How your take-home pay is worked out

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: the first £12,570 is tax free (the Personal Allowance), then 20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above that.

Scotland: after the same £12,570 Personal Allowance, 19% 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 that.

Where you pay is decided by where you live, not where you work.

Above £100,000 of adjusted net income you lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 you earn, so it has gone completely by £125,140. Each extra £100 in that range costs £40 of tax plus £20 more because £50 of allowance disappears: 60%, or 62% with National Insurance.

Pension contributions and salary sacrifice reduce adjusted net income, so they can bring you back under £100,000 and restore the allowance.

Most people have 1257L (S1257L in Scotland, C1257L in Wales): the full £12,570 allowance. A different code can mean HMRC is collecting tax on benefits, untaxed income or an earlier underpayment, or that you have more than one job. If your payslip uses a different code, your take-home pay will differ from this calculator.

8% of your earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% on anything above. It is worked out on each pay period separately, so irregular pay or a bonus month can change the total a little.

You stop paying it once you reach State Pension age, even if you keep working.

Relief at source: your contribution is taken from your pay after tax, and the pension provider claims 20% basic rate relief from HMRC, so £80 from you becomes £100 in your pension. Higher rate taxpayers claim the rest through Self Assessment. Most personal pensions and many workplace schemes work this way.

Net pay: your contribution is taken before income tax, so you get full relief straight away. National Insurance is still charged on the full amount.

Salary sacrifice: you give up part of your salary and your employer pays it into your pension. You save income tax and National Insurance, and some employers add their own NI saving to your pension. It can affect things linked to your salary, such as some mortgage applications.

Check your payslip or ask your employer which one you have.

9% of your pay above your plan's threshold: £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4 and £25,000 for Plan 5. A Postgraduate Loan is 6% above £21,000, on top of any undergraduate plan.

If you have both Plan 1 and Plan 2 loans, you repay 9% above the lower threshold, not 9% twice.

Many people never repay the full balance before it is written off (25, 30 or 40 years after the April you were first due to repay, depending on your plan). If that applies to you, overpaying only increases the total you pay. It tends to make sense only for high earners or small balances that would be cleared anyway. The student loan calculator shows which applies to you.

If you or your partner has adjusted net income over £60,000, the higher earner repays 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 above that. By £80,000 the whole amount is repaid. Child Benefit is £27.05 a week for the eldest child and £17.90 for each other child.

The charge is paid through Self Assessment or your tax code, not taken in your payslip. It can still be worth claiming, because claiming protects your State Pension record if you are not working.

No. It is a calculator using the published 2026/27 rates and thresholds, with simplifying assumptions (a standard tax code and pay spread evenly over the year). For advice about your situation, speak to HMRC, an accountant or a regulated financial adviser.

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