How is UK income tax calculated for 2026/27?

UK income tax is calculated on your earnings above the personal allowance (£12,570 for 2026/27). You pay 20% on income between £12,571 and £50,270, 40% on income between £50,271 and £125,140, and 45% on anything above £125,140. If you earn over £100,000, your personal allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 you earn over that amount.

What is the personal allowance for 2026/27?

The personal allowance for the 2026/27 tax year is £12,570, unchanged from 2025/26 and frozen at that level until April 2031. This is the amount you can earn tax-free each year. However, if your income exceeds £100,000, your personal allowance gradually reduces, and it disappears entirely once your income reaches £125,140.

How much National Insurance do I pay?

In 2026/27, employees pay 8% National Insurance on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 per year. You pay 2% on earnings above £50,270. Both the rates and the thresholds are unchanged from 2025/26. National Insurance contributions go towards state benefits including the State Pension.

Does pension affect my tax?

Yes. Workplace pension contributions made by salary sacrifice reduce the pay you are taxed on, so you pay less income tax and less National Insurance, and your student loan deduction falls too. For example, if you earn £50,000 and sacrifice 5% into your pension, tax, NI and student loan are all worked out on £47,500.

How is Scottish income tax different in 2026/27?

Scotland has its own income tax rates set by the Scottish Parliament. There are six bands: starter (19%), basic (20%), intermediate (21%), higher (42%), advanced (45%) and top (48%). For 2026/27 the starter and basic rate thresholds rose, so the starter rate now runs to £16,537 and the basic rate to £29,526, while the higher, advanced and top rate thresholds are unchanged. Scottish taxpayers earning under about £33,500 pay slightly less than the rest of the UK, and more above that.

When do I start repaying my student loan?

Student loan repayments depend on your plan. For 2026/27, Plan 1 repayments start when you earn over £26,900/year; Plan 2 over £29,385/year; Plan 4 (Scotland) over £33,795/year; Plan 5 over £25,000/year. You repay 9% of everything earned above the threshold. Postgraduate loan repayments are 6% above £21,000/year.

How much is the State Pension in 2026/27?

The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27 (about £12,548 a year), up from £230.25 in 2025/26 after a 4.8% triple lock rise. You normally need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to receive the full amount.

✓ Updated for April 2026 — 2026/27 Tax Year

Calculate YourUK Take-Home Pay

Instantly see your net salary after income tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension — updated for 2026/27.

✓ Income Tax✓ National Insurance✓ Student Loan✓ Pension✓ Scotland Rates

Enter Your Details

Pay frequency

Annual salary (£)

Tax year

Region

Student loan

Your pension: 5%

Employer pension: 3%

Allowances

Blind person's allowance

Marriage allowance (receiving)

Your settings are saved in the page address.

Your Take-Home Pay

£27,459.60

per year·£2,288/mo·£14/hr

Where your salary goes

of £35,000.00 gross

Take-home pay£27,459.6078.5%
Income tax£4,136.0011.8%
National Insurance£1,654.404.7%
Pension£1,750.005.0%

Gross salary

£35,000.00£2,917/mo£18/hr100%

Income tax

£4,136.00£345/mo£2/hr12%

National Insurance

£1,654.40£138/mo£1/hr5%

Pension (employee)

£1,750.00£146/mo£1/hr5%

Take-home pay

£27,459.60£2,288/mo£14/hr78%

Effective rate 16.5%

Marginal rate 28%

Detailed Breakdown

Item

Annual

Monthly

Hourly

Gross salary

£35,000.00

£2,917

£18

Personal allowance

£12,570.00

£1,048

£6

Taxable income

£20,680.00

£1,723

£11

Income tax

£4,136.00

£345

£2

Basic rate (20%)

£4,136.00

£344.67

£2

National Insurance

£1,654.40

£138

£1

Pension (you)

£1,750.00

£146

£1

Total deductions

£7,540.40

£628

£4

Take-home pay

£27,459.60

£2,288

£14

Cost to your employer

Gross salary: £35,000.00
Employer's National Insurance: £4,237.50
Employer pension contribution: £1,050.00
Total employment cost: £40,287.50

What your employer pays out in total. Ignores the Employment Allowance, which most employers with more than one employee can set against their NI bill.

ⓘ Employer pension: £1,050.00/year (£87.50/month) — on top of your salary, not deducted from it.

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How is UK Income Tax Calculated?

UK income tax is calculated on a progressive basis, meaning you pay different rates on different portions of your income. For the 2026/27 tax year, everyone has a personal allowance of £12,570 — the amount you can earn completely tax-free.

Once your earnings exceed the personal allowance, you begin paying income tax. The basic rate of 20% applies to income between £12,571 and £50,270. If you earn more than £50,270, you'll pay the higher rate of 40% on earnings up to £125,140. Above that, the additional rate of 45% applies.

One important thing to note: if your income exceeds £100,000, your personal allowance gradually reduces by £1 for every £2 you earn over that amount. This creates an effective 60% marginal tax rate on income between £100,000 and £125,140 — making this the "personal allowance trap."

What is National Insurance?

National Insurance (NI) is a separate tax from income tax, paid by both employees and employers. As an employee in 2026/27, you pay 8% National Insurance on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 per year. On earnings above £50,270, the rate drops to 2%.

Your National Insurance contributions go towards funding state benefits including the State Pension, statutory sick pay, and maternity/paternity pay. The more you contribute, the more "qualifying years" you accumulate towards your State Pension entitlement.

Importantly, National Insurance is calculated separately from income tax — you need 35 qualifying years to receive the full State Pension (£241.30/week for 2026/27).

2026/27 Tax Bands Explained

The table below shows the current income tax bands for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland for the 2026/27 tax year. Scottish taxpayers have their own rates — see our Scottish Tax Calculator.

Tax Band	Rate	Taxable Income
Personal Allowance	0%	Up to £12,570
Basic Rate	20%	£12,571 to £50,270
Higher Rate	40%	£50,271 to £125,140
Additional Rate	45%	Over £125,140

* Note: If your income exceeds £100,000, the personal allowance reduces, creating an effective 60% marginal rate between £100,000–£125,140.

How to Use This Calculator

Using the UK Salary Calculator is straightforward:

Enter your salary — Type your gross pay. You can enter it as an annual, monthly, weekly or hourly figure using the pay frequency selector.
Select your region — Choose England/Wales/Northern Ireland or Scotland so the correct income tax bands are applied.
Add your student loan plan — Pick your plan to have repayments deducted automatically at 9%, or 6% for a Postgraduate loan.
Set your pension contributions — Drag the sliders to set your contribution percentage. Your employer contribution is shown separately and is not deducted from your pay.
Read your results — See a complete breakdown instantly, with annual, monthly and hourly figures plus your effective and marginal tax rates.

The calculator updates in real-time as you change any input, so you can quickly see the impact of salary increases, pension changes, or other adjustments. For the full method and our data sources, see how we calculate.