How take-home pay is worked out
Your employer takes several deductions from your gross salary before paying you. This calculator follows the same order:
Pension. With salary sacrifice, your pension contribution comes off before tax and National Insurance, so it reduces both.
Income tax. The first £12,570 is your tax-free personal allowance. You pay 20% on the next £37,700, 40% up to £125,140, and 45% above that.
National Insurance. Employees pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on anything above.
Student loans. You repay 9% of earnings over 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. Postgraduate loans take 6% of earnings over £21,000.
Thresholds are frozen
The personal allowance and higher-rate threshold have been frozen and are due to stay at the same level until April 2031. As wages rise, more of your pay falls into the higher bands, a process often called fiscal drag. It's worth checking your take-home pay whenever you get a pay rise.
Check your tax code
Most people have the tax code 1257L. If yours is different, for example because of a company car or unpaid tax from a previous year, your take-home pay will be different too. You can check your tax code in your personal tax account on GOV.UK.