Outputs
Estimated take-home
Gross salary minus income tax, employee NI, employee pension, student loan, and postgraduate loan deductions.
Monthly and weekly pay
Annual take-home divided by 12 or 52. The calculator does not model payroll-period rounding.
Taxable pay
Pay after personal allowance and any pension treatment that reduces taxable pay.
Effective deduction rate
Total deductions divided by gross salary.
Income Tax
The calculator starts with pay for tax, applies the personal allowance from the tax code,
then applies the tax bands for the selected region. The personal allowance is reduced by
50% of income above
£100,000, which means £1 of
allowance is removed for every £2 above that point.
Taxable pay is never allowed to go below zero. If the personal allowance is larger
than pay for tax, income tax is zero.
Supported tax code patterns
| Code |
How it is estimated |
| 1257L or similar |
The number is multiplied by 10 to set the annual personal allowance. 1257L gives a £12,570 allowance. |
| S prefix |
Uses Scottish income tax bands, for example S1257L. |
| C prefix |
Accepted for Welsh tax codes. Current bands match England and Northern Ireland in this calculator. |
| 0T |
No personal allowance is applied, but normal tax bands are still used. |
| BR, D0, D1 |
All taxable pay is taxed at 20%, 40%, or 45% respectively. |
| NT |
No income tax is deducted. |
| K codes |
The code number is treated as a negative allowance, increasing taxable pay. For example K475 adds £4,750 to taxable pay. |
National Insurance
Employee National Insurance is calculated using the annual primary threshold,
upper earnings limit, main rate, and additional rate for the selected
tax year. Salary sacrifice pension contributions reduce pay for NI; other pension
methods do not.
| Boundary |
Meaning |
Current value |
| Primary threshold |
Employee NI starts above this annual level. |
£12,570 |
| Upper earnings limit |
Main employee NI rate stops and additional rate starts above this level. |
£50,270 |
| Main employee rate |
Rate between the primary threshold and upper earnings limit. |
8% |
| Additional employee rate |
Rate above the upper earnings limit. |
2% |
Student and Postgraduate Loans
Student loans are calculated as 9% of
gross salary above the selected plan threshold. Postgraduate loans are calculated
as 6% of gross salary above
£21,000. If both apply, both
deductions are included.
Pensions
None
No pension contribution is deducted and taxable pay is unchanged.
Net pay
The employee contribution reduces taxable pay, but does not reduce employee NI pay.
Relief at source
The calculator deducts the employee contribution and applies basic-rate relief against income tax.
Salary sacrifice
The employee contribution reduces both taxable pay and pay for employee NI.
When qualifying earnings are enabled, pensionable pay is capped between
£6,240 and
£50,270 for the current tax year.
Annual Bonus
The calculator can include an annual bonus either as a fixed sum or as a percentage
of base salary. A percentage bonus moves with the target salary in the pay rise
comparison, which is useful for offers with a maximum bonus such as 10% or 20%.
Fixed amount
Enter the expected annual bonus in pounds. It is added to base salary as taxable gross income.
Percentage of salary
Enter the maximum bonus percentage. The calculator multiplies base salary by this percentage.
Tax treatment
Bonus is included for income tax, employee National Insurance, student loan, and postgraduate loan estimates.
Bonus month
When a bonus is entered, the results show a typical month and a bonus month. The bonus month includes the estimated net bonus as a single payment.
First iteration limit
Pension contributions are calculated from base salary only. Bonus-specific pension or payroll-period handling is not modelled yet.
Salary Sacrifice Schemes
Use the monthly salary sacrifice field for arrangements such as an electric vehicle
or car salary sacrifice scheme. The calculator multiplies the monthly amount by 12,
then reduces pay for income tax, employee National Insurance, student loan, and
postgraduate loan calculations.
What is included
The sacrificed amount is deducted from estimated bank pay and appears in the deductions breakdown.
