UK Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27: Salary After Tax

UK Income Tax and National Insurance 2026/27 at a glance

In 2026/27 the first £12,570 of income is tax-free, then Income Tax is 20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Employee National Insurance is 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above. Scotland has its own six Income Tax bands.

How much is £35,000 after tax?

£35,000 after tax is £28,719.60 a year in England, Wales or Northern Ireland in 2026/27: £2,393.30 a month or £552.30 a week. You pay £4,486 Income Tax and £1,794.40 National Insurance. In Scotland it is £28,704.53 a year. A 5% workplace pension lowers take-home to £27,319.60.

How your take-home pay is calculated

Take-home pay, also called net pay, is your gross pay minus Income Tax, National Insurance and any pension, student loan or other deductions. Each is worked out on a different part of your pay.

Step 1: pension

A workplace pension under a net pay arrangement or salary sacrifice is taken before tax, so it reduces the pay Income Tax is charged on. Salary sacrifice also reduces National Insurance and student loan repayments. Relief at source pensions come out of your take-home pay, with 20% tax relief added by the provider.

Step 2: Income Tax

Your Personal Allowance of £12,570 is deducted, and the rest is taxed in bands. On £35,000 that leaves £22,430 taxed at 20%: £4,486. Above £100,000 the allowance falls by £1 for every £2, and is gone at £125,140.

Step 3: National Insurance and student loan

Employee National Insurance is 8% of pay between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above, so £1,794.40 on £35,000. Student loans take 9% (6% for postgraduate) of pay above the plan threshold. What is left is your take-home pay.

How to use the take-home pay calculator

The take-home pay calculator needs your pay, the tax year and where you pay tax. Pension and student loans are optional, and the extra options cover tax codes, bonuses and family situations.

1. Enter your gross pay per year, month, week, day or hour. For daily or hourly pay, add your hours and days a week.
2. Choose the tax year: 2026/27 for this year or 2025/26 for last year.
3. Choose where you pay tax: England, Wales and Northern Ireland share rates, Scotland has its own.
4. Add your pension percentage and how it is taken, and tick any student loan plans.
5. Open the extra options for a tax code, bonus, taxable benefits such as a company car, Marriage Allowance, Child Benefit or being over State Pension age.
6. Read your take-home per month, year and week, with a breakdown by period and by tax band. The tools below show what you keep from a pay rise and your pro rata pay.

How much is your salary after tax?

Your salary after tax in 2026/27 is about £25,120 on £30,000, £32,320 on £40,000, £39,520 on £50,000 and £68,557 on £100,000 in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, with no pension or student loan. The table shows take-home pay per year, month and week, and the difference in Scotland.

How Income Tax is calculated in the UK

Income Tax is charged on taxable income above your Personal Allowance, in bands that rise with income, so moving into a higher band only affects the pay above that point. England, Wales and Northern Ireland use three bands; Scotland uses six.

The £100,000 tax trap

Between £100,000 and £125,140, the Personal Allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 earned, so each extra £1,000 costs £620 in tax and National Insurance: a marginal rate of 62%. Paying more into a pension through salary sacrifice brings adjusted net income down and restores the allowance; on £110,000, a 10% sacrifice of £11,000 reduces take-home by only £4,380.

Marginal and effective tax rates

Your effective rate is the share of your total pay lost to tax, NI and loans; your marginal rate is the share of your next pound. On £35,000 the effective rate is 17.9% but the marginal rate is 28%. The calculator shows both.

Scottish Income Tax and take-home pay

Scottish taxpayers pay slightly less Income Tax than the rest of the UK on salaries up to about £33,000, because of the 19% starter rate, and more above that. On £50,000 a Scottish taxpayer takes home £1,496.05 less a year; on £100,000, £3,300.05 less.

You pay Scottish Income Tax if you live in Scotland, whoever your employer is; your tax code starts with S. National Insurance and student loans are the same across the UK.

How National Insurance affects take-home pay

Employee National Insurance (Class 1) is 8% of earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year and 2% above, worked out each pay period on your pay for that period. It stops once you reach State Pension age. Your employer pays a further 15% above £5,000 a year, which does not come out of your pay. Our National Insurance calculator breaks it down in more detail.

