Enter your gross salary and see exactly what lands in your bank account. This UK take-home pay calculator breaks down income tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan for the 2025/26 tax year — shown yearly, monthly, weekly and daily, just like a payslip.
Enter your details above to see your personalised result.
How is your UK take-home pay calculated?
Your take-home pay — sometimes called net pay — is what's left after the deductions everyone faces under PAYE. The headline formula is simple, but the detail sits in how each piece is worked out.
Income tax starts only on the slice of income above your personal allowance — £12,570 for 2025/26 (correct as of Thu Jun 04 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)). The next £37,700 is taxed at the 20% basic rate, income up to £125,140 at the 40% higher rate, and anything above that at the 45% additional rate, per HMRC's income tax rates. Employee National Insurance is 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above (correct as of Thu Jun 04 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)).
Take Sarah, a Manchester nurse earning £35,000 with the standard 1257L code. Her first £12,570 is tax-free; the remaining £22,430 is taxed at 20% (£4,486). National Insurance of 8% applies to the £22,430 above the threshold, about £1,794. With no pension or student loan, her take-home pay is roughly £28,720 a year — close to £2,393 a month. If you've ever wondered how to calculate net pay from gross or how much is £35,000 after tax, that's the working in full.
The calculator above also handles the wrinkles: salary sacrifice that cuts tax and NI, the personal-allowance taper above £100,000, K codes, and Scottish rates. For a deeper look at pension trade-offs, try our pension deferral calculator, or model overtime precisely with the time and a half calculator.
What does my take-home pay figure mean?
Your net figure is the real number to budget around — not your headline salary. If your take-home is under about 75% of gross, deductions are taking a big bite: usually higher-rate tax, student loan, or a generous pension contribution. If it's above 80%, you're likely a basic-rate taxpayer with few extras. The monthly row in the table is the one most people care about, because that's what arrives each payday.
How can I increase my take-home pay in the UK?
Salary sacrifice is the most powerful lever: routing pay into a pension before tax and NI can save a basic-rate taxpayer 28% and a higher-rate taxpayer 42% on every pound sacrificed. Check you're on the right tax code — an emergency code can over-deduct for months. Claim any allowances you're due, such as Marriage Allowance. And if your income is near £100,000, a pension top-up can rescue your tapered personal allowance, where the effective rate hits 60%.
What are the most common salary calculation mistakes?
The biggest is confusing gross and net when comparing job offers — always compare take-home. The second is forgetting that a bonus is taxed at your marginal rate, so a £5,000 bonus rarely adds £5,000 to your pocket. The third is ignoring student loan: a Plan 2 graduate on £40,000 repays roughly £1,038 a year that many forget to budget for. Use the breakdown table to see monthly take-home pay with every deduction itemised, and compare scenarios with our required salary calculator.
Salary calculator FAQs
How do I calculate my take-home pay from my salary?
Take-home pay is your gross salary minus income tax, National Insurance, pension and any student loan. Enter your gross annual salary above and the calculator shows net pay yearly, monthly, weekly and daily. For 2025/26 the personal allowance is £12,570, tax is 20%/40%/45% in bands, and employee NI is 8% then 2%.
How much is £30,000 after tax in the UK?
On £30,000 with a 1257L code for 2025/26 you pay around £3,486 income tax and £1,394 National Insurance, leaving about £25,120 a year — roughly £2,093 a month before pension or student loan. Enter £30,000 above for your exact figure.
How much is £40,000 after tax in the UK?
On £40,000 with a 1257L code, income tax is about £5,486 and National Insurance about £2,194, giving take-home pay near £32,320 a year, or £2,693 a month. Pension and student loan deductions reduce this — the table shows your personalised split.
What is the personal allowance for 2025/26?
The standard personal allowance for 2025/26 is £12,570 — the amount you earn tax-free. It tapers by £1 for every £2 earned over £100,000 and disappears at £125,140. The calculator applies this automatically from your salary and tax code.
How does this salary calculator handle Scotland?
Tick "Resident in Scotland" or use a tax code starting with S to switch to Scottish rates. Scotland has six income tax bands from 19% to 48%, versus three in the rest of the UK. National Insurance is identical UK-wide.
Does salary sacrifice reduce my tax and National Insurance?
Yes. Salary sacrifice cuts your gross pay before income tax and NI, so a basic-rate taxpayer saves both 20% tax and 8% NI. Relief at source saves income tax only. Switch pension type in the calculator to compare the effect on take-home pay.
How are student loan repayments worked out?
Repayments are 9% of income above your plan threshold (6% for Postgraduate loans). For 2025/26 thresholds are £26,065 (Plan 1), £28,470 (Plan 2), £32,745 (Plan 4), £25,000 (Plan 5) and £21,000 (Postgraduate). Tick your plan and it's deducted with tax and NI.
Why is my monthly take-home pay lower than I expected?
Usual culprits are an emergency tax code at a new job, a bonus nudging you into a higher band, a forgotten student loan, or a pension contribution taken before you see it. The breakdown table shows where each pound goes so you can find the gap.