemes or taxable expenses.
- Pension contributions are treated as salary sacrifice; relief-at-source and net-pay schemes work differently.
- Ignores other income such as savings interest, dividends, rental profit or self-employment.
- Produces an annual estimate; payroll rounds each pay period, so your payslip will differ slightly.
- Not an HMRC calculation and not personalised financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
Does this calculator work for Scotland?
Yes. Choose Scotland in the tax-region selector and the calculator applies the Scottish starter, basic, intermediate, higher, advanced and top rates for 2026/27 instead of the rest-of-UK bands. National Insurance and student-loan thresholds are the same across the whole UK, so only the Income Tax figure changes.
What happens to my Personal Allowance above £100,000?
You lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000, so it is gone entirely by £125,140. The calculator applies this automatically: at £110,000 your allowance falls from £12,570 to £7,570, which is why the effective rate on that slice of income is so high.
How are pension contributions treated?
The pension percentage is modelled as a salary-sacrifice contribution, so it reduces the pay used for Income Tax and National Insurance and is deducted from your cash take-home. If your scheme uses relief at source or net pay instead, the tax relief arrives differently and your figures will vary slightly.
Which student loan plan am I on?
Broadly: Plan 1 for pre-2012 English and Welsh students, Plan 2 for 2012 to 2023 starters, Plan 4 for Scottish students, Plan 5 for English students who started from August 2023, and a Postgraduate Loan for master's or doctoral borrowing. Check your Student Loans Company account if you are not sure.
Why does my payslip show a different figure?
Payroll calculates tax and National Insurance for each pay period and rounds at each step, and your tax code may include adjustments for benefits or earlier under- or over-payments. This calculator produces a clean annual estimate, so small differences from your payslip are normal.
Does it include benefits in kind or a non-standard tax code?
No. It assumes the standard Personal Allowance with no taxable benefits, no company car, no childcare vouchers and no adjustments carried forward from previous years. Anything that changes your tax code will change the amount your employer actually deducts.
Related calculators
Official sources
Figures on this page follow official UK government guidance for the 2026/27 tax year. Rates last verified: 27 August 2026. See our data sources and calculation methodology.
Estimates for general guidance only — not personalised financial advice.