Student loan, pension and other deductions

How your pension is taken changes your take-home pay. Salary sacrifice saves National Insurance as well as tax, so on £35,000 a 5% contribution leaves £27,459.60, against £27,319.60 under a net pay or relief at source arrangement.

Student loans add 9% of pay above the threshold: £42 a month on Plan 2 at £35,000 in 2026/27. Our student loan repayment calculator shows each plan, your balance and the write-off date. Taxable benefits such as a company car or private medical insurance are added to your taxable income through your tax code, without any cash.

Your tax code explained

Your tax code tells your employer how much tax-free pay to allow. The standard code for 2026/27 is 1257L, worth £12,570; a different number usually means HMRC is adjusting for benefits, underpaid tax or an allowance. Enter your code in the calculator's extra options to use it.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge

If you or your partner have adjusted net income over £60,000 and someone in your household gets Child Benefit, the higher earner pays a charge of 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 over £60,000, so it is all repaid at £80,000. Child Benefit is £27.05 a week for the first child and £17.90 for each other child in 2026/27.

Pension contributions reduce adjusted net income, so a salary sacrifice can reduce or remove the charge: at £70,000 with two children, sacrificing 15% into a pension brings income to £59,500 and the charge to nothing.

Worked example: from gross salary to net pay

Each example below reconciles exactly, using 2026/27 rates and the same calculation as the calculator.

Why your payslip may be different

Your payslip may differ from an annual calculation because payroll works out tax, National Insurance and student loan each pay period. Common reasons are below.

1. Tax code. An emergency code (W1, M1 or X), BR or 0T can take more tax until HMRC updates it.
2. Bonuses and overtime. A one-off payment is taxed in the month it is paid, so that month takes more.
3. Pension method. Net pay, salary sacrifice and relief at source each change your payslip differently.
4. Multiple jobs. Your allowance usually goes to one job, so the second job is taxed from the first pound.
5. Mid-year changes. Starting a job, a pay rise or a tax code change part-way through the year.
6. Other deductions. Cycle to work, season ticket loans, union fees or benefits in kind.

What changed for 2026/27

Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds did not change for 2026/27: the £12,570 Personal Allowance and £50,270 higher rate threshold have been frozen since April 2021, so take-home pay on the same salary is identical to 2025/26 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As pay rises, more income is taxed at higher rates.

Scotland raised its starter and basic rate bands, giving Scottish taxpayers on £35,000 £31.75 a year more than in 2025/26. Student loan thresholds rose for Plans 1, 2 and 4, the National Living Wage rose to £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026, and Child Benefit rose to £27.05 a week for the first child.

How we calculate your estimate

The calculator applies HMRC's 2026/27 and 2025/26 rates and thresholds and the Scottish Government's bands to your yearly pay, rounding each deduction to the penny. It handles the Personal Allowance taper, standard tax codes including BR, D0, D1, 0T, NT and K codes, the three pension methods, all student loan plans, Marriage Allowance and the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

It assumes even pay through the year and does not model payroll's period-by-period rounding, cumulative tax code adjustments, Blind Person's Allowance, self-employment, dividends or savings income. Higher-rate relief on relief at source pensions, claimed through Self Assessment, is not included.

Common take-home pay mistakes

The most common take-home pay mistake is thinking a pay rise into a higher band reduces your take-home. It never does: only the pay above the threshold is taxed more.

1. Fearing a higher tax band. On a rise from £50,000 to £55,000 you keep £2,937.80 of the £5,000.
2. Using England's rates in Scotland. Above about £33,000 Scottish taxpayers take home less.
3. Ignoring salary sacrifice. It saves National Insurance as well as tax.
4. Missing the £100,000 trap. A 62% marginal rate makes pension contributions especially valuable.
5. Forgetting the Child Benefit charge. Above £60,000 it is collected through Self Assessment or your tax code.
6. Not checking your tax code. An emergency code can overtax you for months.