Salary calculator
Salary calculator: your take-home pay, then what it could do.
Put in your pay and see what reaches your bank account each month, where the rest goes and why. Then see what part of it could grow to in a Stocks and Shares ISA. Everything stays in your browser: nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
Your pay
More options
Your take-home pay, 2026/27
£0 a month
| Year | Month | 4 weeks | Week | Day |
|---|
Compare tax years
Where your pay goes, each month
Estimates at the time of writing, using HMRC's rates for the tax year chosen. Your own tax code, pension scheme and circumstances can change them. Check your figures on gov.uk.
The next step
Your take-home pay is £0 a month.
Illustrative value after 20 years
£0
Illustrative, not a forecast. Investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. Assumes the same growth every year and the monthly amount added at the end of each month.
Results are estimates. Your own tax code, pension scheme and circumstances can change them. This is general information, not financial or tax advice. The ISA figures are illustrations, not forecasts: the value of investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you put in.
How it works
How take-home pay is worked out
Your take-home pay is what's left after Income Tax, National Insurance and, if you have them, pension contributions and student loan repayments. Your employer takes them all through the payroll, so the figure on your payslip is already the net amount.
Income Tax
It starts after your personal allowance, £12,570 a year at the time of writing. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the next £37,700 is taxed at 20%, then 40%, and 45% above £125,140. Scotland has six bands, from 19% to 48%.
The allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 over £100,000, so pay between £100,000 and £125,140 is taxed at an effective 60% (67.5% in Scotland).
National Insurance
You pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% above that.
Unlike Income Tax, it's worked out on each pay period on its own, so a large one-off bonus can be charged a little differently from the same pay spread evenly across the year.
Pension and student loans
A workplace scheme that takes your pension before tax gives relief at your highest rate straight away. Relief at source takes it after tax and your provider adds 20%. Salary sacrifice reduces your pay itself, so you save National Insurance too.
Student loans take 9% of pay above your plan's threshold, and a Postgraduate Loan 6% above £21,000.
Your tax code
If HMRC needs to collect tax on a company car, or on a past underpayment, your code will be lower than 1257L and your take-home pay smaller.
If the figure here doesn't match your payslip, the tax code is the first thing to check.
The next step
From take-home pay to building wealth
Take-home pay is the money you actually control. Paying off expensive debt and keeping an emergency fund usually come first. After that, even a modest monthly amount in a Stocks and Shares ISA can grow free of tax for decades.
Questions
Common questions
Quick answers about the figures. Still unsure? Your payslip and your HMRC account have the details for your own pay.
Why is my payslip different from this?
Usually it's the tax code, a pension set up differently from the option chosen here, or deductions this calculator doesn't know about. A first payslip in a new job can also be on an emergency tax code until HMRC catches up.
Is a pay rise into the 40% band worth having?
Yes. Only the pay above the threshold is taxed at the higher rate, so you always keep more of a rise than you had before it. The box under your results shows how much of your next £100 you'd keep.
Does a pension contribution reduce my take-home pay pound for pound?
No. Because of tax relief, a £100 pension contribution usually costs a basic-rate taxpayer about £80 of take-home pay, and a higher-rate taxpayer about £60, once any Self Assessment claim is made.
Why is my take-home pay the same in both tax years?
Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds have been frozen, so for most people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland nothing changes between 2025/26 and 2026/27. Scottish tax bands and student loan thresholds do rise each year.
Do you keep the figures I enter?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is stored, sent to me or added to the page address.
Rates used
All rates are at the time of writing and were checked at source on 3 November 2026. They're updated each year on 6 April, and after any Budget that changes them.
| What | 2026/27 | 2025/26 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | £12,570, reduced by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000 | Same | gov.uk: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances |
| Income Tax: England, Wales, Northern Ireland | 20% on the first £37,700 above the allowance; 40% to £125,140; 45% above | Same | HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 and 2025 to 2026 |
| Income Tax: Scotland (above the allowance) | 19% to £3,967; 20% to £16,956; 21% to £31,092; 42% to £62,430; 45% to £125,140; 48% above | 19% to £2,827; 20% to £14,921; 21% to £31,092; 42% to £62,430; 45% to £125,140; 48% above | |
| Employee National Insurance (category A) | 8% between £12,570 and £50,270 a year; 2% above | Same | |
| Employer National Insurance | 15% above £5,000 a year | Same | |
| Student loans (9% above the threshold) | Plan 1 £26,900; Plan 2 £29,385; Plan 4 £33,795; Plan 5 £25,000. Postgraduate Loan 6% above £21,000 | Plan 1 £26,065; Plan 2 £28,470; Plan 4 £32,745; Plan 5 repayments not yet due. Postgraduate Loan 6% above £21,000 | |
| Pension tax relief | Net pay: before tax. Relief at source: provider adds 20%, higher rates claimed separately. Salary sacrifice: no tax or National Insurance on the amount sacrificed | gov.uk: Pension tax relief | |
| ISA allowance | £20,000 a year | gov.uk: Individual Savings Accounts | |
How it's worked out: tax for the whole year, as HMRC's own estimator does, using an allowance of £12,579 for code 1257L (the code number times ten, plus 9, as PAYE does). Student loan repayments are rounded down to whole pounds. Category A National Insurance, under State Pension age, one job.
One email a month
The latest articles, what’s changed in the ISA rules, and ideas inspired by the book and my own experiences. Join, and The ISA Starter is yours straight away.
JOIN THE NEWSLETTER