Take-Home Pay Calculator.
Salary in, real money out — Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026/27.
Every band shown, nothing hidden: your personal allowance first, then each slice of income at the rate that actually applies to it. Assumes the standard tax code (1257L), England/Wales/NI bands, and no student loan, pension or benefits. Everything runs in your browser — your figures never leave it. Estimates are general information, not advice: ask us about your own position.
Salary, decoded
What actually lands in your account.
A salary is a headline; take-home is the truth. This calculator walks your gross pay through the 2026/27 system exactly as HMRC does: your £12,570 personal allowance first, then each slice of income at the rate that applies to that slice — 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140, 45% beyond. National Insurance runs alongside at 8% between the thresholds and 2% above. No single mystery percentage, no “roughly a third” — every band on its own line.
We built it this way because averages mislead. Someone on £60,000 is not “a 40% taxpayer” on all of it — only the top £9,730 is taxed at 40%, and seeing that changes real decisions: whether overtime is worth it, what a pension contribution really costs, whether a pay rise past £100,000 quietly eats your allowance.
If you run your own company, salary is only half the conversation — the dividend vs salary calculator shows both extraction routes side by side, and our payroll service makes the numbers happen every month without you touching them.
Common questions.
How is take-home pay calculated in 2026/27?
Gross salary minus Income Tax and employee National Insurance. Income Tax: the first £12,570 is your personal allowance (tax-free), then 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140 and 45% above. National Insurance: 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. Our calculator shows each band as its own line.
What happens to the personal allowance over £100,000?
It tapers: you lose £1 of allowance for every £2 of income above £100,000, so it is gone entirely at £125,140. The effect is a 60% marginal rate on that stretch of income — one of the strongest arguments for pension contributions in the whole tax system.
Does this calculator work for Scotland?
It uses the England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands. Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands and rates, so Scottish taxpayers will see slightly different figures — National Insurance, however, is the same UK-wide.
Why doesn't my payslip match exactly?
Payslips reflect your tax code, pension contributions, student loan deductions and benefits in kind — this calculator assumes the standard 1257L code and none of those extras. If your payslip looks wrong even allowing for them, that is worth a conversation: incorrect tax codes are one of the most common problems we fix.
Keep going.
Dividend vs Salary
Run your own company? Compare both ways of paying yourself, computed together.
Open →Tax Reserve Calculator
Self-employed? Work out what to put aside each month so January never hurts.
Open →Payroll, run properly
Payslips, RTI filings and pensions handled — every month, on time, without drama.
Open →Prefer a human with the numbers?
Tax codes, pension trade-offs, the £100k taper — ten minutes with us usually pays for itself.