UK Income Tax Calculator: What You’ll Pay in 2026/27

Quick answer

If you earn £50,000 in the 2026/27 tax year in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you pay about £7,486 Income Tax and £2,994.40 National Insurance, leaving take-home pay of roughly £39,519.60 a year (about £3,293 a month). The first £12,570 is tax-free, the next £37,700 is taxed at 20%, and income above £50,270 at 40%. Use the calculator above for your exact salary, pension and student loan situation.

Key facts for 2026/27

How the calculation works

1. Start with taxable income: salary plus benefits, minus pension contributions and other reliefs.
2. Take off your Personal Allowance: usually £12,570, shown in tax code 1257L. Check yours with the tax code checker.
3. Apply the bands in order: 20%, then 40%, then 45% on each slice, not your whole salary.
4. Add National Insurance: a separate 8% then 2% charge on earnings, calculated per pay period.

Real examples, checked by hand

Example 1: £40,000 salary (England, tax code 1257L)

Example 2: £70,000 salary (England, tax code 1257L)

Both examples assume no pension contributions or student loan; add yours in the calculator above to see the difference they make.

England, Wales and NI vs Scotland

Scotland sets its own bands on earned income (savings and dividends use UK-wide rates). The same salary can be taxed differently either side of the border:

Live in Scotland? Use the Scotland tax calculator for exact figures.

Common mistakes that cost real money

• Wrong tax code: HMRC repaid about £3 billion to 4.2 million people who overpaid in 2024/25. Check yours free with the tax code checker.
• Thinking the 40% rate hits your whole salary: only the slice above £50,270 is taxed at 40%.
• Ignoring the £100,000 trap: the allowance taper makes income between £100,000 and £125,140 effectively taxed at 60%. See the 60% tax trap calculator.
• Forgetting the Child Benefit charge: between £60,000 and £80,000 it quietly claws back your household's Child Benefit. Check the Child Benefit tax calculator.
• Missing reliefs: work expenses, Marriage Allowance and pension relief go unclaimed by millions. Try the refund checker.

Legal ways to pay less

• Pension contributions reduce taxable income pound for pound: a higher-rate taxpayer gets £100 into their pot for a net £60. See pension tax relief.
• Salary sacrifice saves National Insurance too: model it with the salary sacrifice calculator.
• Marriage Allowance moves £1,260 of allowance between partners, worth £252 a year plus up to £1,260 backdated.
• ISAs shelter savings interest and gains entirely: £20,000 allowance per person per year.
• Gift Aid extends your basic-rate band, so higher-rate taxpayers get relief on donations.

Checklist before you rely on a number

• Confirm your tax code on your latest payslip (1257L is standard)
• Have your P60 (year end) or P45 (job change) to hand
• Include every income source: second jobs, savings interest, dividends, rental
• Deduct pension contributions before comparing bands
• Sign in to your Personal Tax Account to see what HMRC already knows

Sources

Every rate and threshold on this page is verified against official sources and re-checked each April by the TaxFly editorial team: GOV.UK income tax rates, HMRC rates and thresholds 2026/27, and Scottish Government income tax. See how we calculate.

Who should use this calculator

This is for working out the Income Tax itself — how much of your income falls in each band, how much Personal Allowance you keep, and what your marginal rate is on the next pound you earn. It suits anyone checking a tax bill, planning a pension contribution to bring income under a threshold, or trying to understand why a pay rise felt smaller than expected.

It covers Scotland as well as the rest of the UK, and the difference is real: Scotland operates more bands at different thresholds, so the same income produces a different bill depending on where you live. If what you want is the net figure landing in your account rather than the tax breakdown, use the take-home pay calculator.

What this calculator assumes

• The income you enter is your total taxable income for the year before any tax is taken.
• The Personal Allowance tapers above £100,000, falling by £1 for every £2 of income, which creates the well-known effective 60% band before it disappears entirely.
• Tax is applied progressively — each band charges only the slice of income that falls within it, not your whole income.
• Pension contributions are deducted before tax is calculated, which is why they can pull you back below a threshold.
• Where you select Scotland, Scottish rates and bands apply to non-savings, non-dividend income.

Limitations — what it does not cover

• National Insurance, unless you switch off the Income-Tax-only view. NI has its own thresholds and does not follow the Income Tax bands.
• Savings and dividend income, which have their own allowances and rates and sit on top of your other income in a specific order.
• The Personal Savings Allowance and Starting Rate for Savings, both of which depend on which band you are in.
• Marriage Allowance, Blind Person’s Allowance and other adjustments to your Personal Allowance.
• Gift Aid donations, which extend your basic-rate band and can reduce higher-rate tax.
• The High Income Child Benefit Charge, which is assessed on income but collected separately.