How pay after tax works in United Kingdom
In the UK your take-home pay is what is left after Income Tax and National Insurance, and, if they apply to you, a workplace pension and a student loan repayment. Income Tax uses a tax-free Personal Allowance followed by the 20% basic, 40% higher and 45% additional rates, while National Insurance is a separate charge on your earnings. The two are worked out differently, which is why a pay rise can be taxed at a higher combined rate than most people expect.
Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands, so the same salary can give a slightly different take-home north of the border. Our UK calculators handle the Personal Allowance taper above 100,000, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, salary sacrifice pensions and the main student loan plans, so you can see the real number rather than a rough estimate.
What this calculator works out
- Income Tax with your tax code and the Personal Allowance taper above 100,000
- Employee National Insurance
- Workplace pension contributions, including salary sacrifice
- Student loan repayments (Plans 1, 2, 4, 5 and postgraduate)
- England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland