Salary after tax calculator UK 2026/27

Choose the right UK salary calculator

Salary questions often begin with one number and end with several. An annual salary helps with a job offer. A monthly figure helps with a budget. An hourly figure helps when two contracts have different hours. Start with the figure you have, then use the calculator that answers the next question.

More UK pay calculators

Use a focused calculator when the question is more specific than a standard annual salary estimate.

How to estimate salary after tax in the UK

Enter gross annual salary, before deductions. Then add only the details this tool supports: a net-pay pension percentage and one student-loan plan. The calculator applies the standard rUK Income Tax and employee National Insurance rules for the 2026/27 tax year. It then shows an annual estimate and simple monthly and weekly equivalents.

Read each line, not only the total

The deduction breakdown matters. Income Tax and National Insurance use different thresholds. A pension contribution changes the adjusted income used for the tax estimate. Student-loan deductions depend on the selected plan. Seeing those lines separately helps you spot an assumption that does not match your payslip.

Use gross pay for the first input

Gross pay is the salary before Income Tax, National Insurance, pension and loan deductions. Net pay, often called take-home pay, is the amount left after those deductions. If an employer gives you a monthly gross offer, use the monthly-to-hourly converter for a rate comparison and multiply by 12 before using the take-home tool.

Compare job offers on the same basis

A higher annual salary does not always mean a higher effective hourly rate. Check contracted weekly hours, paid weeks, unpaid breaks, regular unpaid overtime, pension contribution and the cost of travel before you decide. A role paid by the hour also needs a realistic view of paid holiday and the number of weeks worked.

1. Convert each offer to an hourly gross rate with the same paid-weeks assumption.
2. Estimate take-home pay for each annual gross amount using the same pension and loan inputs.
3. Write down differences that the calculator does not price, such as bonus certainty, holiday entitlement, travel and childcare.
4. Check the contract rather than relying on the vacancy headline.

Use salary to hourly for a salaried role and hourly to salary for an hourly role. Those pages show the formulas and worked examples.

Why a calculator result and a payslip differ

This website produces an annualised planning estimate. Payroll normally calculates PAYE and NI by pay period. Your tax code, prior pay, benefits, salary sacrifice, variable earnings, multiple jobs or a different NI category often change the payslip amount. Scotland also uses different Income Tax bands and is outside the current take-home calculator.

Read the methodology and assumptions before relying on a result. The source ledger lists the government pages used for the 2026/27 rules.

Understand the salary figures before you compare them

Annual gross salary

This is the figure usually shown in a permanent job offer. It is pay before employee deductions. It is the most useful starting point for an after-tax estimate because Income Tax and employee National Insurance are calculated from earnings, not from a quoted net amount.

Monthly gross and monthly net pay

Monthly gross pay is normally annual gross pay divided by 12. Monthly net pay is what remains after payroll deductions in a particular pay period. A calculator’s monthly figure is an annual equivalent, which keeps comparisons consistent. A payslip differs when a tax code, bonus, overtime or pay-period calculation changes the deduction.

Hourly gross rate

Hourly gross rate tells you how much is paid for each contracted hour before deductions. It needs the correct weekly hours and paid weeks. A £40,000 salary over 40 hours is not the same rate as £40,000 over 35 hours.

What to check before entering a salary

Take the salary from the contract, written offer or latest payslip. Check whether it is annual or monthly, whether a bonus is guaranteed and whether pension contributions are taken through net pay, salary sacrifice or relief at source. If you have a student loan, confirm the plan instead of guessing from graduation year.

For a fair offer comparison, write the same details for both roles: annual gross pay, weekly contracted hours, paid weeks, location or travel cost, pension contribution, holiday terms and guaranteed allowances. The calculator should support that list, not replace it.

Common salary questions and the right route

Read salary adverts with the right questions

A job advert might quote annual salary, a day rate, an hourly rate or an “up to” amount that depends on overtime or bonus. Separate guaranteed basic pay from variable pay before you convert it. Then check whether the advertised hours include paid breaks, whether holiday is paid and whether pension contributions are shown as your deduction or the employer’s cost.

This prevents a common comparison error: treating two attractive headline figures as identical when the contracts require different hours or provide different paid weeks. Use the calculator result as one line in your comparison, alongside the written terms.

Use the tax year shown on the page

Tax thresholds and rates change. A salary result only makes sense when the tax year is clear. This site labels the calculator with 2026/27 and keeps the source ledger alongside the methodology. If you are checking an old P60 or an earlier payslip, do not compare it with a newer tax-year estimate as though the rules were identical.

For an estimate that is useful at a glance, enter the contract salary, keep uncertain pay separate and read the deduction lines. For a figure that must match payroll, use the relevant payslip and your employer’s payroll information.

Salary after tax calculator questions

Use a salary after tax estimate for planning, not as a promise

A salary after tax calculator is most useful when it turns a headline offer into questions you can check. Start with the guaranteed annual gross salary, then separate a fixed contractual amount from commission, bonus, overtime or an allowance that may change. Use the monthly equivalent to sketch a budget, but keep a buffer until you have a real payslip.

Someone searching for an after tax income calculator or trying to compute net salary UK is usually deciding whether a quoted salary supports a practical goal. The estimate can help with that decision, but it cannot know a personal tax code, payroll timing or a deduction that was not entered. Treat it as a consistent comparison method: use the same assumptions for each role, then review the written contract.

A five-minute job-offer comparison

1. Write down the guaranteed annual gross salary for each offer.
2. Run each amount through the take-home pay calculator with the same pension and loan assumptions.
3. Convert the annual pay to a gross hourly rate using the stated paid weeks and weekly hours.
4. List costs or benefits outside the calculator, such as travel, childcare, a guaranteed allowance, holiday terms and the reliability of variable pay.
5. Keep the payslip, tax code and pension method as the final check after you start.

Choose the right result for the question you are asking

Use net pay when the question is “what may be left after the deductions this tool supports?” Use a gross hourly rate when the question is “how much am I paid for each contracted hour?” Do not compare a net monthly amount from one role with a gross hourly amount from another. They answer different questions.

If you need to figure out salary after taxes for an annual offer, begin here or on the dedicated UK take-home pay calculator. If you only have an hourly rate, use hourly pay to annual salary first. If the offer quotes a monthly gross amount, use monthly salary to hourly pay before comparing the hours involved.

Next step

Enter the gross salary from the offer or contract above. If you are comparing roles, open the matching pay-rate converter once you have your take-home estimate.