PayBreakdown

Salary after tax calculator

Calculate estimated UK salary after tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and student loan deductions.

How salary after tax is worked out

Use this page to compare common UK salaries after Income Tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and student loan deductions. Open a salary example, then adjust the real deduction assumptions in the calculator.

A worked example

On £35,000 a year, a standard 2026/27 tax code and no pension or student loan, the figures work out like this. Open a calculator to put your own numbers in.

Gross salary£35,000
Take-home a year£28,720
Take-home a month£2,393
Take-home a week£552

Checks worth making on salary after tax

Direct answer

Use this page to compare common UK salaries after Income Tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and student loan deductions. Open a salary example, then adjust the real deduction assumptions in the calculator.

Assumptions used here

Tax/source year2026/27
RegionEngland/Wales/Northern Ireland
Tax code basis1257L where the page uses PAYE defaults
Pension basisNo pension deduction unless this example says otherwise
Student loan basisNo student loan unless selected in this example

Where pay can go

Gross payEmployment pay before PAYE deductions and pension or loan settings.
Income TaxTax estimated from the selected tax-year, region, tax code and taxable-pay assumptions.
National InsuranceEmployee NI is calculated separately from Income Tax and may not follow the same bands.
Pension and loansPension method and student-loan plan can change take-home pay and payslip comparisons.

What changes this result

Pension contributionChanging the rate or method can change taxable income, National Insurance and take-home pay.
Tax code and regionScottish Income Tax, Welsh codes, emergency tax or a non-standard tax code can move the result.
Student loan planA different plan can change deductions because each plan uses its own threshold and repayment rate.
Bonus, overtime or second jobExtra pay and payroll timing can make a real payslip differ from the smooth annual estimate.

Why a payslip can differ

Tax codeHMRC tax-code changes, K codes, BR/D codes, or emergency markers can change PAYE deductions.
Cumulative basisWeek 1, Month 1 or non-cumulative payroll can differ from a smooth annual calculator estimate.
Pension methodRelief at source, net pay and salary sacrifice can affect taxable pay and take-home pay differently.
Payroll timingBonus, overtime, arrears, refunds, cut-off dates and corrections can all move a single payslip.

Source and methodology context

What is not decided herePayBreakdown 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.

What the salary after tax estimate assumes

The figures on this page use the values below. Open the calculator if your example salary differs.

Example salary£40,000 annual gross

How to browse salary examples

Start from a common annual gross salary, open the generated after-tax page, then adjust pension, student loan, tax code, region, bonus, or other income in the calculator.

  • Examples use the shared 2026/27 salary calculation engine.
  • Nearby salaries, hourly conversion and budgeting links make side-by-side comparisons easier.
  • Examples are planning estimates only, not payroll or tax advice.

Assumptions to check

Salary after-tax examples use standard PAYE assumptions unless a page says otherwise. Actual payslips can move because of pension method, tax code, salary sacrifice, student loans, benefits, bonuses, overtime or payroll timing.

  • Use the salary calculator when exact pension or student-loan settings matter.
  • Use Scottish salary examples when the income-tax region is Scotland.
  • Use budget and mortgage pages after choosing a realistic monthly take-home figure.

Inputs that can change the result

Use this page to compare common UK salaries after Income Tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and student loan deductions. Open a salary example, then adjust the real deduction assumptions in the calculator. Salary estimates can change when the tax year, UK region, tax code, pension method, student loan plan, pay frequency, bonus, overtime or salary-sacrifice assumptions change.

  • Compare annual, monthly, weekly and daily take-home pay before changing assumptions.
  • Review Income Tax, National Insurance, pension and student-loan rows before comparing take-home pay.
  • Use examples as planning starting points, not as payslip or payroll decisions.

How to use the salary output

The useful figure for budgeting is usually take-home pay after Income Tax, National Insurance, pension deductions and student loan deductions. Gross pay helps compare jobs, while net pay is usually the better starting point for bills, savings and borrowing checks.

Checks before comparing with a payslip

Real payslips can differ because payroll works by pay period and can include tax-code changes, pension method differences, student-loan starts or stops, taxable benefits, salary sacrifice, bonuses, overtime, arrears, refunds, or rounding. Match the calculator settings to the payslip before treating a difference as meaningful.

What to review when comparing jobs

Two jobs with the same headline salary can feel different once pension contribution rate, employer pension method, student-loan plan, bonus pattern, overtime, tax code, region, salary sacrifice and pay frequency are considered. Compare the monthly net figure with commuting costs, bills and savings goals before deciding whether a higher gross salary improves the household plan.

How to turn the page into a real estimate

Start by matching the pay basis: annual salary, hourly rate, weekly hours, pay frequency and whether the figure is full-year or part-year. Then match the deductions that usually move the result the most: pension method, pension rate, student-loan plan, postgraduate loan, tax code, Scottish or Welsh tax treatment, bonus, overtime, taxable benefits and salary sacrifice. If the page is a comparison page, keep both sides on the same tax year and pension method before reading the difference. If it is a required-salary or pro-rata page, treat the answer as a target estimate and rerun it with a cautious lower-income or higher-deduction scenario before using it for bills, rent, borrowing or savings.

Make the estimate your own

Use the visible result as a starting point, then change the assumptions that apply to your situation. For salary pages, that usually means tax year, region, tax code, pension method, student loan plan, bonus, overtime and salary-sacrifice settings. For borrowing, debt or budget pages, it means the real payment amount, term, interest rate, balance, bill timing, savings target and any expected income change. Keep the result separate from advice or approval decisions: PayBreakdown helps you model the numbers, while official sources, employer records, provider documents and professional support are still the right place for final checks. If a change is close to a threshold, rerun the calculation with a cautious higher-cost or lower-income scenario before relying on the result.

Every salary example

187 pages in this set, each showing the calculation for a different figure.

Official sources

Income Tax rates and Personal AllowancesScottish Income Tax rates and bandsNational Insurance rates and categoriesStudent loan repayment thresholdsPension tax relief

Frequently asked questions

What does the salary after tax calculator do?

It starts from the question on this page, shows the useful salary assumptions, and opens PayBreakdown's calculator so gross pay, take-home pay, tax, National Insurance, pension, student loan, region, and tax-code settings can be adjusted.

Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. Open the calculator from this page to change salary, hours, pension, student loan, tax year, region, tax code, bonus, and other pay settings.

Which salary after-tax example should I start with?

Pick the closest annual gross salary first, then open the calculator from the page if you need to change pension, student loan, region, tax code, bonus or other income settings.

Why does this page link to only curated salary examples?

The full set is available through the individual calculator pages, while this hub keeps a focused list of common examples so the page stays readable.

Last updated 2026-08-19. Estimates are for planning and should be checked against official records where the decision matters.