How to Use a UK Salary Calculator in 2026/27
Reviewed against the official guidance linked in this article. Rates and eligibility can change. Check the linked official sources for your circumstances. See our editorial policy.
Choose the right salary, region, pension and student loan settings, then understand what your take-home estimate includes.
A salary calculator estimates what remains after Income Tax, National Insurance and the deductions you select. On £35,000, the annual estimate is £28,719.60, or £2,393.30 a month, before pension contributions or student loans.
That example uses 2026/27 rates for England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the standard Personal Allowance and a typical employee below State Pension age. It assumes no other income, benefits or adjustments. Monthly amounts are annual averages, rather than a promise about a particular payslip.
Start with your gross pay
Enter the pay before deductions, using the same frequency as your contract. Do not enter the amount paid into your bank account. Add a bonus or overtime only where the calculator provides the relevant setting, and check whether it is recurring or a one-off payment.
Choose Scotland if Scottish Income Tax applies to you. Your employer's location does not by itself decide your tax region. Use your current tax code if it differs from the standard code, and check any unexpected code with HMRC.
Include the right pension method
A percentage alone is not enough to explain a pension deduction. Check whether it applies to full salary or qualifying earnings, and whether your scheme uses salary sacrifice, net pay or relief at source.
For example, 5% of the whole £35,000 salary is £1,750 a year. Under salary sacrifice, the employee exchanges that pay for an employer pension contribution. The annual estimate becomes:
| Item | Annual amount | Monthly average |
|---|---|---|
| Salary before sacrifice | £35,000 | £2,916.67 |
| Salary exchanged for pension | £1,750 | £145.83 |
| Income Tax | £4,136 | £344.67 |
| Employee National Insurance | £1,654.40 | £137.87 |
| Take-home pay | £27,459.60 | £2,288.30 |
The pension receives £1,750 from the sacrifice, before any other employer contribution. A different pension method or earnings basis changes the result. See our pension methods guide and HMRC's workplace pension explanation.
Select your student loan plan
Use the plan shown in your student loan account, rather than choosing only by where you studied. For 2026/27, Plan 2 repayments are 9% above £29,385 a year. A postgraduate loan has a separate 6% deduction above £21,000.
PAYE uses pay-period thresholds and rounds loan deductions down to whole pounds. Read the student loan guide for plan selection and examples.
What does a £5,000 pay rise add?
Using the shared calculation engine behind this site, we compared four pay rises with all other settings unchanged. These annual estimates use 2026/27 rates for England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the standard allowance subject to its income taper, a typical employee below State Pension age and no pension, loans, benefits or other income.
| Salary change | Extra Income Tax | Extra employee NI | Extra annual take-home | Extra monthly average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 to £35,000 | £1,000 | £400 | £3,600 | £300 |
| £45,000 to £50,000 | £1,000 | £400 | £3,600 | £300 |
| £50,000 to £55,000 | £1,946 | £116.20 | £2,937.80 | £244.82 |
| £100,000 to £105,000 | £3,000 | £100 | £1,900 | £158.33 |
The £50,000 example crosses two thresholds. The first £270 of the rise is charged at 20% Income Tax and 8% NI. The remaining £4,730 is charged at 40% and 2%. That gives £54 + £1,892 = £1,946 of extra tax and £21.60 + £94.60 = £116.20 of extra NI.
The £100,000 example enters the Personal Allowance taper. The rise reduces the allowance by £2,500 as well as attracting higher-rate tax. That is why this employee keeps £1,900 of the £5,000, before any other deductions. Scotland and student loan repayments can change the comparison.
To try your own comparison, calculate the first salary, change only the salary and subtract the two take-home figures. Add pension or loan settings to both scenarios together so you are comparing like with like. Our salary comparison tool also compares two salaries using its available settings.
Read the result as an estimate
The result shows the effect of the settings you choose. It does not establish benefit eligibility, calculate the High Income Child Benefit Charge or reproduce every cumulative PAYE adjustment made during the year.
Use the salary calculator to compare a pay rise or pension change while keeping the other assumptions the same. If it differs from your payslip, check the pay period, tax code, pension method and year-to-date figures with payroll before assuming an error.
The current rates are listed in HMRC's 2026/27 employer guidance.