Use our calculator above for an instant before-and-after comparison. Manually: apply 2025/26 income tax bands to your new salary (0% up to £12,570, 20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140, 45% above). Then calculate NI (8% between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above). Deduct both from your new gross annual salary. Divide by 12 for monthly take-home. Compare to the same calculation on your current salary to find the net increase. Don’t forget student loan if applicable (9% above your plan threshold).
In the UK, only the portion of income that crosses into a new band is taxed at the higher rate — not all your income. So if a rise takes you from £49,000 to £53,000, only the £2,730 above £50,270 is taxed at 40%. The rest remains at 20%. The exception is the £100,000–£125,140 range where the personal allowance taper creates an effective 60% marginal rate. If a pay rise takes you into this range, it is worth considering pension contributions to reduce your adjusted net income.
A real-terms pay rise (ahead of inflation) is the minimum meaningful benchmark. With CPI inflation at approximately 2.8% in early 2026, a rise of 3% just about maintains purchasing power. ONS data shows UK private sector regular pay growing at around 5.9% year-on-year in late 2025, so anything above 5% is above average for the private sector. In the public sector, 4–6% was the typical range for 2025 pay awards. A rise of 8–10% or more would represent an exceptional outcome in the current environment.
A 5% rise on £30,000 means a new gross salary of £31,500, an increase of £1,500 per year. Both £30,000 and £31,500 are in the basic rate income tax band (20%) and the 8% NI band. The combined marginal deduction on the £1,500 rise is approximately 28% (20% IT + 8% NI), leaving a net increase of approximately £1,080 per year (£90 per month). If you repay a Plan 2 student loan, subtract an additional £135/year (£11.25/month) in repayments.
Yes. Student loan repayments are income-contingent: you repay 9% (Plan 1, 2, 4) or 6% (Postgraduate) of earnings above your plan’s annual threshold. So if your salary rises by £2,000 and you are on Plan 2 (threshold £27,295), your annual student loan repayment increases by £2,000 × 9% = £180 (£15/month). This is deducted via PAYE by your employer alongside income tax and NI, so you do not need to do anything — it adjusts automatically. Our calculator shows the student loan impact in the before-and-after comparison.
The UK average regular pay growth (excluding bonuses) was approximately 5.6% across the whole economy in late 2025, based on ONS Average Weekly Earnings data. Private sector workers fared better at approximately 5.9%, while public sector growth was around 4.3%. In real terms (adjusted for 2.8% CPI inflation), average real pay growth was approximately 2.5–3%. This means workers are experiencing genuine gains in purchasing power on average, though the distribution is uneven across sectors and income levels.