2026/27 tax year · built by us, runs in your browser
Take-home pay calculator
The salary in the job ad is not the number that lands in your account. A “£25,000” job with a 5% pension pays about £1,710 a month once income tax and National Insurance have had their share. Put your real numbers in — nothing you type leaves this page.
Take-home pay · 2026/27
£1,710 / month
£20,519.60 a year · £395 a week · 18% of your salary goes on deductions.
- Take-home
- Income tax
- National Insurance
- Pension
| Line | Year | Month | Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £25,000 | £2,083 | £481 |
| Pension | −£1,250 | −£104 | −£24 |
| Income tax | −£2,236 | −£186 | −£43 |
| National Insurance | −£994 | −£83 | −£19 |
| Take-home | £20,520 | £1,710 | £395 |
What this assumes
- 2026/27 rates and thresholds, standard tax code (1257L), and the personal allowance taper above £100,000.
- You’re an employee under State Pension age on NI category A — the overwhelming majority.
- Pension contributions come out before income tax but not before NI or student loan — the standard workplace setup. Salary sacrifice saves you more; ask payroll if you have it.
- No bonuses, benefits in kind, or second jobs in the mix.
An estimate for planning, not financial advice. Rates checked July 2026 against gov.uk and mygov.scot.
Cross-check it
Never trust one calculator with money decisions — including ours. HMRC’s official estimator and MoneySavingExpert’s income tax calculator are both linked from our tax & take-home tools, and if the job hunt is the reason you’re here, the Find Work section covers the part before the payslip.
Questions people actually ask
- Why is my payslip slightly different from this?
- Four usual suspects: a tax code that isn't the standard 1257L, benefits in kind like a company car or medical cover, salary sacrifice (which also cuts your NI), and the fact that HMRC rounds per pay period while we calculate annually. This tool gets you within a few pounds a month; your payslip is the truth.
- Do I pay more or less tax in Scotland?
- Both, depending on what you earn. Below roughly £30,300 Scots pay slightly less thanks to the 19% starter rate. Above that it climbs: the 42% higher rate starts at £43,663 in Scotland versus 40% from £50,271 elsewhere, and the top rate is 48% against 45%. National Insurance is the same UK-wide.
- Does paying into a pension really cut my tax bill?
- Yes. In a standard workplace scheme, each £100 you contribute only costs a basic-rate payer £80 of take-home, and a higher-rate payer £60 — the rest is tax you'd otherwise have handed over. If your employer offers salary sacrifice, the deal improves again because you skip NI on the sacrificed amount too.
- When do student loan repayments actually start?
- Only once you earn over your plan's threshold — from £25,000 (Plan 5) up to £33,795 (Plan 4, Scotland) in 2026/27 — and then it's 9% of the amount above it, not of your whole salary. A postgraduate loan adds 6% above £21,000, on top of any undergraduate plan.