Take-Home Pay Calculator
What you actually keep.
A free UK take-home pay calculator for the 2026/27 tax year. Salary in, income tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan out — with Scottish rates, salary sacrifice and every loan plan handled in the advanced settings. Instant, nothing leaves your browser.
FAQ
Common
questions
How the 2026/27 numbers are worked out. General information, not financial advice — for anything unusual (K tax codes, multiple jobs, benefits in kind), check with payroll or an accountant.
- Q1
What rates does this use for 2026/27?
Personal Allowance £12,570 (withdrawn above £100,000). England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140, 45% above. Scotland: six bands from 19% to 48%. Employee National Insurance: 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2%. Student loans: 9% above the plan threshold (Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000), postgraduate 6% above £21,000.
- Q2
Why is £100k–£125k taxed so heavily?
Your Personal Allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000, disappearing entirely at £125,140. Losing tax-free allowance while paying 40% on the extra income produces an effective marginal rate of 60% (62% with NI). Pension contributions that bring income back under £100,000 avoid the trap entirely — the single most effective planning move in this band.
- Q3
How is Scotland different?
Scotland sets its own income tax bands — six of them in 2026/27: 19% starter to £16,537, 20% basic to £29,526, 21% intermediate to £43,662, 42% higher to £75,000, 45% advanced to £125,140 and 48% top above that. National Insurance and student loans are not devolved, so those are identical UK-wide. Which rates you pay depends on where you live, not where your employer is.
- Q4
What's the difference between the pension types?
Salary sacrifice reduces your contractual pay, so you save income tax and National Insurance — and student loan repayments fall too. Net-pay workplace schemes deduct before tax but after NI. Relief at source (SIPPs, most personal pensions) takes the contribution from taxed pay and the provider adds basic-rate relief; higher-rate taxpayers claim the rest through Self Assessment. Same headline percentage, noticeably different take-home.
- Q5
Which student loan plan am I on?
Started an undergraduate course in England or Wales before 2012: Plan 1. Between September 2012 and July 2023: Plan 2. From August 2023: Plan 5 — repayments for the first Plan 5 cohort began in April 2026. Scottish students: Plan 4. A postgraduate loan sits on top of any undergraduate plan and both repay at once.
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