UK Salary Calculator & Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27

The most useful calculator applies the correct tax-year rates, asks whether you are a Scottish taxpayer, distinguishes Income Tax from National Insurance, and accounts for pension and student loan deductions it explicitly supports. HMRC also provides an official Income Tax estimator for employees. No estimate is exact if key inputs such as tax code, pay period, taxable benefits or pension method are missing.

Under the standard assumptions used in this guide—2026/27 tax rates, the standard Personal Allowance, standard employee NICs, no pension, no student loan and no other adjustments—£30,000 leaves approximately £25,119.60 a year after Income Tax and NICs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland produces a different result because its Income Tax bands differ. Your actual payslip may also include pension, student loan or other deductions.

Scottish taxpayers use Scotland's six non-savings, non-dividend Income Tax rates: 19%, 20%, 21%, 42%, 45% and 48% across the relevant bands. England, Wales and Northern Ireland use the main 20%, 40% and 45% rates for these earnings. Scottish taxpayer status generally depends on where you live, not just where your employer is based. The Personal Allowance and National Insurance rules are separate from Scotland's devolved bands.

1257L is a common tax code associated with the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance, where no adjustment is required. The number broadly represents the tax-free income allocated through PAYE, while the letter relates to your circumstances. It is not itself a tax rate. If the code ends in W1, M1 or X, it may be operating on an emergency or non-cumulative basis. Check the code with HMRC if it appears incorrect.

A new employer may not initially have your previous employment and tax details, so payroll can use an emergency tax code. The code may calculate tax using only the current pay period instead of the cumulative year-to-date position. Give payroll your P45 if you have one and check your HMRC tax account. HMRC may update the code when it has the necessary information. An initial high deduction does not automatically mean your final annual tax liability has increased.

Bonuses and overtime are generally treated as employment earnings. They can increase Income Tax withholding, employee NICs, pension contributions and student loan deductions in the pay period in which they are paid. There is no single universal bonus tax rate. A large payment can make that month's deductions look unusually high, while your final annual Income Tax position depends on your total income, tax code and applicable rules.

Your employee pension contribution reduces the cash you receive, but the tax treatment depends on the scheme. A net pay arrangement normally deducts contributions before Income Tax is calculated. Under relief at source, contributions are usually deducted after tax and the pension provider claims basic-rate tax relief. Salary sacrifice exchanges part of contractual salary for an employer pension contribution and may affect taxable pay and NICs. Check your scheme method before using a calculator's pension input.

The annual thresholds are £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4, £25,000 for Plan 5 and £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan. Undergraduate Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5 generally repay at 9% of earnings above the relevant threshold; postgraduate repayments are generally 6% above their separate threshold. If you have multiple loan types, payroll may include more than one deduction.

Student loan deductions are generally assessed against earnings in the relevant payroll period. A bonus or overtime payment can push that period's earnings above its weekly or monthly threshold and trigger a deduction, even if your usual pay is lower. This calculator annualises earnings and may not reproduce that period-by-period result. If your total annual income ends below the applicable annual threshold, you may be eligible to request a refund under the relevant rules. Check your plan and Student Loans Company guidance before assuming a deduction is incorrect.

The 2026/27 tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, and a calculator should use the rates and thresholds for that year. HMRC can still change an individual's tax code during the year when it receives new information about employment, benefits, untaxed income or an earlier tax underpayment. That can change PAYE deductions without necessarily changing the statutory tax bands. Check the tax code and pay period before comparing payslips.

Multiply the hourly rate by paid hours per week and then by the number of paid weeks in the year. For example, £15 per hour for 37.5 paid hours a week across 52 paid weeks gives £29,250 gross annual pay. Unpaid leave, variable shifts, overtime and seasonal work can change the result. The gross annual figure is before Income Tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan deductions.

A calculator may use an annualized estimate, while payroll applies tax codes and NIC thresholds to each pay period. Differences can also arise from emergency codes, pension arrangements, student loan deductions, taxable benefits, salary sacrifice, bonuses, rounding and other authorised deductions. Compare the same tax year, gross pay, pay frequency, tax code and pension assumptions. If the difference remains unexplained, check your payslip with payroll or HMRC.

No. Under the main Income Tax bands in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the 40% higher rate applies to the relevant portion of taxable income above the basic-rate band, not the entire salary. Scotland has its own rates and thresholds. National Insurance is calculated separately, so the overall effect on take-home pay depends on both systems and any additional deductions.

A standard PAYE salary calculator is designed for employment income and is not a complete self-employment tax calculator. Self-employed people may calculate Income Tax through Self Assessment and pay National Insurance under different rules. Business expenses, trading profits and other circumstances can materially change the result. Use a calculator designed for self-employed income or consult HMRC guidance for your situation.

Each employment can have its own tax code and payroll calculation. Your Personal Allowance may be allocated to one job, divided or adjusted by HMRC. Having two jobs does not automatically give you a separate full Personal Allowance for each job; your overall tax position depends on total taxable income and the codes applied. Check your HMRC Personal Tax Account if employment or income details are wrong.

An S prefix commonly identifies Scottish Income Tax treatment, while a C prefix commonly identifies Welsh Income Tax treatment. The prefix is one part of the full tax code, and your circumstances still matter. Check your HMRC record if the code does not reflect where you live or your income.

Some qualifying pension contributions can affect adjusted net income and therefore the Personal Allowance taper. The result depends on the contribution method and individual circumstances. Net pay, relief at source and salary sacrifice work differently; this calculator's simplified pension input does not calculate the specific effect for every scheme.

Yes. Where applicable, an undergraduate repayment and a Postgraduate Loan repayment can both be deducted, using their separate thresholds and rates. This calculator allows one selected plan at a time, so it cannot estimate both deductions together.

Dividing annual net pay by 12 smooths an estimate across the year. Actual monthly payslips can vary with tax-code changes, bonuses, overtime, pension and student-loan deductions, payroll corrections, pay dates and rounding. Treat the monthly figure as a budgeting estimate rather than a promise of identical pay every month.

Use GOV.UK Income Tax rates and Personal Allowance guidance, HMRC's 2026/27 employer rates and thresholds, GOV.UK Scottish Income Tax guidance, and GOV.UK student-loan repayment guidance. Official guidance takes precedence if your circumstances differ from the examples on this page.