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Take-home pay calculator

Salary and tax code in, real monthly money out: income tax (Scottish bands included), National Insurance, pension and student loan, all itemised.

Guide

How to use it

  1. Enter your annual salary and the tax code from your payslip. Most people are on 1257L; codes like K475, BR, D0 and S1257L are understood, and the note under the inputs explains yours.
  2. Add your workplace pension percentage and pick a student loan plan if you have one.
  3. Tick Scottish bands if you are taxed in Scotland, S codes set it automatically.
  4. Read the monthly tile first, then the breakdown table to see where the rest went.

Examples

Worked examples

£35,000 on 1257L

With a 5% pension: roughly £2,275 a month lands in the account. Income tax takes about £4,140 a year and NI about £1,790.

£60,000 with Plan 2

The higher band, NI and a 9% loan deduction above the threshold stack up: the loan alone takes about £236 a month at this salary.

£110,000 and the 60% trap

£10,000 over the taper costs £5,000 of allowance, so that slice is taxed at an effective 60%. The tool flags the taper; pension contributions are the classic response.

Method

How it works

The tax code sets your allowance (number × 10, with K codes adding income back and BR/D0/D1/NT overriding the bands). Pension is deducted, then income tax is charged in bands on what is above the allowance, using the UK or Scottish tables. NI is calculated on gross between its thresholds at 8% then 2%, and student loans take their plan's percentage above its threshold. All figures use the 2025-26 constants, kept as one editable block in the page code.

It is a whole-year model of a standard employee: no benefits in kind, bonuses or cumulative payroll quirks. Expect payslip-close, not payslip-identical, and treat it as arithmetic, not tax advice. Your salary never leaves your browser, which for this tool is the entire point.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How is take-home pay calculated?

Gross salary minus pension, income tax, National Insurance and any student loan. Tax applies to income above your tax-free allowance in bands; NI applies between its own thresholds at 8% then 2%.

What does my tax code mean?

The number times ten is roughly your tax-free allowance: 1257L means £12,570. Letters adjust it: M and N for Marriage Allowance, K means untaxed income is added back, BR, D0 and D1 tax everything at one rate, and an S prefix applies Scottish bands.

Why is Scottish income tax different?

Scotland sets its own bands and rates, six of them, starting at 19% and topping out at 48%. NI and student loans are UK-wide. The calculator switches automatically on S codes.

How does the £100,000 taper work?

Above £100,000 you lose £1 of personal allowance per £2 of income, gone entirely at £125,140. That makes the effective tax rate on that slice 60%, the trap the calculator flags.

How is the pension treated?

As a net pay arrangement: deducted before income tax but not before NI, the most common workplace setup. Salary sacrifice schemes also save NI, so they leave slightly more take-home than shown.

Will this match my payslip exactly?

Close but not to the penny: payroll works cumulatively through the year and handles benefits, bonuses and adjustments this page does not model. Persistent large gaps are worth querying with payroll.

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Take-home pay calculator

Salary and tax code in, real monthly money out: income tax (Scottish bands included), National Insurance, pension and student loan, all itemised.

Additional options: bonus, other income, deductions, hours

Standard code: £12,579 tax-free allowance.

£2,277 take-home per month
£27,321 per year
£525 per week
£105 per working day (5-day week)
Yearly breakdown£Monthly Gross salary 35,000 2,917 Pension contribution (5% of salary) −1,750 −146 Income tax −4,134 −345 National Insurance −1,794 −150 Take-home pay 27,321 2,277

Total deductions are 22% of gross income, covering tax, NI, pension.

Uses 2025-26 rates and thresholds as one editable constant in this page: personal allowance £12,570 (tapered above £100,000), employee Class 1 NI, and the published student loan thresholds. Assumes a standard employee with no benefits in kind, pension taken on salary only and deducted before tax (net pay arrangement) but not NI. Bonuses are treated as earnings (tax, NI and student loan); other taxable income is taxed but carries no NI or payroll loan deduction; other deductions come off after tax. Verify against gov.uk or your payslip; this is arithmetic, not tax advice.

Everything runs in your browser. Your salary is never transmitted, logged or stored.

Guide

How to use it

  1. Enter your annual salary and the tax code from your payslip. Most people are on 1257L; codes like K475, BR, D0 and S1257L are understood, and the note under the inputs explains yours.
  2. Add your workplace pension percentage and pick a student loan plan if you have one.
  3. Tick Scottish bands if you are taxed in Scotland, S codes set it automatically.
  4. Read the monthly tile first, then the breakdown table to see where the rest went.

Examples

Worked examples

£35,000 on 1257L

With a 5% pension: roughly £2,275 a month lands in the account. Income tax takes about £4,140 a year and NI about £1,790.

£60,000 with Plan 2

The higher band, NI and a 9% loan deduction above the threshold stack up: the loan alone takes about £236 a month at this salary.

£110,000 and the 60% trap

£10,000 over the taper costs £5,000 of allowance, so that slice is taxed at an effective 60%. The tool flags the taper; pension contributions are the classic response.

Method

How it works

The tax code sets your allowance (number × 10, with K codes adding income back and BR/D0/D1/NT overriding the bands). Pension is deducted, then income tax is charged in bands on what is above the allowance, using the UK or Scottish tables. NI is calculated on gross between its thresholds at 8% then 2%, and student loans take their plan's percentage above its threshold. All figures use the 2025-26 constants, kept as one editable block in the page code.

It is a whole-year model of a standard employee: no benefits in kind, bonuses or cumulative payroll quirks. Expect payslip-close, not payslip-identical, and treat it as arithmetic, not tax advice. Your salary never leaves your browser, which for this tool is the entire point.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How is take-home pay calculated?

Gross salary minus pension, income tax, National Insurance and any student loan. Tax applies to income above your tax-free allowance in bands; NI applies between its own thresholds at 8% then 2%.

What does my tax code mean?

The number times ten is roughly your tax-free allowance: 1257L means £12,570. Letters adjust it: M and N for Marriage Allowance, K means untaxed income is added back, BR, D0 and D1 tax everything at one rate, and an S prefix applies Scottish bands.

Why is Scottish income tax different?

Scotland sets its own bands and rates, six of them, starting at 19% and topping out at 48%. NI and student loans are UK-wide. The calculator switches automatically on S codes.

How does the £100,000 taper work?

Above £100,000 you lose £1 of personal allowance per £2 of income, gone entirely at £125,140. That makes the effective tax rate on that slice 60%, the trap the calculator flags.

How is the pension treated?

As a net pay arrangement: deducted before income tax but not before NI, the most common workplace setup. Salary sacrifice schemes also save NI, so they leave slightly more take-home than shown.

Will this match my payslip exactly?

Close but not to the penny: payroll works cumulatively through the year and handles benefits, bonuses and adjustments this page does not model. Persistent large gaps are worth querying with payroll.

More tools

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