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SAGVIM
United Kingdom · 2026–27 tax year

UK take-home pay calculator 2026–27

Estimate your annual and monthly take-home pay in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, with Income Tax, National Insurance, an optional student loan and an optional pension shown line by line.

Tax year: 2026–27 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027)Rules last reviewed:

1. Check this calculator covers you

This calculator models standard UK PAYE take-home pay. Answer the four questions below. You will see an illustrative estimate as soon as you enter a salary, based on the standard assumptions until you confirm them. If your circumstances differ (such as a different tax code, non-standard NI, or variable pay), the calculator provides a baseline estimate with relevant limitations noted.

I live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (not Scotland) for the whole of 2026–27.

Scotland has different Income Tax rates and bands, which this version does not include.

I am an employee paid through PAYE with the standard tax code 1257L, and I have no other taxable income, taxable benefits or salary sacrifice.

Other codes, income, benefits and salary sacrifice change tax and NI in ways not modelled.

I pay employee Class 1 National Insurance in category A and I am below State Pension age.

Other NI categories and people over State Pension age pay different NI.

I am paid the same amount each month for the whole tax year, and any pension is a percentage of my gross salary taken before tax (net pay arrangement).

The estimate assumes twelve equal monthly payments and the net pay pension method.

2. Your pay

Assumes a net pay arrangement: the contribution is taken from your gross salary before Income Tax, but National Insurance and student loan deductions are still worked out on your full salary. Salary sacrifice and relief-at-source pensions are not covered. Your scheme may use a different pay base.

Deducts 9% of earnings above your plan’s threshold. If you have more than one undergraduate plan, your employer deducts based on the plan with the lowest threshold under official HMRC guidance.

Deducts an additional 6% on earnings above £21,000 a year (£1,750 a month). Repayable concurrently alongside an undergraduate loan.

3. Your estimate

The estimate below is illustrative: it assumes a standard UK employee until you confirm the scope questions. 4 still to answer.
Enter your annual salary to see an estimate.

What this estimate does not include

  • Scotland, other tax codes, other income, taxable benefits and the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
  • Salary sacrifice and relief-at-source pensions, and employer pension rules.
  • Bonuses, uneven pay, part-year employment, and NI categories other than A.
  • Multiple undergraduate loans at once (under HMRC rules, multiple undergraduate plans are repaid concurrently based on the plan with the lowest threshold; this calculator models your primary selected undergraduate plan).
  • Pension schemes that use a different pay base (for example qualifying earnings) or other methods.

How to read these figures

  • Income Tax is the tax due for the year on the £12,570 Personal Allowance. Payroll under code 1257L deducts about £2 (basic rate) to £4 (higher rate) a year less because of how HMRC’s tax tables round.
  • National Insurance and student loans are worked out month by month for twelve equal payments, then multiplied by 12. Undergraduate (9%) and Postgraduate (6%) loans are calculated independently with their respective statutory thresholds and deducted concurrently. HMRC’s online calculator uses annual figures instead and can differ (National Insurance by under £1, a student loan by up to about £11 a year).
  • Pension is a percentage of your full gross salary taken before Income Tax only; it does not reduce National Insurance or student loan deductions here.

This is an estimate, not payroll or an official HMRC calculation, and it has not been checked against a payslip. Your payslip is what your employer actually deducts.

How the estimate is calculated

  1. Pension (optional) is a percentage of gross salary taken before Income Tax.
  2. Income Tax: taxable income is pay after pension less the Personal Allowance of £12,570 (reduced by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000, to nil at £125,140, with what is left rounded up to a whole pound), rounded down to a whole pound. It is taxed at 20% up to £37,700, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above. This is the tax due for the year on the standard allowance.
  3. National Insurance (employee, category A) is worked out monthly on one-twelfth of your full salary: 8% between £1,048 and £4,189 and 2% above, rounded to the penny, then multiplied by 12.
  4. Student or postgraduate loan is worked out monthly as in the FAQ below, on your full salary. An undergraduate plan and a postgraduate loan can be repaid simultaneously.
  5. Take-home pay is gross salary less pension, Income Tax, National Insurance and the loan repayment.

