How take-home pay is worked out for 2026/27
Your take-home pay is your salary minus Income Tax, National Insurance, any student loan repayments and your pension contribution. The 2026/27 tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. This calculator assumes you’re an employee on the standard tax code (1257L) with the same pay all year.
Income Tax
Everyone gets a tax-free Personal Allowance of £12,570, unless your income is over £100,000: then it goes down by £1 for every £2, reaching zero at £125,140. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you pay 20% on income from £12,571 to £50,270, 40% from £50,271 to £125,140 and 45% above that.
Scotland has six bands for 2026/27: 19% on £12,571 to £16,537, 20% to £29,526, 21% to £43,662, 42% to £75,000, 45% to £125,140 and 48% above.
National Insurance
Employees pay Class 1 NI at 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year (£1,048 to £4,189 a month) and 2% above that. Employers pay 15% on earnings over £5,000. Payroll works out NI each pay period, so if your pay changes from month to month your total can differ from the yearly figure here.
Student loans and pensions
Student loan repayments are 9% of pay over the plan threshold (Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000), worked out on each month’s pay and rounded down to the pound. Postgraduate Loans are 6% over £21,000 and are taken on top of an undergraduate plan. If you have more than one undergraduate plan, you repay from the lowest threshold first.
A net pay pension comes out before tax. Salary sacrifice lowers your salary, so it saves NI and can reduce student loan repayments too. With relief at source you pay 80% of the contribution from take-home pay and the scheme adds 20% from HMRC. Higher-rate taxpayers can claim extra relief through Self Assessment, which isn’t shown here.
A worked example
Sam earns £35,000 in England with no pension or student loan. Taxable income is £35,000 − £12,570 = £22,430, so Income Tax is 20% = £4,486. NI is 8% of £22,430 = £1,794.40. Take-home pay is £28,719.60 a year, about £2,393 a month.
Sources: GOV.UK – Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, Scottish Income Tax 2026 to 2027, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, National Insurance rates and categories and Repaying your student loan: what you pay. Last checked 8 October 2026.