Estimate your UK Income Tax, National Insurance, and take-home pay (example bands).
2025/26 Income Tax bands and National Insurance rates (example)
An income tax calculator estimates how much UK Income Tax and National Insurance you'll pay on your annual income, and what's left as take-home pay. It applies the Personal Allowance, the basic/higher/additional rate Income Tax bands, and employee National Insurance thresholds and rates to give you a breakdown of where your gross income goes.
Income Tax is calculated by first subtracting your Personal Allowance (the amount of income you can earn tax-free) from your income, then applying tax rates to the remaining taxable income in bands — the basic rate applies first, then the higher rate, then the additional rate for very high earners. National Insurance is calculated separately, with its own threshold and rates.
Formula (example bands): Personal Allowance = £12,570 (reduced by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000, reaching £0 at £125,140). Taxable Income = Income − Personal Allowance. Income Tax = 20% on the first £37,700 of taxable income, 40% on the next £74,870, and 45% above that. National Insurance = 8% on income between £12,570 and £50,270, plus 2% on income above £50,270.
Example: For a £35,000 annual income with no pension contributions, the Personal Allowance is £12,570, leaving £22,430 of taxable income — all within the basic rate band, so Income Tax is £22,430 × 20% = £4,486. National Insurance is calculated on income above £12,570: £22,430 × 8% = £1,794.40. Total tax is about £6,280, leaving take-home pay of roughly £28,720 — an effective tax rate of about 18%. (Note: all figures use example 2025/26 bands for illustration purposes only.)
The figures used in this calculator represent example 2025/26 Income Tax bands and employee National Insurance rates, which apply to most employed individuals in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (Scotland has separate Income Tax bands and rates set by the Scottish Parliament, which would produce different results). The Personal Allowance — the amount you can earn before paying any Income Tax — tapers away for income between £100,000 and £125,140, reducing by £1 for every £2 earned above £100,000, so high earners in this range face a particularly high effective marginal tax rate. Pension contributions made through arrangements like salary sacrifice reduce your taxable income and your income for National Insurance purposes, which is why they're shown as a separate input — this can meaningfully reduce both your Income Tax and NI compared to receiving the same amount as salary.
The Personal Allowance is the amount of income you can earn each tax year before paying any Income Tax — £12,570 in the example bands used here. It tapers away for income between £100,000 and £125,140, reducing by £1 for every £2 earned above £100,000, reaching £0 at £125,140.
No — this calculator uses example Income Tax bands for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own Income Tax bands and rates set by the Scottish Parliament, which differ from the rest of the UK and would produce different results. National Insurance rates and thresholds are the same UK-wide.
National Insurance is a separate contribution calculated on earnings above its own threshold (£12,570 in the example used here), at 8% up to the upper earnings limit (£50,270) and 2% above that. Unlike Income Tax, National Insurance doesn't have a tapering personal allowance for high earners.
Pension contributions made through salary sacrifice or similar pre-tax arrangements reduce the income used to calculate both Income Tax and National Insurance, effectively giving you tax relief at your marginal rate plus an NI saving. This calculator subtracts these contributions before calculating tax and NI.
The additional rate (45% in the example bands used here) applies to taxable income above the higher rate band — broadly, total income above £125,140 (after accounting for the Personal Allowance taper, which reaches £0 at this income level).
No. This calculator estimates Income Tax and National Insurance only. Student loan repayments, workplace benefits deductions, or other salary deductions would further reduce your actual take-home pay beyond the figure shown here.
Disclaimer: The information, rates, and figures provided on this page are for educational and illustrative purposes only and represent example 2025/26 Income Tax bands and National Insurance rates for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scottish Income Tax bands differ. Tax rules, allowances, and rates are reviewed and can change each tax year. Always check current rates on the HMRC website and consult a qualified accountant or tax adviser for advice specific to your circumstances.