UK Salary Calculator: Take-Home Pay After Tax
This UK salary calculator applies the 2026/27 HMRC rules for Income Tax and National Insurance to your gross salary. Use it as a take-home pay calculator to see exactly what you keep after tax, on either the main rates or the Scottish Income Tax bands.
How it Calculates
Exactly what this calculator does with your United Kingdom salary and every assumption it makes along the way.
How we work out your take home pay
Two deductions reduce a UK salary, and HMRC calculates them independently. Income Tax applies to earnings above the Personal Allowance of £12,570. National Insurance ignores that allowance and uses the Primary Threshold instead. A £40,000 salary in England produces £5,486 Income Tax and £2,194 National Insurance, leaving £32,320 take home pay at an effective deduction rate of 19.2%.
Step by step
- Convert gross pay to an annual amount.
- Subtract the pension contribution as a net pay arrangement.
- Subtract the £12,570 Personal Allowance, tapered by £1 for every £2 above £100,000 and reaching zero at £125,140.
- Apply the Income Tax bands progressively: 20%, 40% then 45% across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or the six Scottish bands for Scottish residents.
- Calculate Class 1 National Insurance separately at 8% between the Primary Threshold and the Upper Earnings Limit, then 2% above it.
- Subtract both deductions from gross pay to give take home pay.
Assumptions we make
- You are not a company director;
- Pay is paid in equal instalments during the tax year;
- You are under State Pension age, unless you selected otherwise;
- Your National Insurance category is A;
- National Insurance is based on Class 1 only;
- Annual thresholds are used rather than HMRC weekly or monthly payroll thresholds;
- Employer National Insurance is excluded, it isn’t deducted from your pay;
- Student loan and postgraduate loan repayments are not deducted;
- A standard tax code is assumed; tax-code adjustments are not modelled.
When this is the wrong tool
The calculator assumes you’re an employee, tax-resident for the whole year. If you’re self-employed, moved country mid-year, or take a large part of your pay as bonus or equity, the figure will be too generous. What this doesn’t cover.
| Gross salary | £40,000 |
|---|---|
| Income tax | £5,486 |
| National Insurance | £2,194 |
| Take home pay | £32,320 |
| Effective deduction rate | 19.2% |
What each field means
Each field below carries a definition and the effect it has on the calculated figure.
Gross (pre-tax) income
Your salary before anything is deducted, the Gross pay line on your payslip.
Everything else is worked out from this figure. Enter it yearly, monthly or weekly.
Tax year
The UK tax year runs 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, not the calendar year.
Rates, the Personal Allowance and National Insurance thresholds all change at the April boundary.
I live in Scotland
Whether you are a Scottish taxpayer, which HMRC decides from where you live for most of the year, not where you work.
Scotland sets its own Income Tax: six bands from 19% to 48%, instead of the three used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ticking this box switches the whole band set. Your Personal Allowance and National Insurance stay UK-wide.
How old are you?
Whether you have reached State Pension age.
Employee Class 1 National Insurance stops completely at State Pension age (NI category C). Income Tax doesn’t, you keep paying that.
Pension contributions
What you pay into a workplace pension, as a percentage or a fixed amount.
We model it as a net pay arrangement, which comes out before Income Tax is calculated, so it lowers your tax. Real payslips also use relief at source and salary sacrifice, which are treated differently, worth checking which one your employer uses.
Are you blind or severely sight-impaired?
Whether you are registered as blind or severely sight-impaired.
Blind Person’s Allowance is added on top of your Personal Allowance, so more of your income is taxed at 0%.
Tax code (advanced)
The code on your payslip, usually 1257L for a standard taxpayer.
Shown for reference only. The calculator applies annual bands rather than tax-code PAYE logic, so an unusual code (K codes, BR, or an S prefix for Scotland) leaves this result unchanged and still changes an actual payslip.
Repaying a student loan? (advanced)
Whether you have a Plan 1, 2, 4, 5 or Postgraduate Loan.
Student loan repayments are a payroll deduction, not Income Tax. Their thresholds are not yet loaded, so selecting Yes shows a notice rather than a number, your real take home pay would be lower.
Understanding your UK salary calculator results: gross pay, PAYE and take-home pay
How UK Income Tax works
UK Income Tax applies three bands above a £12,570 Personal Allowance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 20% basic rate to £50,270, 40% higher rate to £125,140, then 45% additional rate. Earnings below £12,570 carry a 0% rate.
Income between £100,000 and £125,140 carries an effective marginal rate of 60%, because HMRC withdraws the Personal Allowance by £1 for every £2 earned above £100,000. The calculator applies that taper across the full £25,140 band rather than treating the allowance as a flat deduction.
Scottish Income Tax rates and bands
Scottish Income Tax applies six bands rather than three: starter at 19%, basic at 20%, intermediate at 21%, higher at 42%, advanced at 45% and top at 48%. The calculator switches band sets, if the Scotland field is selected.
The £12,570 Personal Allowance stays identical, because Westminster sets it UK-wide. Savings income and dividend income also stay on UK-wide rules, so only earned income uses the Scottish rates.
National Insurance compared with Income Tax
National Insurance is a separate contribution with its own thresholds and no connection to the Personal Allowance. A Category A employee pays 8% on earnings between the Primary Threshold and the Upper Earnings Limit, then 2% above it, which is why a single combined percentage misstates both deductions.
Employees above State Pension age pay no employee Class 1 National Insurance. Employers continue paying their own share, and that employer cost never reduces take home pay, so the calculator excludes it.
United Kingdom salary tax FAQs
How much is £50,000 after tax in the UK?
A £50,000 salary in England leaves roughly £38,700 as take home pay in 2026/27. The figure sits just below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, so 20% covers almost all taxable income, with Class 1 National Insurance charged separately.
Why is the effective tax rate 60% between £100,000 and £125,140?
The Personal Allowance withdrawal creates it. HMRC removes £1 of allowance for every £2 earned above £100,000, so each extra £100 carries 40% tax plus 40% on £50 of newly exposed allowance, producing a 60% marginal rate.
Do Scottish Income Tax rates apply to someone working in Scotland but living in England?
No. Scottish Income Tax follows main residence rather than workplace. HMRC assigns Scottish taxpayer status from the address occupied for most of the tax year.
Does this calculator include student loan repayments?
No. Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4, Plan 5 and Postgraduate Loan repayments are payroll deductions with separate thresholds rather than Income Tax. Real take home pay falls below the figure shown, if a loan repayment applies.
When does the 2026/27 UK tax year run?
From 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. The UK tax year runs on those dates rather than the calendar year, so rates and thresholds change every April.