Take Home Pay Calculator UK 2025/26

How to Use This Take Home Pay Calculator

Our take-home pay calculator is designed to give you an accurate picture of your net salary in just a few steps. Start by entering your gross annual salary in the first field. If you know your monthly or weekly pay instead, simply change the salary period dropdown and the calculator will convert it to an annual figure automatically.

Next, select your tax region. If you live in Scotland, choose "Scotland" as Scottish income tax rates differ from those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Your tax code is pre-filled with 1257L, the standard code for 2025/26, but you should check your payslip or P60 and update it if yours is different. A wrong tax code is one of the most common reasons calculator results do not match your actual payslip.

If you have a student loan, select the correct repayment plan from the dropdown. You can find your plan type on your Student Loans Company correspondence or by logging into your online account. Then enter your pension contribution percentage — the auto-enrolment minimum is 5% for employees, but many people contribute more. Finally, select whether your pension is deducted before tax (auto-enrolment, which is most common) or after tax (relief at source). Click "Calculate Take Home Pay" to see your full breakdown including annual, monthly, weekly and daily take-home figures, plus a detailed deductions summary and tax band breakdown.

Worked Examples: Take Home Pay Step by Step

Below are four detailed worked examples showing exactly how take-home pay is calculated at different salary levels for 2025/26. All examples assume tax code 1257L, England/Wales/NI tax region, and no student loan or pension unless stated.

Understanding Your Deductions

Income Tax Bands Explained

Income tax in the UK works on a marginal system, meaning you only pay the higher rate on income that falls within that band — not on your entire salary. For 2025/26, the personal allowance is £12,570 (0% tax), the basic rate is 20% on income from £12,571 to £50,270, the higher rate is 40% from £50,271 to £125,140, and the additional rate is 45% on everything above £125,140. Scotland has six different bands with rates ranging from 19% to 48%. A common misconception is that earning £50,271 means your entire salary is taxed at 40% — in reality, only the £1 above the threshold is taxed at the higher rate. Understanding marginal rates is crucial when negotiating pay rises or considering whether overtime is "worth it."

National Insurance Explained

National Insurance (NI) is a separate deduction from income tax, although both are collected through PAYE. Employee Class 1 NI for 2025/26 is 8% on earnings between £12,570 (the primary threshold) and £50,270 (the upper earnings limit), then drops to 2% on earnings above £50,270. Unlike income tax, NI does not have a personal allowance taper — the thresholds remain the same regardless of how much you earn. NI contributions count towards your State Pension entitlement; you need 35 qualifying years to receive the full new State Pension of £230.25 per week. If your income is between £6,500 and £12,570, you receive NI credits without actually paying anything, which protects your pension record.

Student Loan Repayments

Student loan repayments are collected through your payroll once your income exceeds the plan threshold. For 2025/26: Plan 1 (pre-2012 England/Wales, all Scottish and NI loans) charges 9% on earnings above £26,065. Plan 2 (post-2012 England/Wales) charges 9% above £28,470. Plan 5 (post-2023 England) charges 9% above £25,000. Plan 4 (Scottish post-2012) charges 9% above £32,745. Postgraduate loans charge 6% above £21,000. If you have both an undergraduate and postgraduate loan, both are deducted simultaneously. Repayments stop automatically once the loan is cleared or written off (after 25–40 years depending on your plan). Unlike tax and NI, student loan repayments do not affect your pension entitlement.

Pension Contributions

Under auto-enrolment, most UK employees contribute at least 5% of their qualifying earnings to a workplace pension, with their employer adding a minimum of 3% (total 8%). In a "net pay" arrangement (the most common for auto-enrolment), your contribution is deducted from your gross salary before income tax is calculated, giving you immediate tax relief. For example, a £100 pension contribution only "costs" a basic rate taxpayer £80, because they save £20 in tax. Higher rate taxpayers save £40, and additional rate taxpayers save £45 per £100 contributed. You can contribute up to £60,000 per year (the annual allowance) or 100% of your earnings, whichever is lower. Increasing pension contributions is one of the most powerful ways to build long-term wealth while reducing your current tax bill.

Personal Allowance Tapering Above £100,000

If your adjusted net income exceeds £100,000, your £12,570 personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 over £100,000. This means the allowance is completely eliminated at £125,140. In this £25,140 income band, you effectively pay 60% marginal tax (40% higher rate plus an extra 20% from losing the allowance). This "tax trap" makes it highly tax-efficient for earners in this range to make pension contributions or charitable donations to reduce their adjusted net income below £100,000. For instance, someone earning £110,000 who contributes £10,000 to a pension would restore £5,000 of personal allowance, saving an additional £2,000 in tax on top of the normal £4,000 higher-rate tax relief on the contribution itself.

Ways to Increase Your Take-Home Pay

Salary Sacrifice Arrangements

Salary sacrifice allows you to exchange part of your gross salary for a non-cash benefit. The most common uses are additional pension contributions, the Cycle to Work scheme (saving up to 42% on a bicycle), and the electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme (saving income tax, NI, and benefiting from low benefit-in-kind rates of just 2–5% for electric cars). Because your contractual salary is reduced, you pay less income tax and National Insurance on the sacrificed amount. Your employer also saves on employer NI (15%), and many good employers pass some of that saving back to employees by topping up the pension contribution. Salary sacrifice is particularly valuable for higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers, as the combined tax and NI saving can exceed 50% of the sacrificed amount.

Marriage Allowance

If you are married or in a civil partnership and one partner earns less than £12,570 (the personal allowance), they can transfer £1,260 of their unused allowance to the other partner, provided the recipient is a basic-rate taxpayer. This saves the couple up to £252 per year. You can apply online at gov.uk and can also backdate the claim by up to four years, potentially recovering over £1,000 in total. Marriage Allowance is often overlooked — HMRC estimates millions of eligible couples have not yet claimed.

Check Your Tax Code Is Correct

An incorrect tax code can mean you are paying too much or too little tax every month. Common issues include emergency tax codes (with W1 or M1 suffix), codes that have not been updated after changing jobs, or codes that include incorrect adjustments for benefits in kind. You can check your tax code through your HMRC Personal Tax Account online, on your payslip, or on your P60. If you believe your code is wrong, contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300 or update it through your online account. If you have overpaid tax due to a wrong code, HMRC will issue a refund — often automatically once the correct code is applied.

Claim Allowable Work Expenses

If you incur expenses that are necessary for your job and your employer does not reimburse them, you may be able to claim tax relief. Common claims include professional subscriptions and union fees, tools and specialist clothing required for work, and working-from-home expenses (a flat rate of £6 per week, or £312 per year, is available without receipts if your employer requires you to work from home). You can claim through your HMRC online account or by calling HMRC. For basic-rate taxpayers, claiming £312 in expenses saves £62.40 in tax; for higher-rate taxpayers, the saving is £124.80. These small amounts add up significantly over time and are well worth the few minutes it takes to set up the claim.