Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026-27
Calculate your net pay after income tax, National Insurance and pension deductions. See weekly, monthly and annual take-home pay.
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Founder, Calks.uk
Last updated: · Verified against HMRC and GOV.UK 2026/27 rates
Quick Answer
Your UK take-home pay = gross salary minus income tax (20%/40%/45%), employee NI (8%/2%), pension contribution and student loan if applicable. Typical take-home on £35,000 is around £27,800/year (£2,317/month).
Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or tax advice. All calculations are performed locally in your browser — no personal data is collected or sent to our servers. Rates and thresholds are sourced from HMRC and GOV.UK and are updated for the current tax year. Always verify results with HMRC or consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
How It Works
Your take-home pay is what remains after all statutory deductions are subtracted from your gross salary. In the UK, these deductions include income tax (based on your tax code and banding), employee National Insurance (8% and 2%), workplace pension contributions (typically 5% for auto-enrolment) and student loan repayments (if applicable).
This calculator applies deductions in the correct order: pension contributions are deducted before tax if made via salary sacrifice, or after tax if made via net-pay arrangement. Student loan repayments are calculated at 9% of income above the relevant plan threshold (6% for Postgraduate Loans).
The result shows your monthly and annual take-home pay, with a full breakdown of each deduction. You can toggle pension contributions, student loan plans, and bonus payments to see how they affect your net income.
How UK PAYE deductions stack. Your gross salary is reduced by, in order: salary sacrifice (pension, cycle-to-work, EV scheme), income tax via PAYE bands, employee NI at 8%/2%, student loan repayment if applicable, and any remaining pension RAS contributions. Salary sacrifice is most powerful because it reduces both income tax AND NI base — every £100 sacrificed saves £32 (basic rate) or £42 (higher rate) versus the £20-40 saved on RAS pension contributions.
Why your first payslip of the year looks different. UK PAYE is cumulative across the tax year (6 April to 5 April). At the start of a new tax year, your tax-free allowance is fresh. Your monthly tax = (cumulative pay × tax band) - (cumulative tax already paid). This means a bonus in April attracts more apparent tax than the same bonus in March — but balances out over the year. The K-code (e.g. K500) means deductions exceed allowances; the L-code (e.g. 1257L) is standard.
Common reasons for unexpected take-home variations. Pay rises mid-year change your tax code and may shift you into a higher band; bonus payments are taxed as one-off lump sums but adjusted through the year; pension contribution changes affect take-home immediately; student loan crossing the threshold adds 9% above £29,385 (Plan 2); High Income Child Benefit Charge starts kicking in above £60,000; childcare voucher schemes change PAYE; and a P11D benefit (company car, private health) increases your taxable income via your tax code.
Maximising take-home pay legally. Three biggest levers for UK employees: (1) Pension contributions via salary sacrifice — saves income tax + NI, employer often shares NI saving back; (2) Cycle-to-work scheme — saves 32-42% on bike up to £1,000; (3) EV through salary sacrifice — BiK rate is just 2% until April 2025, then 3-7% to 2030 (still cheap vs PCH). Avoid: (a) earning above £100k loses Personal Allowance taper (effective 60% rate); (b) ad-hoc P11D benefits often less tax-efficient than equivalent cash.
Example: £40,000 salary, Plan 2 student loan, 5% pension
- Gross salary: £40,000
- Pension (5% salary sacrifice): −£2,000
- Taxable income: £38,000
- Income tax: £5,086 (£25,430 at 20%)
- Employee NI: £1,874.40
- Student loan Plan 2 (9% above £29,385): £1,143.45
- Take-home pay: £29,896.15/year (£2,491.35/month)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What deductions come out of my salary?
- Your gross salary is subject to four main deductions before you receive your take-home pay. Income tax is calculated based on your tax code and the UK income tax bands (20%, 40%, 45%). Employee National Insurance Class 1 is charged at 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above that. Workplace pension contributions under auto-enrolment are typically 5% of qualifying earnings (£6,240–£50,270) — though higher contributions are common. Student loan repayments apply if you have an outstanding loan: Plan 2 takes 9% of income above £29,385, Plan 5 takes 9% above £25,000, and Postgraduate Loan takes 6% above £21,000. Salary sacrifice arrangements (such as pension or cycle-to-work) reduce gross pay before tax, meaning they reduce all of the above deductions simultaneously. Source: HMRC.
- How is take-home pay calculated in the UK?
- UK take-home pay is calculated by working through deductions in a specific order. First, salary sacrifice deductions (such as pension contributions made via sacrifice) are subtracted from gross pay to give the reduced taxable gross. Then income tax is calculated: the Personal Allowance (£12,570) is deducted, and the resulting taxable income is taxed at 20% up to £37,700, then 40%, then 45%. Employee NI is calculated separately on gross earnings (before income tax, but after salary sacrifice) at 8%/2%. Finally, post-tax deductions such as student loan repayments (calculated on gross earnings above the threshold) and any remaining pension contributions not in salary sacrifice are deducted. The result is your net take-home pay. For a £35,000 salary, approximate take-home is around £27,000–£28,000. Source: HMRC.
- What is a tax code and how does it affect my pay?
- A tax code tells your employer how much tax-free income you are entitled to each year, and is used to calculate income tax through PAYE. The most common code is 1257L, where the number 1257 means a tax-free allowance of £12,570 (multiply by 10) and the letter L indicates a standard Personal Allowance. Different suffixes apply in different circumstances: M and N are used for Marriage Allowance; K codes mean your deductions exceed your allowances; T or 0T mean HMRC is reviewing your tax affairs; BR means the entire income from that source is taxed at Basic Rate (common for second jobs); D0 means 40% is deducted on all income (Higher Rate on a second source). An incorrect tax code can result in overpayment or underpayment of tax — both can usually be corrected by contacting HMRC or updating your account at gov.uk. Source: HMRC.