UK Take-Home Pay Calculator
Your pay after income tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension for the 2026/27 tax year - with Scotland's own bands built in.
2026/27 HMRC and Scottish rates · By Stuart Mathieson · Updated November 2026
Your income tax depends on where your main home is, not where you work.
Not sure of your pension type? Your payslip or pension provider will say. If your pension comes off before tax on your payslip, it's salary sacrifice or net pay.
Results
Take-home a month
Take-home a year
Kept from your next £100
Breakdown
| Year | Month | Week |
|---|
Income tax by band
| Band | Income | Rate | Tax |
|---|
Worked out over a full tax year with a standard tax code (1257L or S1257L). Payslips are calculated period by period, so individual months can differ. Results are estimates for illustration only and are not financial or tax advice.
How take-home pay is worked out
Four things come off your salary before it reaches your bank account. The calculator works each one out for the whole tax year, then divides by 12 and 52.
- Pension - if you pay into a workplace pension, how it comes off depends on the type (see below).
- Income tax - nothing on the first £12,570 (your personal allowance), then a rising rate on each band above that. Scotland has six bands; England, Wales and Northern Ireland share three.
- National Insurance - 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above that. The same everywhere in the UK.
- Student loan - 9% of your pay above your plan's threshold, and 6% above £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan.
2026/27 income tax bands
| Rest of UK | Rate | Scotland | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% | £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% |
| £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% | £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% |
| Over £125,140 | 45% | £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% |
| £43,663 to £75,000 | 42% | ||
| £75,001 to £125,140 | 45% | ||
| Over £125,140 | 48% |
Above £100,000, the personal allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 you earn, until it's gone at £125,140. The calculator applies that taper automatically, using your salary minus your pension contributions.
Worked example
A salary of £35,000 in England with no pension or student loan:
- Income tax: (£35,000 - £12,570) × 20% = £4,486
- National Insurance: (£35,000 - £12,570) × 8% = £1,794.40
- Take-home: £35,000 - £4,486 - £1,794.40 = £28,719.60 a year, or £2,393.30 a month
The same salary in Scotland has £4,501.07 of income tax - about £15 more - so take-home is £28,704.53. The crossover is at around £33,500: below it, Scottish taxpayers pay slightly less; above it, they pay more. My guide to Scottish income tax explains why.
The three pension types
They all give you tax relief, but in different ways, and that changes your payslip.
- Salary sacrifice - you give up part of your salary and your employer pays it into your pension. Because your pay is lower, you save income tax, National Insurance and sometimes student loan repayments.
- Net pay arrangement - the contribution comes off before income tax but after National Insurance. You get tax relief at your top rate straight away, but no NI saving.
- Relief at source - you pay in from your take-home pay and your pension provider claims 20% back from HMRC. If you pay tax above 20%, you claim the rest yourself through Self Assessment or your tax code. The calculator shows how much that's worth.
For the same contribution, salary sacrifice usually leaves you with the most take-home pay. My salary sacrifice guide has worked examples.
What the calculator leaves out
I've kept this to the things that apply to most employees. It doesn't include:
- Tax codes other than the standard one - for example if you have a company car, a second job or untaxed income being collected through your code.
- Bonuses and overtime paid in a single month, which can push one payslip into a higher band even when your yearly total doesn't change.
- Employer pension contributions, which don't affect your take-home pay.
- Tax on savings, dividends and rental income, and the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
- Blind Person's Allowance and Marriage Allowance.
If your payslip doesn't match, check your tax code first. It's printed on the payslip, and HMRC's app shows how it was worked out.
Frequently asked questions
How much is £30,000 a year after tax in the UK?
In England, Wales or Northern Ireland, £30,000 is £25,119.60 a year after income tax and National Insurance in 2026/27 - about £2,093 a month. In Scotland it's £25,154.53, about £3 a month more.
Do I pay Scottish income tax if I work in England?
It depends on where you live, not where you work. If your main home is in Scotland, you pay Scottish income tax even if your employer is in England. Your tax code starts with S if HMRC has you down as a Scottish taxpayer.
Why does my payslip differ from the calculator?
Payslips are worked out period by period using your tax code. An emergency tax code, a bonus month, benefits in kind or starting a job part-way through the year all make individual payslips differ from a full-year figure.
Does salary sacrifice reduce student loan repayments?
Yes. Student loan repayments are based on your pay after salary sacrifice, so a salary sacrifice pension lowers them. A net pay or relief at source pension doesn't.
What is the 60% tax trap?
Between £100,000 and £125,140, you lose £1 of personal allowance for every £2 you earn. In England that makes the effective income tax rate 60% on that slice, and in Scotland 67.5% - plus 2% National Insurance.
Sources
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 - HM Revenue & Customs
- Scottish income tax rates and bands: 2026 to 2027 - Scottish Government
- Repaying your student loan: what you pay - GOV.UK
- Tax on your private pension contributions - GOV.UK