Tax and NI effect
The sacrificed amount reduces taxable pay and pay for employee NI before those deductions are calculated.
Loan effect
Student and postgraduate loan estimates are based on pay after this salary sacrifice.
Not yet included
Company car benefit-in-kind, employer-specific fees, insurance extras, early termination costs, and optional accessories are not modelled.
For EV schemes, the benefit-in-kind tax can still matter. This first iteration models
the sacrificed salary only; it does not add car benefit-in-kind back into taxable pay.
Tax-Year Data
2026/27
Personal allowance
£12,570
Allowance taper starts
£100,000
Employee NI boundaries
£12,570 to £50,270
Qualifying earnings
£6,240 to £50,270
Income tax bands: England, Wales and Northern Ireland
| Band |
Taxable income |
Rate |
| Basic rate |
Up to £37,700 |
20% |
| Higher rate |
£37,700 to £125,140 |
40% |
| Additional rate |
£125,140 and above |
45% |
Income tax bands: Scotland
| Band |
Taxable income |
Rate |
| Starter rate |
Up to £2,827 |
19% |
| Basic rate |
£2,827 to £14,921 |
20% |
| Intermediate rate |
£14,921 to £31,092 |
21% |
| Higher rate |
£31,092 to £62,430 |
42% |
| Advanced rate |
£62,430 to £125,140 |
45% |
| Top rate |
£125,140 and above |
48% |
Loan thresholds
| Loan type |
Annual threshold |
Rate |
| Plan1 |
£26,065 |
9% |
| Plan2 |
£28,470 |
9% |
| Plan4 |
£32,745 |
9% |
| Plan5 |
£25,000 |
9% |
| Postgraduate loan |
£21,000 |
6% |
2025/26
Personal allowance
£12,570
Allowance taper starts
£100,000
Employee NI boundaries
£12,570 to £50,270
Qualifying earnings
£6,240 to £50,270
Income tax bands: England, Wales and Northern Ireland
| Band |
Taxable income |
Rate |
| Basic rate |
Up to £37,700 |
20% |
| Higher rate |
£37,700 to £125,140 |
40% |
| Additional rate |
£125,140 and above |
45% |
Income tax bands: Scotland
| Band |
Taxable income |
Rate |
| Starter rate |
Up to £2,827 |
19% |
| Basic rate |
£2,827 to £14,921 |
20% |
| Intermediate rate |
£14,921 to £31,092 |
21% |
| Higher rate |
£31,092 to £62,430 |
42% |
| Advanced rate |
£62,430 to £125,140 |
45% |
| Top rate |
£125,140 and above |
48% |
Loan thresholds
| Loan type |
Annual threshold |
Rate |
| Plan1 |
£26,065 |
9% |
| Plan2 |
£28,470 |
9% |
| Plan4 |
£32,745 |
9% |
| Plan5 |
£25,000 |
9% |
| Postgraduate loan |
£21,000 |
6% |
Not Included
The calculator is designed for a straightforward employee salary estimate. It does not currently model:
- Employer National Insurance, employer pension contributions, or apprenticeship levy.
- Emergency tax on specific payroll periods, cumulative/non-cumulative month-one handling, or HMRC payroll caps for unusual tax codes.
- Marriage allowance, blind person's allowance, Scottish starter savings interactions outside the listed bands, or High Income Child Benefit Charge.
- Benefits in kind, company cars, bonuses paid in specific payroll periods, dividends, savings interest, rental income, or capital gains.
- Self-employment, director NI, umbrella company fees, salary sacrifice arrangements other than pension, or payroll-period rounding.
- Employer-specific pension tax relief rules, annual allowance tapering, pension carry forward, or lifetime allowance protections.
Sources and Assumptions
The calculator uses tax-year rules based on published UK tax, National Insurance,
pension, and student loan guidance. The values should be checked whenever HMRC,
Student Loans Company, or Scottish Government guidance changes.
No matching help sections found.