Earn · UK
Take-Home Pay Calculator
See what you actually take home after Income Tax, National Insurance, pension and any student loan. Updated for the 2026/27 tax year, with bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus Scotland.
Rates for the 2026/27 tax year. An estimate to help you plan, not tax advice. Confirm with HMRC.
- Take-home a year
- £27,320
- Take-home a month
- £2,276.63
- Total deductions
- £7,680
- Income Tax + NI
- £5,930
How your take-home pay is worked out
Your salary is the headline figure. What lands in your account is what is left after a few deductions. First, any pension contribution comes off, usually before tax. Then Income Tax is charged on what you earn above your personal allowance, which is £12,570 for most people in 2026/27. National Insurance is charged separately on your full salary, and a student loan, if you have one, takes a slice of what you earn above its threshold.
The calculator above adds those up and shows what you keep, both a year and a month. Change the pension percentage or your region to see how each one moves the number.
Income Tax bands for 2026/27
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you pay 20% on taxable income up to £37,700, 40% from there up to £125,140, and 45% above that. Scotland sets its own bands, from a 19% starter rate up to a 48% top rate, which is why take-home pay differs north of the border. Earn over £100,000 and your personal allowance starts to taper away.
Common questions
How is my take-home pay worked out?
We start with your gross salary, take off any pension contribution, then work out Income Tax on what is left above your personal allowance. National Insurance is charged on your full salary, and any student loan is taken on what you earn over the plan threshold. What remains is your take-home pay.
What is the personal allowance for 2026/27?
Most people can earn £12,570 before paying any Income Tax. If you earn more than £100,000, the allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 over, and disappears entirely at £125,140.
What is the 60% tax trap?
Between £100,000 and £125,140 your personal allowance tapers away by £1 for every £2 you earn, on top of the 40% higher rate, so each extra pound in that band is taxed at an effective rate of around 60%. A common way to avoid it is to pay into a pension to bring your income back under £100,000. This calculator reflects the taper, so you can see the effect.
How much National Insurance do I pay?
As an employee in 2026/27 you pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% on anything above £50,270. Earnings below £12,570 are free of National Insurance.
Why is take-home pay different in Scotland?
Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands and rates, with six bands from 19% to 48%, so a Scottish taxpayer on the same salary usually takes home a slightly different amount. National Insurance and the personal allowance are the same across the UK.
How does a pension contribution affect my take-home pay?
A workplace pension contribution is usually taken from your pay before Income Tax, so it lowers your tax as well as your take-home figure, while the money goes into your pension rather than disappearing. This calculator treats your contribution that way.
When do I start repaying my student loan?
You repay a percentage of what you earn above your plan threshold, not the whole salary. For most plans that is 9% above the threshold, or 6% for a postgraduate loan. If you earn under the threshold you repay nothing that month.
About this calculator
Built for the 2026/27 tax year using the Income Tax bands, National Insurance thresholds and student loan figures published on gov.uk (HMRC). It assumes you are an employee under PAYE with a standard personal allowance and a pension taken from pay before tax. It does not cover the marriage allowance, benefits in kind, or other adjustments. The result is an estimate to help you plan, not tax advice. Confirm your own figures with HMRC. Last updated June 2026.