Take-home pay calculator
See what your salary comes to after income tax, National Insurance, student loan repayments and pension contributions, a year, a month and a week, under the 2026/27 rules for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Rules for tax year 2026/27Checked Free, no sign-up
Example figures
Change any to use yours
Take-home a month
£2,560
£30,720 a year from a £40,000 salary, after £5,486 income tax, £2,194 National Insurance and £1,600 towards your pension.
| Year | Month | Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | £40,000 | £3,333 | £769 |
| Pension | −£1,600 | −£133 | −£31 |
| Income tax | −£5,486 | −£457 | −£105 |
| National Insurance | −£2,194 | −£183 | −£42 |
| Take-home pay | £30,720 | £2,560 | £591 |
- Of your next £100
- £72
- Overall deduction rate
- 19.2%
- Highest income tax band
- Basic rate
- Personal allowance
- £12,570
- Into your pension
- £2,000
28% goes in tax, National Insurance and student loans
Tax, NI and loans as a share of salary
20% on £27,430
Tax-free pay at the standard 1257L code
£1,600 of it from your pay
Where your salary goes
- Take-home pay£30,72077%
- Pension£1,6004%
- Income tax£5,48614%
- National Insurance£2,1945%
| Band | Rate | Taxed | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | 20% | £27,430 | £5,486 |
Your salary
An illustration for the 2026/27 tax year on a steady salary with the standard 1257L tax code. Payroll works out each pay packet separately, so a bonus or a change of pay moves the figures.
Relief at source: you pay £1,600 and the provider adds 20% relief to make £2,000.
See where your take-home pay goes, and what it builds, in Aureli.
Try Aureli freeHow this works
The calculator starts from your yearly salary and takes off, in order, any salary sacrifice, then National Insurance and student loan repayments on what's left, then income tax on pay after any net pay pension contribution. Relief-at-source pension contributions come out of what remains. Monthly figures are the year divided by 12 and weekly figures by 52.
On a £40,000 salary with 5% going into a relief-at-source pension, that's £5,486 income tax, £2,194 National Insurance and £1,600 towards the pension, leaving £30,720 a year, or £2,560 a month.
Assumptions
- One job on a steady salary, with the standard 1257L tax code and no other income. Payroll works out each pay packet on its own, so a bonus, overtime or a mid-year pay rise changes the tax and NI taken in that month.
- Category A National Insurance, the letter most employees have.
- One undergraduate student loan plan, plus a postgraduate loan if you choose. Someone with two undergraduate plans repays 9% above the lower threshold.
- Marriage allowance, blind person's allowance, benefits in kind and the High Income Child Benefit Charge aren't included.
How your pension is taken
Workplace pensions take contributions in one of three ways, and the way changes your take-home pay even when the same amount reaches the pension.
- Relief at source: the contribution comes out of your pay after tax. The provider claims 20% relief from HMRC and adds it, so £80 from your pay becomes £100 in the pension. Higher and additional-rate taxpayers claim the rest back through self-assessment or a tax code change, and Scottish taxpayers above the basic rate do the same.
- Net pay: the contribution comes out before income tax, so relief is given at your highest rate straight away. National Insurance is still charged on it. Anyone earning under the personal allowance gets no relief.
- Salary sacrifice: you agree a lower salary and your employer pays the difference into the pension. There's no income tax, National Insurance or student loan repayment on the sacrificed pay. Some employers add some or all of their own National Insurance saving.
Auto-enrolment schemes often work out contributions on qualifying earnings, pay between £6,240 and £50,270, rather than the whole salary. The minimum is 8% of that band, at least 5% of it from you.
Adjusted net income
Two thresholds are measured on adjusted net income rather than salary: the £100,000 personal allowance taper and the £60,000 High Income Child Benefit Charge, which claws Child Benefit back in full by £80,000. Adjusted net income is taxable income less pension contributions paid under relief at source and Gift Aid, both grossed up. Salary sacrifice and net pay contributions already sit outside taxable income.
Questions
How much is £40,000 after tax?
With no pension or student loan, a £40,000 salary in England, Wales or Northern Ireland comes to £32,320 a year in 2026/27, or £2,693 a month. Paying 5% into a relief-at-source pension brings that to £2,560 a month.
What are the income tax bands for 2026/27?
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the first £12,570 is tax-free, the personal allowance. Pay above that is taxed at 20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above. The thresholds are frozen until April 2031.
How much National Insurance will I pay?
Employees pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% on anything above. It stops once you reach State Pension age. National Insurance is charged on each pay packet separately rather than over the year.
Why is income tax higher in Scotland?
Scotland sets its own bands and rates on earned income: starter 19%, basic 20%, intermediate 21%, higher 42%, advanced 45%, top 48%. Salaries up to about £33,500 pay a little less than elsewhere in the UK, and higher salaries more: on a £60,000 salary the difference is £1,750 a year. National Insurance and the personal allowance are the same everywhere.
What is the 60% tax trap?
Between £100,000 and £125,140, the personal allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 of income. That makes the rate on income in that range 60%, or 62% with National Insurance. Pension contributions and Gift Aid lower the income the taper is measured on, which is why many people in that range pay more into a pension.
How much are student loan repayments?
9% of 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 repayment. They're worked out on the same pay as National Insurance.
Does salary sacrifice increase take-home pay?
Not compared with having no pension: your take-home pay falls. Compared with paying the same amount into a pension another way, salary sacrifice leaves you more, because the sacrificed pay isn't charged National Insurance or student loan repayments. From April 2029, sacrificed pension contributions over £2,000 a year are due to be charged National Insurance.
Aureli
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