UK PAYE Take-Home Pay Calculator
Enter a regular annual or monthly salary to estimate employee Income Tax, National Insurance and take-home pay for 2026/27 or 2025/26, with optional workplace pension and student-loan deductions.
LedgerKit provides estimates based on the information entered and the configured rates. Results do not constitute accounting, tax or legal advice. Check the latest official guidance or consult a qualified professional before acting on a calculation.
How this calculator works
Choose the tax year, where you pay Income Tax and whether you want to enter an annual or regular monthly gross salary. The estimate assumes one job paid at the same rate for 12 monthly pay periods.
If you contribute to a workplace pension, choose relief at source, net pay or salary sacrifice, then enter the gross contribution rate and whether the scheme uses qualifying earnings or full salary. Check the method and basis on your payslip or with the employer or provider.
For qualifying-earnings contributions, the calculator uses regular monthly pay between £520 and £4,189 in both available years. It calculates the contribution for one month to the nearest penny and multiplies it by 12.
Choose one undergraduate student-loan plan and, if applicable, add a postgraduate loan. Each loan is worked out separately from monthly National Insurance-able pay, rounded down to a whole pound and multiplied by 12. Plan 5 payroll deductions begin in 2026/27.
Income Tax uses the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance and the selected regional bands. The allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000 and reaches zero at £125,140.
Standard Category A employee National Insurance is estimated for one monthly pay period, then multiplied by 12. For both available years, the estimate uses 8% between the £1,048 monthly Primary Threshold and £4,189 monthly Upper Earnings Limit, then 2% above that.
Relief at source takes 80% of the gross pension contribution from pay and the provider adds 20%. Net pay reduces the pay used for Income Tax but not National Insurance or student loans. Salary sacrifice reduces the pay used for Income Tax, National Insurance and student loans.
This is a planning estimate rather than a payslip calculation. It assumes standard tax treatment and excludes benefits, other taxable income, tax-code adjustments and deductions not entered.
Worked example
For 2026/27 in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, a regular £30,000 annual salary with no pension or loan deductions gives estimated Income Tax of £3,486 and employee National Insurance of £1,393.92. Estimated annual take-home pay is £25,120.08, or £2,093.34 a month.
Frequently asked questions
Does this use my tax code?
No. It uses the standard Personal Allowance, broadly equivalent to a standard 1257L tax code, C1257L for a Welsh taxpayer or S1257L for a Scottish taxpayer. An emergency code, earlier underpayment, Marriage Allowance or another adjustment can change the PAYE deducted from a real payslip.
Why might my payslip show a different amount?
PAYE can be cumulative and depends on the tax code and pay history. National Insurance is calculated and rounded for each actual pay period. Bonuses, overtime, irregular pay, starting or leaving during the year and payroll rounding can all change the result.
How are Scottish rates handled?
Choose Scotland if you are a Scottish taxpayer. Scottish rates and bands apply to salary, while employee National Insurance rules are UK-wide. Where the employer is based does not decide the Income Tax region.
How do the three pension methods differ?
Relief at source deducts a net amount after tax and the provider adds basic-rate relief. Net pay deducts the gross contribution before Income Tax but not before National Insurance or student loans. Salary sacrifice reduces contractual cash pay and normally reduces Income Tax, National Insurance and loan deductions. Scheme rules can vary, so check which method applies.
Does relief at source include all pension tax relief?
The calculator shows the 20% basic-rate top-up added by the provider. It does not add any further Scottish, higher-rate or additional-rate relief to take-home pay. That extra relief may need to be claimed separately and can also affect adjusted net income and the Personal Allowance.
How are student and postgraduate loans calculated?
The calculator uses the official monthly threshold for the selected year. It applies 9% above the chosen undergraduate-plan threshold and 6% above the postgraduate threshold, rounds each monthly deduction down to a whole pound, then multiplies by 12. One undergraduate plan and a postgraduate loan can apply together.
Does Scotland automatically mean Plan 4?
No. Choose the plan recorded for your loan. Your student-loan plan does not change simply because you live or work in a different UK tax region.
Does the estimate include employer National Insurance?
No. Employer National Insurance is an extra employer cost rather than a deduction from normal gross pay. Use the Employer Cost Calculator to estimate the employer-side amount.
What happens above £100,000?
The calculator reduces the standard Personal Allowance by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000. Net-pay pension contributions and salary sacrifice are reflected automatically. A relief-at-source contribution can also reduce adjusted net income, but that later claim or tax-code effect is not included in this payslip-style estimate.