Rounding

Amounts are calculated exactly in pence. Statutory provisions and HMRC guidance are followed where they exist: the tapered allowance rounds up to a whole pound (Income Tax Act 2007 s 35(3)), National Insurance is rounded to the nearest penny with an exact half-penny rounded down, the student loan threshold is rounded down to the penny, and the loan deduction is rounded down to the pound each month. Other choices are SAGVIM’s own conventions: taxable pay is rounded down to the pound (a PAYE convention applied here annually), the pension deduction is rounded to the nearest penny, and monthly take-home is the annual figure divided by 12 and rounded to the penny. HMRC does not publish a single rule for all of these across annual estimates, so the result can differ from payroll by a few pence. Payroll and HMRC’s online PAYE calculator differ slightly: HMRC’s tax tables give tax code 1257L £12,579 of tax-free pay instead of £12,570, so they deduct £1.80 less tax a year for a basic-rate taxpayer and £3.60 less for a higher-rate taxpayer; this page shows the full tax due. That calculator also uses annual National Insurance and student loan figures: against this page, National Insurance differs by under £1 a year and a student loan by up to about £11. Payroll works month by month, but a payslip can still differ.

Limits of this calculator

This is an estimate for one situation: an employee in England, Wales or Northern Ireland with standard code 1257L, paid the same each month, with no other income or benefits. It is not payroll software, tax advice or an official HMRC calculation. Scotland, salary sacrifice, relief-at-source pensions, benefits and other income are not included.

Privacy and updates

What you type is used in your browser to produce the estimate. This page does not send it to SAGVIM, save it in your browser or record it as analytics events. Visits to the page may be counted by website analytics where enabled; see the privacy policy and terms. Rates change each April; if the rules change after the review date above, this page may be out of date until it is checked again.

Sources

Rules last reviewed on .

Frequently asked questions

How is the student loan worked out?

Each month: your pay subject to National Insurance, minus the plan's monthly threshold (the annual threshold divided by 12, rounded down to the penny), multiplied by 9% (6% for a postgraduate loan), rounded down to the whole pound. The figure is then multiplied by 12. If you have both an undergraduate loan and a postgraduate loan, deductions are worked out independently for each loan and both are deducted concurrently.

How does the pension work here?

The calculator assumes a net pay arrangement: your contribution is taken from gross pay before Income Tax, so it reduces your Income Tax but not your National Insurance or student loan deductions. Salary sacrifice and relief-at-source pensions work differently and are not covered. Your scheme may calculate contributions on a different pay base.

Why is Scotland not included?

Scotland has six Income Tax bands with different rates. They have not been added to this version. Wales uses the same 20%, 40% and 45% rates as England and Northern Ireland for 2026–27.

Why does HMRC's PAYE calculator show slightly different tax?

HMRC's payroll tax tables give tax code 1257L about £9 more tax-free pay than the £12,570 Personal Allowance (£12,579.12 over a full year in HMRC's Pay Adjustment Tables), and HMRC's online calculator uses £12,579. That is how the code system rounds, not a higher allowance in law. This page shows the tax due on the £12,570 allowance, which is £1.80 more a year at the basic rate and £3.60 more at the higher rate. The online calculator also keeps a small allowance for a few pounds beyond £125,140.

Why might my payslip differ?

Payroll works month by month using your tax code, and many things are not modelled: other income, benefits, bonuses, a code other than 1257L, uneven pay, salary sacrifice and employer scheme rules. Your payslip is what your employer actually deducts.

UK Salary Milestone Guides

Detailed breakdowns, marginal rate analysis, and pension scenarios at key statutory tax boundaries.

Browse all calculators
Higher Rate Boundary

£50,270 Salary Guide

End of the 20% basic rate band; income exceeding this is taxed at 40%.

View the £50,270 Salary Guide
Allowance Taper Trigger

£100,000 Salary Guide

The statutory £100k threshold where the 60% marginal tax trap begins.

View the £100,000 Salary Guide
Allowance Exhaustion

£125,140 Salary Guide

Personal allowance reduces to £0; 45% additional rate begins.

View the £125,140 Salary Guide

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