Take-Home Pay Calculator (UK)

How this UK take-home pay calculator works

This calculator estimates annual take-home pay for the 2026/27 UK tax year. It applies the standard Personal Allowance and taper above £100,000, then uses either England, Wales and Northern Ireland tax bands or Scottish income tax bands. Employee National Insurance is calculated using Class 1 category A annualised thresholds and rates.

Formulas

pension                 = gross_salary * pension_percent
post_sacrifice_pay      = gross_salary - pension
personal_allowance      = 12,570 reduced by £1 per £2 over £100,000
taxable_income          = max(0, post_sacrifice_pay - personal_allowance)
take_home               = gross_salary - income_tax - national_insurance - pension - student_loan - postgraduate_loan

Official source assumptions checked

This tool uses GOV.UK 2026/27 Income Tax rates and Personal Allowance, HMRC Class 1 employee National Insurance thresholds and category A rates, GOV.UK student loan thresholds for Plans 1, 2, 4, 5 and Postgraduate Loans, and Scottish Government 2026/27 Scottish Income Tax bands.

What this tool does not include

It does not model tax code changes, Marriage Allowance, Blind Person’s Allowance, company benefits, bonuses by pay period, non-salary income, directors’ NI, multiple jobs, pension relief at source, employer pension contributions, child benefit charge, Scottish intermediate edge cases from non-savings income ordering, or payroll rounding for every weekly/monthly payslip. Treat it as a planning estimate.

References

• GOV.UK Income Tax rates and allowances
• HMRC employer rates and thresholds 2026 to 2027
• GOV.UK student loan repayments
• Scottish Income Tax rates and bands

FAQ

Why is my take-home pay only an estimate?

Payroll can depend on the exact tax code, pay frequency, year-to-date earnings, benefits, payroll rounding, previous employments, and employer setup. This tool uses annualised 2026/27 rates, so it is best for planning and checking broad reasonableness.

Does the calculator include Scottish Income Tax?

Yes. Select Scotland to apply the Scottish non-savings income tax bands. National Insurance, student loans, postgraduate loans, and the Personal Allowance are still modelled using UK-wide rules where those rules apply.

How is pension handled?

The pension input is treated as salary sacrifice, reducing pay before Income Tax and employee National Insurance are calculated. It does not model relief at source, net pay arrangements, employer contributions, or pension annual allowance limits.

Why does the Personal Allowance reduce above £100,000?

The standard Personal Allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000. In this tool, the reduction is based on the post-sacrifice salary entered in the calculator.

Are student loan deductions calculated before or after tax?

Student and postgraduate loan repayments are calculated from repayment income above the relevant threshold, then deducted from take-home pay alongside tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions. They do not reduce taxable income in this calculator.