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Take-Home Pay · 2026/27

UK Salaries After Tax

What every UK salary is actually worth once income tax and National Insurance have gone, in 2026/27. The table below covers the salaries people ask about most. For your own figures, including a pension contribution or student loan, use the take-home pay calculator.

Take-home pay, 2026/27

Salary	A year	A month	Kept
£20,000	£17,920	£1,493	89.6%
£25,000	£21,520	£1,793	86.1%
£30,000	£25,120	£2,093	83.7%
£35,000	£28,720	£2,393	82.1%
£40,000	£32,320	£2,693	80.8%
£45,000	£35,920	£2,993	79.8%
£50,000	£39,520	£3,293	79.0%
£60,000	£45,357	£3,780	75.6%
£70,000	£51,157	£4,263	73.1%
£80,000	£56,957	£4,746	71.2%
£100,000	£68,557	£5,713	68.6%
£150,000	£91,286	£7,607	60.9%

What comes off before it reaches you

Two deductions apply to an ordinary salary, and both are worked out on the whole figure rather than on the part above each threshold. That is why the share you keep falls gradually across the table above rather than dropping in steps.

• Income tax. The first £12,570 is the personal allowance and is untaxed. From there to £50,270 the rate is 20%, from £50,270 to £125,140 it is 40%, and above £125,140 it is 45%.
• National Insurance. 8% on the slice between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% on everything above that.

None of that tells you what a pay rise is worth, because that depends on the rate charged on the next pound rather than on the average across the whole salary.

Three salaries where the maths changes

The rate on your next pound moves at three points, and only one of them is the one people expect.

• £50,270. Higher-rate tax begins, but National Insurance drops from 8% to 2% at the same income, so the marginal rate rises from 28% to 42% rather than to 48%. Crossing into the higher rate costs less than it sounds.
• £100,000. The personal allowance is withdrawn by £1 for every £2 earned above £100,000, so each extra pound is charged an effective 60% in income tax, or 62% once National Insurance is counted, until the allowance is gone. This is the worst band on the whole scale and the one nobody is told about. It is usually called the 60% trap after the income tax figure alone. The 60% tax trap calculator shows what it costs at your salary, and salary sacrifice is the usual way out.
• £125,140. The allowance has gone, so there is nothing left to withdraw and the marginal rate falls to 47%. Someone on £110,000 faces a higher rate on their next pound than someone on £130,000.

Common questions

Is this the same across the UK? No. Scotland sets its own income tax bands and rates, so a Scottish salary takes home a different figure. National Insurance is UK-wide. See Scotland’s hidden 48% band.

Does it include a pension or student loan? No. The figures above are salary, income tax and National Insurance only, so they are comparable with each other. Add a pension contribution, a student loan plan or a bonus in the take-home pay calculator.

Why is my payslip slightly different? Payroll works in monthly instalments and your tax code carries any adjustment from earlier in the year, so a single month rarely matches exactly one twelfth of the annual figure. Over a full year in a single job they agree.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Salary less income tax and National Insurance, with no pension contribution or student loan. Pick a salary for the full breakdown, including what a £1,000 rise is worth and what salary sacrifice would save.