Family & Household Examples

Every rule on this site so far has been explained one at a time: what a tax code means, why the 60% trap happens, how Child Benefit gets clawed back. This page puts six of them into real household terms instead: six people and families, each with a real gross salary, run through the same calculator behind the Salary Calculator, the 60% Tax Trap, and the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

Two of the six are better read together rather than alone: a single-earner family on £80,000 and a dual-earner family on £40,000 each. The same household income, £80,000 either way, but only one of them loses their Child Benefit, because the charge is tested against one person's income, not the household's.

Click a card below to see the full breakdown. Each one links through to the calculator with that person's own numbers already filled in, and to whichever explainer page covers the rule it's demonstrating.

Single professional

£35,000 a year, no dependents. A simple baseline.

See the breakdown →

Young couple, dual income

£50,000 each, no children.

See the breakdown →

Single-earner family

£80,000 from one salary, two children.

See the breakdown →

Dual-earner family

£40,000 each from two salaries, two children, the same household income as the single-earner family.

See the breakdown →

Higher earner

£115,000 a year, no children, inside the £100,000–£125,140 Personal Allowance taper band.

See the breakdown →

Recent graduate

£28,000 a year, Plan 2 student loan.

See the breakdown →

Single professional

£35,000 a year, no dependents. A simple baseline.

Take-home: £28,719.60/year, 17.9% effective Income Tax + NI rate

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.

£28,719.60take-home per year (avg. £2,393.30/month)*

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.

Try this in the calculator →

Income Tax Explained →

↑ Back to examples

Young couple, dual income

£50,000 each, no children.

Household take-home: £79,039.20/year, two incomes, taxed completely independently

Alex: £50,000

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.

£39,519.60take-home per year (avg. £3,293.30/month)*

Income Tax£7,486.00
National Insurance£2,994.40
Take-home pay£39,519.60

Show detailed breakdown

Income Tax (Personal Allowance: £12,570.00)

£12,570.00 covered by your Personal Allowance (0%)£0.00
Basic rate: £37,430.00 at 20%£7,486.00

National Insurance

£12,570.00 below the Primary Threshold (0%)£0.00
Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit: £37,430.00 at 8%£2,994.40

Try Alex's numbers in the calculator →

Jordan: £50,000

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.

£39,519.60take-home per year (avg. £3,293.30/month)*

Income Tax£7,486.00
National Insurance£2,994.40
Take-home pay£39,519.60

Show detailed breakdown

Income Tax (Personal Allowance: £12,570.00)

£12,570.00 covered by your Personal Allowance (0%)£0.00
Basic rate: £37,430.00 at 20%£7,486.00

National Insurance

£12,570.00 below the Primary Threshold (0%)£0.00
Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit: £37,430.00 at 8%£2,994.40

Try Jordan's numbers in the calculator →

Marriage Allowance →

↑ Back to examples

Single-earner family

£80,000 from one salary, two children.

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.

£56,957.40take-home per year (avg. £4,746.45/month)*

Income Tax£19,432.00
National Insurance£3,610.60
Take-home pay£56,957.40

Show detailed breakdown

Income Tax (Personal Allowance: £12,570.00)

£12,570.00 covered by your Personal Allowance (0%)£0.00
Basic rate: £37,700.00 at 20%£7,540.00
Higher rate: £29,730.00 at 40%£11,892.00

National Insurance

£12,570.00 below the Primary Threshold (0%)£0.00
Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit: £37,700.00 at 8%£3,016.00
Above Upper Earnings Limit: £29,730.00 at 2%£594.60

Try Sam's numbers in the calculator →

Household: Child Benefit

2 children, tested on Sam's income−£2,337

£2,337.40 claimed with a 100% charge = £0.40 kept. Sam's individual income is the only figure that matters here, not household income.

High Income Child Benefit Charge →

↑ Back to examples

Dual-earner family

£40,000 each from two salaries, two children, the same household income as the single-earner family.

Alex: £40,000

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.

£32,319.60take-home per year (avg. £2,693.30/month)*

Income Tax£5,486.00
National Insurance£2,194.40
Take-home pay£32,319.60

Show detailed breakdown

Income Tax (Personal Allowance: £12,570.00)

£12,570.00 covered by your Personal Allowance (0%)£0.00
Basic rate: £27,430.00 at 20%£5,486.00

National Insurance

£12,570.00 below the Primary Threshold (0%)£0.00
Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit: £27,430.00 at 8%£2,194.40

Try Alex's numbers in the calculator →

Jordan: £40,000

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.

£32,319.60take-home per year (avg. £2,693.30/month)*

Income Tax£5,486.00
National Insurance£2,194.40
Take-home pay£32,319.60

Show detailed breakdown

Income Tax (Personal Allowance: £12,570.00)

£12,570.00 covered by your Personal Allowance (0%)£0.00
Basic rate: £27,430.00 at 20%£5,486.00

National Insurance

£12,570.00 below the Primary Threshold (0%)£0.00
Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit: £27,430.00 at 8%£2,194.40

Try Jordan's numbers in the calculator →

Household: Child Benefit

2 children, tested on Alex's income£2,337.40 kept in full

Alex's individual income doesn't cross the £60,000 threshold, so no charge applies at all.

High Income Child Benefit Charge →

↑ Back to examples

Higher earner

£115,000 a year, no children, inside the £100,000–£125,140 Personal Allowance taper band.

Marginal rate on the next £1 earned: 60%

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.

£74,257.40take-home per year (avg. £6,188.12/month)*

Income Tax£36,432.00
National Insurance£4,310.60
Take-home pay£74,257.40

Show detailed breakdown

Income Tax (Personal Allowance: £5,070.00)

£5,070.00 covered by your Personal Allowance (0%)£0.00
Basic rate: £37,700.00 at 20%£7,540.00
Higher rate: £72,230.00 at 40%£28,892.00

National Insurance

£12,570.00 below the Primary Threshold (0%)£0.00
Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit: £37,700.00 at 8%£3,016.00
Above Upper Earnings Limit: £64,730.00 at 2%£1,294.60

Try this in the calculator →

The 60% Tax Trap →

↑ Back to examples

Recent graduate

£28,000 a year, Plan 2 student loan.

Student loan repayment: £0, still under the £29,385 Plan 2 threshold

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year.

£23,679.60take-home per year (avg. £1,973.30/month)*

Income Tax£3,086.00
National Insurance£1,234.40
Take-home pay£23,679.60

Show detailed breakdown

Income Tax (Personal Allowance: £12,570.00)

£12,570.00 covered by your Personal Allowance (0%)£0.00
Basic rate: £15,430.00 at 20%£3,086.00

National Insurance

£12,570.00 below the Primary Threshold (0%)£0.00
Primary Threshold to Upper Earnings Limit: £15,430.00 at 8%£1,234.40

Try this in the calculator →

Student Loan Repayments Explained →

↑ Back to examples

These are illustrative households, not real people, and the figures are general information rather than personalised advice; see the disclaimer. Every figure shown is calculated live from the 2026/27 rates and thresholds used throughout this site, not fixed at the time of writing.