How it's calculated
Your take-home pay is your gross salary minus four things: Income Tax, National Insurance, student loan repayments and your pension contribution. The calculator uses the rates for the 2026/27 tax year, which runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.GOV.UK (HMRC)
- Income Tax. The first £12,570 is your tax-free Personal Allowance. In England and Northern Ireland the next £37,700 is taxed at 20%, then 40% up to £125,140 of taxable income and 45% above. Wales uses the same rates this year. Scotland has six bands from 19% to 48%.GOV.UK
- The £100,000 taper. Above £100,000 of adjusted net income, the Personal Allowance falls by £1 for every £2, so it is gone by £125,140.GOV.UK
- National Insurance. Employees pay 8% on pay between the primary threshold (£1,048 a month) and the upper earnings limit (£4,189 a month), and 2% above. It is worked out on each payslip on its own, so weekly and monthly pay can give slightly different yearly totals.HMRC
- Student loans. 9% of pay above your plan's threshold (Plan 2: £29,385 a year), and 6% above £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan, per payslip and rounded down to the pound.HMRC
- Pension. How your contribution is taken changes the result. Under a net pay arrangement it comes off before Income Tax but not before National Insurance. With salary sacrifice your salary is lower, so tax, NI and student loan all fall. With relief at source you pay 80% from your take-home pay and the provider adds the 20% basic-rate relief; higher-rate taxpayers claim the rest through Self Assessment.GOV.UK
The formula
- Taxable pay = salary − salary sacrifice − net-pay pension contributions.
- Personal Allowance = £12,570 − half of (adjusted net income − £100,000), rounded up to a pound and never below zero; or the amount in your tax code (1257L = £12,570, K codes add to your pay).
- Income Tax = the band rates applied to taxable pay minus the allowance.
- NI per payslip = 8% × (pay between the period thresholds) + 2% × (pay above the upper limit), rounded to the penny; multiplied by the number of payslips.
- Student loan per payslip = 9% (or 6%) × (pay − threshold ÷ payslips), rounded down to the pound.
- Take-home = salary − Income Tax − NI − student loans − pension taken from pay.
Worked example
On a £35,000 salary paid monthly in England, with no pension or student loan, take-home pay is £2,393 a month, or £28,720 a year. Income Tax is £4,486 and National Insurance £1,794.
| Line | Year | Month | Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | £35,000 | £2,917 | £673 |
| Income Tax | £4,486 | £374 | £86 |
| National Insurance | £1,794 | £149 | £35 |
| Take-home pay | £28,720 | £2,393 | £552 |
The same salary in Scotland takes home £2,392 a month. Add a Plan 2 student loan and a 5% salary sacrifice pension on £50,000 and take-home becomes £3,008 a month.
| Line | Year | Month | Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | £50,000 | £4,167 | £962 |
| Income Tax | £6,986 | £582 | £134 |
| National Insurance | £2,794 | £233 | £54 |
| Student loan | £1,620 | £135 | £31 |
| Pension (salary sacrifice) | £2,500 | £208 | £48 |
| Take-home pay | £36,100 | £3,008 | £694 |
Assumptions and limitations
- A full tax year at the same salary. Income Tax is the year's amount on your taxable pay, which is what PAYE collects over the year on the right tax code. Starting a job mid-year, a bonus or an emergency code changes individual payslips.
- One job. A second job usually has a BR or D0 code; pick it under Tax code. National Insurance is worked out per job.
- Category A National Insurance, or category C if you tick Over State Pension age. Directors use an annual earnings period and are not covered here.
- Pension as a percentage of your whole salary. Some workplace schemes use "qualifying earnings" instead, which gives a smaller contribution.
- Not included: the High Income Child Benefit Charge, Marriage Allowance transfers (enter your code instead), benefits in kind, savings and dividend income, and payroll giving.
- Your employer's National Insurance (15% above the secondary threshold) is shown for information. It is not taken from your pay.