About this calculator
UK Salary Calculator is a free tool for working out what actually lands in your bank account after income tax, National Insurance, student loan repayments and pension contributions.
Rates last reviewed for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027).
How we calculate
Every figure comes from one calculation engine, applied in the same order HMRC applies it. There is no rounding fudge and no averaging — the numbers you see are the arithmetic worked through step by step.
- 1
Take off any salary sacrifice
Pension contributions made by salary sacrifice come off your pay first. That reduced figure is what income tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions are all worked out on.
- 2
Work out your personal allowance
Start from £12,570, add the blind person's allowance if it applies, subtract £1,260 if you transfer part of your allowance to a spouse, then withdraw £1 for every £2 you earn above £100,000.
- 3
Apply the income tax bands
The bands are applied to your taxable income — what is left after the allowance. England, Wales and Northern Ireland have three bands; Scotland has six. If you receive the marriage allowance, £252 is taken off the result.
- 4
Add National Insurance
Class 1 employee National Insurance is 8% of earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above that. It is charged on your pay, not your taxable income, so the personal allowance does not apply.
- 5
Add any student loan repayment
Repayments are a flat percentage of everything above your plan threshold — 9% for Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5, and 6% for a Postgraduate loan.
- 6
Subtract the lot from your gross pay
What is left is your take-home pay, which we show annually, monthly and hourly alongside your effective and marginal tax rates.
Key 2026/27 figures
| Personal allowance | £12,570 |
|---|---|
| Allowance taper starts | £100,000 |
| Blind person's allowance | £3,250 |
| Employee National Insurance | 8% from £12,570 to £50,270, then 2% |
| Student loan Plan 1 | 9% above £26,900 |
| Student loan Plan 2 | 9% above £29,385 |
| Student loan Plan 4 | 9% above £33,795 |
| Student loan Plan 5 | 9% above £25,000 |
| Postgraduate loan | 6% above £21,000 |
| Full new State Pension | £241.30 per week |
These values are read directly from the calculator's own configuration, so this table cannot drift out of step with the results you see.
Data sources
Every rate and threshold is taken from an official publication. We do not copy figures from other calculators.
- HMRC — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
Income tax bands, personal allowance, employee and employer National Insurance.
- HMRC — Income Tax rates and allowances
Blind person's allowance and the marriage allowance transfer.
- gov.scot — Scottish Income Tax: rates and bands
The six Scottish bands: starter, basic, intermediate, higher, advanced and top.
- Student Loans Company — repayment thresholds
Plan 1, 2, 4, 5 and Postgraduate thresholds and deduction rates.
- GOV.UK — The new State Pension
The full new State Pension figure quoted in our guides.
What this calculator does not do
Being clear about the edges matters more than pretending there aren't any:
- It assumes a standard tax code. It does not model an emergency code, a K code, or an adjustment for underpaid tax from an earlier year.
- It assumes your pay is level across the year. Real PAYE is worked out cumulatively each pay period, so a mid-year pay rise or a bonus month will not match exactly.
- It treats pension contributions as salary sacrifice. Relief-at-source and net-pay arrangements give a different National Insurance result.
- It covers employment income only — no savings interest, dividends, rental income, benefits in kind or Self Assessment.
- It does not model student loan repayments across more than one plan at a time.
Contact
Spotted a figure that looks wrong, or a case we handle badly? Please tell us — corrections are the fastest way this tool improves. Email hello@uksalary.co.uk with the salary and settings you used and what you expected to see.
A note on advice
This is a guidance tool, not tax advice. For anything that turns on your specific circumstances — a tax code dispute, IR35 status, or a large one-off payment — speak to a qualified accountant or tax adviser.