Take-Home Pay Calculator

Estimate your net take-home pay per pay period after Income Tax, National Insurance, and other deductions (example bands).

2025/26 Income Tax bands and National Insurance rates (example)

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For educational purposes only. Consult a financial advisor.

What is a Take-Home Pay Calculator?

A take-home pay calculator estimates your net pay per pay period — weekly, monthly, or another frequency — after Income Tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and other deductions are taken from your gross salary. This is useful for budgeting based on what actually lands in your bank account each payday, rather than your headline annual salary.

How to Use This Take-Home Pay Calculator

  1. Enter your gross annual salary.
  2. Enter how many pay periods you're paid per year — 12 for monthly pay, 52 for weekly pay, or another frequency if applicable.
  3. If you make pre-tax pension contributions (e.g., salary sacrifice), enter the annual amount.
  4. Enter any other post-tax deductions per year, such as a workplace savings scheme or season ticket loan repayment.
  5. Review your gross pay, Income Tax, National Insurance, deductions, and take-home pay — all shown per pay period and as an annual total.

How is Take-Home Pay Calculated?

The calculator first works out your annual Income Tax and National Insurance using the Personal Allowance and tax bands (after subtracting any pre-tax pension contributions), then subtracts tax, National Insurance, and all deductions from your gross salary to find your annual net pay. This is then divided by your number of pay periods to show a per-period breakdown.

Formula (example bands): Income for Tax = Gross Salary − Pre-Tax Deductions. Personal Allowance = £12,570 (tapered for income above £100,000). Income Tax applies 20%/40%/45% bands to taxable income. National Insurance = 8% on income between £12,570 and £50,270, plus 2% above. Annual Net Pay = Gross Salary − Income Tax − NI − Total Deductions. Per-Period Amount = Annual Amount ÷ Pay Periods Per Year.

Example: For a £35,000 annual salary paid monthly (12 pay periods) with no additional deductions, gross pay per month is about £2,917. After Income Tax (~£374/month) and National Insurance (~£150/month), take-home pay is roughly £2,393 per month — about £28,720 per year. (Note: all figures use example 2025/26 bands for illustration purposes only.)

Take-Home Pay in the UK

Your payslip shows similar figures to this calculator — gross pay, Income Tax (PAYE), National Insurance, and any pension or other deductions, with the remainder being your net pay. This calculator uses example 2025/26 Income Tax bands for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, plus UK-wide National Insurance rates and thresholds — actual payslip figures can differ slightly due to factors like tax codes, which adjust your Personal Allowance for specific circumstances (e.g., benefits-in-kind, previous under/overpayments), and whether National Insurance is calculated per pay period rather than annually (most employers calculate NI per period, which can produce slightly different results than an annual calculation for irregular pay). Switching between weekly and monthly pay periods doesn't change your annual take-home pay, but it changes how that amount is spread across the year for budgeting purposes.

Tips for Using This Take-Home Pay Calculator

  • Use this calculator to budget based on your actual per-period take-home pay, rather than dividing your gross salary by 12 — the difference can be substantial once tax and National Insurance are accounted for.
  • If you're comparing a job offer with a different salary, compare the resulting take-home pay per period, not just the gross annual figures, especially if pension contribution rates differ between employers.
  • Remember your actual payslip may show a slightly different figure due to your specific tax code, which can adjust your Personal Allowance for individual circumstances.
  • If you receive irregular pay (overtime, bonuses, or variable hours), this calculator's per-period figures represent an average — your actual take-home pay may vary period to period.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my take-home pay less than my gross salary divided by 12?

Your gross salary is reduced by Income Tax, National Insurance, and any pension or other deductions before you receive it. Dividing your gross annual salary by 12 gives your gross monthly pay, not your net (take-home) monthly pay, which is meaningfully lower after these deductions.

Does this calculator account for my tax code?

No. This calculator uses the standard Personal Allowance and example 2025/26 tax bands. Individual tax codes can adjust your Personal Allowance for specific circumstances (such as benefits-in-kind or previous tax adjustments), which would change your actual take-home pay slightly from this estimate.

Does switching from monthly to weekly pay change my annual take-home pay?

No — your annual Income Tax and National Insurance liability is generally based on your annual income (though NI is often calculated per pay period in practice, which can cause minor differences for irregular pay). This calculator divides the annual net pay by your number of pay periods, so the annual total stays the same regardless of frequency.

How do pension contributions affect my take-home pay?

Pre-tax pension contributions (such as salary sacrifice) reduce your taxable income and your income for National Insurance purposes, so they reduce your take-home pay by less than the full contribution amount — part of the "cost" is offset by tax and NI savings.

Is the 2025/26 example accurate for Scottish taxpayers?

No. This calculator uses example Income Tax bands for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scotland has separate Income Tax bands and rates, which would produce different Income Tax figures (though National Insurance is calculated the same way UK-wide).

What other deductions might affect my actual take-home pay?

Common deductions not modelled by default include student loan repayments, workplace pension contributions beyond what you enter, season ticket loans, or salary-sacrifice benefits like cycle-to-work schemes. You can include some of these using the "other deductions" field if they're a fixed annual amount.

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. Actual take-home pay depends on your individual tax code, National Insurance category, and other factors not modelled here. Always refer to your actual payslip and consult a qualified accountant or HMRC for figures specific to your circumstances.