Plot No. 1 · Money & Finance
UK Salary Take-Home Calculator
Enter your gross annual UK salary to see an estimate of your take-home pay after income tax and National Insurance. Uses simplified 2025/26 tax bands for a quick ballpark figure.
Estimate only. Uses simplified 2025/26 England/Wales/NI bands and ignores student loans, pension contributions, salary sacrifice and Scottish rates. Always check with HMRC or a qualified accountant.
The link saves your inputs so you can bookmark or share this exact result.
How the UK take-home pay estimate works
This calculator turns a gross annual salary into an estimate of what actually lands in your bank account after the two biggest statutory deductions: income tax and Class 1 employee National Insurance. It uses simplified 2025/26 bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so the result is a quick ballpark rather than a payslip-exact figure.
Income tax is worked out in slices. The first 12,570 is your tax-free personal allowance, the next slice up to 37,700 of taxable income is taxed at 20 percent, income above that into the higher band is taxed at 40 percent, and anything in the additional band is taxed at 45 percent. National Insurance is charged at 8 percent on earnings between 12,570 and 50,270, then 2 percent above that. The tool also tapers your personal allowance away once you earn over 100,000, reducing it by 1 pound for every 2 pounds over the threshold.
How to use the take-home calculator
- Enter your gross annual salary, the headline figure in your contract before any deductions.
- Read the annual and monthly take-home figures, which update the moment you change the input.
- Check the income tax, National Insurance and effective rate lines to see where the money goes.
Worked examples
A 45,000 salary on the default settings
Inputs: Gross annual salary of 45,000.
Result: Income tax of about 6,486 and National Insurance of about 2,594, leaving an annual take-home near 35,920, or roughly 2,993 a month. The effective tax and NI rate is about 20.2 percent.
A 120,000 salary where the allowance tapers
Inputs: Gross annual salary of 120,000.
Result: Because earnings are over 100,000, the personal allowance is reduced by 10,000 to just 2,570, which is why high earners often see a surprisingly steep marginal rate around this band.
Limitations and common mistakes
Edge cases and limitations
- Scotland sets its own income tax bands, so Scottish taxpayers will see a different figure than this England, Wales and Northern Ireland version produces.
- The estimate ignores student loan repayments, workplace pension contributions, salary sacrifice and tax codes other than the standard one. Each of those changes the real number.
- Figures are rounded to whole pounds for readability, so the monthly amount may differ by a pound or two from twelve equal payslips.
Common mistakes
- Entering a monthly or net figure into the gross annual box. The input expects the full yearly salary before any deductions.
- Assuming the take-home is exact. Treat it as a planning estimate and confirm with your payslip or HMRC for anything that matters financially.
Frequently asked questions
Does this include student loan repayments?
No. This calculator only deducts income tax and Class 1 employee National Insurance. Student loan repayments, pension contributions and salary sacrifice will reduce your take-home further.
Does it work for Scottish taxpayers?
Not exactly. Scotland uses a different set of income tax bands. This calculator uses England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. We will add a Scottish version soon.
Why is my personal allowance lower at high incomes?
HMRC reduces the £12,570 personal allowance by £1 for every £2 you earn over £100,000. The calculator applies this taper automatically.
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