Salary / Take-Home Pay Calculator
Enter your salary and see exactly what goes to Income Tax, National Insurance, pension, and what actually lands in your bank account. No jargon, just your salary broken down. See Your Payslip Explained for where each of these figures actually shows up on a real payslip.
Optional, defaults to 0%.
Optional, standard allowance if blank.
Optional, defaults to no plan.
Your take-home pay
Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.
- Income Tax£4,486.00
- National Insurance£1,794.40
- Take-home pay£28,719.60
Show detailed breakdown
Income Tax (Personal Allowance: £12,570.00)
- £12,570.00 covered by your Personal Allowance (0%)£0.00
- Basic rate: £22,430.00 at 20%£4,486.00
National Insurance
- £12,570.00 below the Primary Threshold (0%)£0.00
- Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit: £22,430.00 at 8%£1,794.40
*An average, not a prediction for any one month. Pay that varies (a bonus, uneven hours), or National Insurance and student loan being worked out per pay period rather than smoothed evenly, can shift a real month up or down. See the same salary, different pay pattern example.
Inputs
| Field | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual gross salary | Required | The only input you need to get a result, everything else below is optional and defaults to "none." |
| Where you pay tax | Optional | Toggle: Rest of UK / Scotland. Defaults to Rest of UK. Changes which Income Tax bands apply. National Insurance and student loan are unaffected either way. See Scottish Income Tax Explained. |
| Pension contribution (%) | Optional | Defaults to 0%. See note on assumptions below. |
| Student loan plan | Optional | Dropdown: None / Plan 1 / Plan 2 / Plan 4 / Plan 5, plus an independent Postgraduate Loan checkbox. The two are repaid at the same time, not instead of each other. Defaults to "None." See Student Loan Repayments Explained for which plan you're on. |
| Tax code override | Optional | Defaults to the standard code, 1257L. Use this if you know your code is different. See Understanding Your Tax Code. Accepts an M or N code (e.g. 1383M, 1131N) if you're already claiming Marriage Allowance, the same way it accepts any standard L code. |
The calculator is deliberately usable with just a salary figure typed in, everything else is there if you want a more precise answer.
Output
A visual breakdown of your gross salary split into:
- Income Tax
- National Insurance
- Pension contribution (if entered)
- Student loan repayment (if applicable)
- Take-home pay (what's left)
Each segment of the breakdown links through to the relevant explainer page, e.g. clicking the National Insurance segment takes you to National Insurance Explained, so a curious reader can go from "here's a number" to "here's why that's the number" in one click.
Worked example: £45,000 salary, 5% pension contribution
This example assumes a relief at source pension, the simplest of the common contribution methods to follow, and a good default for a first worked example. Contributions come out of your pay after Income Tax and National Insurance have already been worked out, and your pension provider claims basic-rate tax relief back from HMRC and adds it to your pot for you. (Other methods, such as net pay arrangements and salary sacrifice take a different approach; see Your Pension Contributions Explained for how.)
Step 1: Income Tax
Because the pension contribution is taken after tax, it has no effect on this step. Income Tax is worked out on your full salary.
- Personal Allowance: £12,570 tax-free
- Remaining taxable income: £45,000 − £12,570 = £32,430, all within the 20% basic rate band (it doesn't reach £37,700)
- Income Tax due: £32,430 × 20% = £6,486
Step 2: National Insurance
Same reasoning applies: NI is also worked out on your full salary, unaffected by the pension contribution.
- Primary Threshold: £12,570 NI-free
- Remaining earnings: £45,000 − £12,570 = £32,430, all within the 8% band (it doesn't reach £50,270)
- NI due: £32,430 × 8% = £2,594.40
Step 3: pension contribution
A 5% contribution means 5% of your salary, £2,250, comes straight out of your pay, the same way it would show as a deduction on your payslip. Your pension provider then grosses that up, claiming basic-rate relief back from HMRC and adding it to your pot on top, with no action needed from you.
- Taken from your pay: £45,000 × 5% = £2,250
- Grossed up (÷ 80%, since £2,250 represents your 80% share once relief is added): £2,250 ÷ 0.8 = £2,812.50
- Tax relief added by your pension provider: £2,812.50 − £2,250 = £562.50
- Total landing in your pension pot: £2,250 + £562.50 = £2,812.50
Step 4: pull it together
| Amount | |
| Gross salary | £45,000.00 |
| − Income Tax | £6,486.00 |
| − National Insurance | £2,594.40 |
| − Pension contribution (taken from your pay) | £2,250.00 |
| = Take-home pay | £33,669.60 (£2,805.80/month) |
| + Pension pot gained | £2,812.50 (includes £562.50 tax relief) |
If you pay tax at the higher or additional rate, relief at source only claims back the basic 20% automatically. You need to claim the rest yourself through Self Assessment or by contacting HMRC. That, along with how net pay arrangements and salary sacrifice work differently, is covered on Your Pension Contributions Explained.
A note on accuracy
This calculator gives a good estimate for a typical PAYE employee with a standard tax code, but it can't account for every individual circumstance. Things like company benefits reported on a P11D, multiple jobs, or an unusual tax code will change your actual figures.
The monthly take-home figure is an average, not a prediction for any one payslip. It's your annual figure spread evenly across 12 months. Real pay often isn't perfectly even since a bonus, overtime, or a change in hours all shift a real month up or down. Both National Insurance and student loan repayments are worked out fresh each pay period rather than across the year as a whole, so an uneven income pattern can move the real annual total by a small amount too, not just which month it lands in. See the same salary, different pay pattern worked example for how much this can matter.
Student loan repayments do model the real whole-pound-a-month rounding gov.uk itself uses (see Student Loan Repayments Explained), on the assumption you're paid monthly. If you're paid weekly, or your pay varies, your real total may differ from this estimate by a few pounds either way.
This tool provides an estimate for illustration only, not a substitute for your actual payslip, tax return, or personalised financial advice. See the disclaimer for more detail, and if your numbers matter for a real decision, check them against your payslip or speak to a qualified professional.
Calculations shown are based on 2026/27 Income Tax, National Insurance, and student loan repayment rates, see last review date below.