How to use this calculator
The results update as you type.
- Yearly salary before tax: your gross pay for the year, including bonuses and overtime you expect.
- Where you live: Scottish taxpayers pay Scottish Income Tax rates. Everyone else, including Wales, uses the rest-of-UK rates.
- Your pension contribution: the percentage of your salary you pay into a workplace pension.
- How your pension is paid: net pay (taken before tax), relief at source (taken after tax, with tax relief added by your provider) or salary sacrifice. Your payslip or pension scheme will say which.
- Student loan: your plan, and whether you also have a Postgraduate Loan.
The results show your monthly, yearly and weekly take-home pay, and each deduction. Below the calculator, a chart and table show where your pay goes, by year, month and week.
Example: £35,000 with a 5% pension
Say you earn £35,000 in England, pay 5% into a net pay pension and have no student loan.
| Year | Month | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £35,000.00 | £2,916.67 |
| Pension (5%) | − £1,750.00 | − £145.83 |
| Income Tax | − £4,136.00 | − £344.67 |
| National Insurance | − £1,794.40 | − £149.53 |
| Take-home pay | £27,319.60 | £2,276.63 |
Because the pension comes off before tax, you pay Income Tax on £33,250 rather than £35,000. If your employer offered salary sacrifice instead, you’d also save National Insurance on the £1,750, and take home £140 more a year.
A few other cases:
- Living in Scotland: on £35,000 with no pension, Income Tax is £4,501.07, just £15.07 more than in England. At £60,000, the gap grows to £1,750.05, because Scotland’s higher rate is 42% and starts at a lower income.
- Plan 2 student loan: at £35,000, you’d repay £505.35 a year, 9% of the £5,615 above the threshold.
- Earning £110,000: your Personal Allowance falls to £7,570. Paying 10% (£11,000) into a pension by salary sacrifice restores the full allowance, so your take-home pay falls by only £4,380.
That last point is one generic articles often miss: between £100,000 and £125,140, each extra £1 of salary loses 50p of allowance, and pension contributions can win it back.
How it’s calculated
- Pension: salary sacrifice reduces your pay before tax, National Insurance and student loan. Net pay reduces the pay you’re taxed on only. Relief at source comes from your take-home pay: you pay 80% and your provider adds the 20% basic-rate relief.
- Personal Allowance: £12,570, reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000.
- Income Tax: the rest of your taxable pay is taxed at 20%, 40% and 45% in the rest of the UK, or 19%, 20%, 21%, 42%, 45% and 48% in Scotland, using the 2026/27 bands.
- National Insurance: 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above.
- Student loan: 9% of pay over your plan’s threshold, plus 6% over £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan.
The calculator uses yearly figures and the standard tax code. Payroll works per pay period, so payslips can differ by a few pounds. It doesn’t include Marriage Allowance, taxable benefits, or extra pension relief claimed through Self Assessment.
Tips to keep more of your pay
- Check your tax code. A wrong code is a common reason for paying too much tax. It’s on your payslip and in your HMRC online account.
- Ask about salary sacrifice. If your employer offers it, you save National Insurance on your pension contributions.
- Claim higher-rate pension relief. If you pay into a relief at source scheme and pay tax above the basic rate, you can claim the extra relief through Self Assessment.
- Watch the £100,000 taper. Pension contributions or Gift Aid donations can reduce the income used to work out your Personal Allowance.
- Plan for pay rises. Use the calculator to see how much of a rise you’ll actually take home after tax, National Insurance and student loan.
Frequently asked questions
How much is take-home pay on £35,000?
In England, Wales or Northern Ireland, with no pension or student loan, you'd pay £4,486 Income Tax and £1,794.40 National Insurance in 2026/27, leaving £28,719.60 a year, or £2,393.30 a month.
What is the Personal Allowance for 2026/27?
£12,570. It falls by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000, so it's gone completely at £125,140. Pension contributions reduce the income used for this.
How much National Insurance will I pay?
Employees in the standard category pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% on earnings above that. National Insurance is the same across the UK, including Scotland.
How are student loan repayments worked out?
You repay 9% of your income over your plan's threshold. For 2026/27, the thresholds are £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4 and £25,000 for Plan 5. Postgraduate Loans are 6% of income over £21,000, on top of any other plan.
Is salary sacrifice better than other pension methods?
Salary sacrifice also saves National Insurance, because the contribution comes off your pay before NI is worked out. At £35,000 with a 5% pension, it leaves you £140 a year better off than net pay or relief at source.
Why is my payslip different from this calculator?
Payroll works out tax and National Insurance each pay period, and your tax code may not be the standard one, for example if you have taxable benefits or untaxed income. Check your tax code on your payslip or in your HMRC account.