Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27
Enter your gross salary to see income tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension deductions — with rest-of-UK or Scottish bands. Everything updates as you type.
Calculate your take-home pay
Before any deductions, excluding employer pension.
Welsh rates match England and NI. Scotland has six bands.
9% above the plan threshold; 6% for Postgraduate.
Sacrifice reduces gross pay before tax and NI are worked out.
Assumes standard PAYE on an annual basis, tax code 1257L, NI category A, no taxable benefits.
Click any salary to load it into the calculator. Figures use your current region, student loan and pension settings.
Frequently asked questionsEnter your gross annual salary, then pick the tax year, region, student loan plan and pension contribution. The calculator applies the 2026/27 income tax bands and National Insurance rates to estimate your net pay after all deductions.
The personal allowance is £12,570 for 2026/27, unchanged and now frozen until 5 April 2031. It tapers by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000, so it is nil at £125,140.
For 2026/27 employees pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above £50,270. Both thresholds are unchanged. Your employer separately pays 15% on your earnings above £5,000 — that is their cost, not a deduction from your pay.
Yes. Scotland has six bands for 2026/27: Starter 19% to £16,537, Basic 20% to £29,526, Intermediate 21% to £43,662, Higher 42% to £75,000, Advanced 45% to £125,140 and Top 48% above that. The starter and basic thresholds rose 7.4%; the rates themselves did not move.
National Insurance is not devolved, so a Scottish employee's marginal rate is 42% + 8% = 50% between £43,663 and £50,270. Savings and dividends stay on UK-wide rates.
You repay 9% of earnings above your plan threshold (6% for Postgraduate loans), rounded down to the nearest pound. For 2026/27: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000, Postgraduate £21,000. Plans 1, 2 and 4 rose with RPI for 2026/27; Plan 5 and Postgraduate were held.
Yes — but less than the headline percentage suggests. Salary sacrifice cuts your gross pay before tax and NI, so the money lands in your pension instead of being taxed. The NIC exemption on sacrificed contributions is uncapped in 2026/27; a £2,000 cap has been announced for 6 April 2029.
No. This calculator provides arithmetic estimates only. Real payslips differ with benefits in kind, bonuses, mid-year changes and employer payroll settings. Consult a qualified accountant for advice.
Income tax and NI rates for 2026/27
Nothing moved in the rest-of-UK income tax table for 2026/27. The personal allowance, the basic rate limit and the higher-rate threshold are all frozen — and the freeze now runs to 5 April 2031, two years longer than previously announced.
Rest of UK: England, Wales and Northern Ireland
| Band | Gross salary | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | £0 – £12,570 | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 – £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 – £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | over £125,140 | 45% |
Scotland
| Band | Gross salary | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | £0 – £12,570 | 0% |
| Starter | £12,571 – £16,537 | 19% |
| Basic | £16,538 – £29,526 | 20% |
| Intermediate | £29,527 – £43,662 | 21% |
| Higher | £43,663 – £75,000 | 42% |
| Advanced | £75,001 – £125,140 | 45% |
| Top | over £125,140 | 48% |
Employee National Insurance (class 1, category A)
| Earnings | Annual threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Below the primary threshold | up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Primary threshold to upper earnings limit | £12,570 – £50,270 | 8% |
| Above the upper earnings limit | over £50,270 | 2% |
Student loan thresholds
| Plan | 2026/27 threshold | 2025/26 | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | £26,065 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | £28,470 | 9% |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 | £32,745 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate | £21,000 | £21,000 | 6% |
How take-home pay is worked out
- Salary sacrifice first. A sacrificed pension contribution comes off gross pay before anything else, so it reduces income tax, NI and student loan — and your adjusted net income for the personal allowance taper.
- Personal allowance. £12,570, tapered by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000.
- Income tax. The remainder is stacked through the bands above — rest-of-UK or Scottish, depending on where you live.
- National Insurance. 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2%. Not devolved.
- Student loan. 9% (6% Postgraduate) of earnings above the plan threshold, rounded down to the nearest pound.
Contractors working through a limited company usually take a small salary plus dividends rather than a full PAYE salary, so this calculator is the wrong instrument for that split — dividends are taxed at 10.75% and 35.75% from April 2026, both 2 points higher than last year. Use the limited company tax calculator for a salary-plus-dividend comparison, or the umbrella calculator if you are paid through an umbrella.
Paying this much tax? A contractor accountant can help.
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Compare contractor accountants →Featured firms pay to appear. All specialise in contractors.This calculator provides arithmetic calculations only and assumes a standard tax code with no taxable benefits. Verify with HMRC guidance or a qualified accountant.