Plan contractor take-home pay for IR35 and off-payroll working scenarios, including inside IR35, outside IR35, umbrella, and day-rate comparisons.
IR35 and off-payroll working planning needs careful status-aware pay modelling. This page keeps contractor take-home pay, inside IR35, outside IR35, umbrella pay, deemed employment, day rate, and PSC comparisons clearly caveated.
On £35,000 a year with a standard 2026/27 tax code, no pension, no student loan, the figures work out like this. Open a calculator to put your own numbers in.
| Tax/source year | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Region | England/Wales/Northern Ireland |
| Tax code basis | 1257L where the page uses PAYE defaults |
| Pension basis | No pension deduction unless this example says otherwise |
| Student loan basis | No student loan unless selected in this example |
| What is not decided here | PayBreakdown does not decide payroll correctness, lender approval, benefit entitlement or employer compliance, and does not give regulated financial, mortgage, debt, tax, payroll or legal advice. |
|---|
The figures on this page are worked from IR35, using the values below. Open the calculator if your example salary differs.
IR35 planning needs cautious pay modelling and source checks. This page does not replace CEST or decide employment status for tax, which turns on the contract and on how the work is actually carried out.
Contractor outputs are scenario estimates only. PayBreakdown does not decide IR35 status, umbrella compliance, employment status, legal position, tax filing duties, or the best provider structure.
This estimate is worked out on £35,000 annual gross. Change any of those and the take-home figure moves; pension method and student loan plan usually move it most. A payslip can differ from any calculator because payroll works pay period by pay period, so a tax-code change, a bonus, arrears or a refund can land in one month and not the next. See how each deduction is worked out.
No. PayBreakdown does not decide IR35 status and does not replace CEST. Status can be contract-by-contract and may depend on contract terms and actual working practices.
Not in full. Working out what a limited company actually leaves you with means Corporation Tax on the profit first, then the split between a small salary and dividends, and then dividend tax on top — before VAT treatment, allowable expenses, pension contributions and accountancy fees are accounted for. The director salary and dividend calculator covers the salary-and-dividend part; the rest depends on your own accounts.
No. Umbrella estimates are planning estimates only. Real pay can differ because of the umbrella margin, holiday-pay treatment, pension, student loans, payroll period, expenses and provider-specific deductions.
No. It is not tax, legal, employment, accounting, payroll or financial advice. Check official GOV.UK sources, HMRC CEST, payroll, agency or professional guidance where needed.
Last updated 2026-08-27. Checked by Sean Elsmore. Rates last checked against GOV.UK on 2026-08-07. Estimates are for planning and should be checked against official records where the decision matters.