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TOOLS · MONEY · 2026/27

Take-home pay calculator

Type your pay and I'll work out what reaches your bank: income tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension, by the year, month and week, with every sum written out.

Where you pay tax
Student loans
Which plan am I on?
  • Plan 1: England or Wales before September 2012, and Northern Ireland
  • Plan 2: England from September 2012 to July 2023, and Wales from September 2012
  • Plan 4: Scotland
  • Plan 5: England from August 2023
  • Postgraduate Loan: master's or doctoral loans in England or Wales

Your student loan account says which.

It's on your payslip or P60. Leave it blank for the standard 1257L.

£3,113.30 a monthSee the working

TAKE-HOME PAY A MONTH

£3,113.30

£37,359.60 a year, £718.45 a week. 2026/27 rates.

ItemYearMonthWeek
Pay£47,000£3,916.67£903.85
Income tax−£6,886−£573.83−£132.42
National Insurance−£2,754.40−£229.53−£52.97
Take-home£37,359.60£3,113.30£718.45

Of your next £100 of pay, you'd keep £72.

THE WORKING, FOR THE YEAR

  1. Pay: £47,000 a year
  2. The Personal Allowance gives £12,570 tax-free
  3. Taxable pay: £47,000 − £12,570 = £34,430
  4. Basic rate: 20% of £34,430 = £6,886
  5. National Insurance: 8% of £34,430, your pay between £12,570 and £50,270 = £2,754.40
  6. Take-home: £47,000 − £6,886 tax − £2,754.40 National Insurance = £37,359.60

A payslip works each payday on its own, so yours can be a few pounds a year different.

Common salaries after tax

England, Wales and Northern Ireland, no pension or student loan. Each page has Scotland, the loan plans and pensions too.

How the sums work

I work out the whole tax year, 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, the way HMRC's rates are set, then split it into months and weeks. Every figure comes from GOV.UK, HMRC and The Pensions Regulator, listed at the bottom.

Income tax

The first £12,570 is tax-free. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, tax is 20% on pay up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above. Scotland sets its own: 19% on pay up to £16,537, 20% up to £29,526, 21% up to £43,662, 42% up to £75,000, 45% up to £125,140 and 48% above. Over £100,000, you lose £1 of the tax-free allowance for every £2 you earn above it.

National Insurance

Employees pay 8% on pay between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above. It's the same across the UK.

Student loans

You repay 9% of pay over your plan's threshold, or 6% for a Postgraduate Loan. On two undergraduate plans you still pay one 9%, over the lower threshold. Nothing is repaid on pay under it, and whatever's left is written off at the end of the plan's term. To see whether yours will be cleared or written off first, try the student loan calculator.

Pensions

How your pension is taken changes the sums. Net pay comes off before tax; relief at source comes off after, with the basic rate added by the pension; salary sacrifice lowers your pay, so it also saves National Insurance. I show which applies in the working.

Wondering what a pay rise is worth? The answer says how much of your next £100 you'd keep. For what's in the shops, the discount calculator works out deals.

Questions

How much tax do I pay on £30,000?

In England, Wales or Northern Ireland in 2026/27: £3,486 income tax and £1,394.40 National Insurance, which leaves £25,119.60 a year, or £2,093.30 a month.

What's the Personal Allowance for 2026/27?

£12,570, the pay you earn before any income tax. It shrinks by £1 for every £2 your income goes over £100,000, so it's gone at £125,140. It's the same in Scotland.

Why is tax so high between £100,000 and £125,140?

In England, Wales or Northern Ireland, each extra £1 there costs 40p in tax and also takes 50p off your Personal Allowance, which costs another 20p: 60p in all, plus 2p National Insurance, so you keep £38 of each extra £100. In Scotland the rate there is 45%, so it's 67.5p plus 2p, and you keep £30.50. Pension contributions lower the income the taper is measured on.

How much student loan do I repay?

9% of what you earn over your plan's threshold: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000. A Postgraduate Loan takes 6% over £21,000, on top of any other plan. Pay under the threshold repays nothing.

What's the difference between net pay, relief at source and salary sacrifice?

Net pay takes your pension from your pay before tax. Relief at source takes it after tax, and the pension adds the basic rate relief on top (anyone taxed above 20% claims the rest). Salary sacrifice lowers your pay itself, so National Insurance and student loan repayments fall too.

Why is my payslip a little different?

A payslip works each payday on its own, while this works on the year as a whole, as HMRC's rates do. Tax codes, rounding to the pound on student loans and a month with extra pay all move a payslip by a few pounds. Over the year it comes out close.

Sources

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