Net Salary Calculator UK (2026/27)

Work out your net salary above

Pop your gross annual salary into the calculator at the top of the page, choose your region and add any pension contribution. It applies the 2026/27 thresholds and gives you a full breakdown in seconds.

Gross vs net salary explained

Your gross salary is the headline figure on your contract and job advert - the amount before anything is taken off. Your net salary, sometimes called net pay or net income, is what is left once HMRC and your pension have taken their share. The gap between the two surprises a lot of people, especially when a pay rise pushes part of your income into a higher tax band.

Three things usually stand between gross and net: Income Tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions. Student loan repayments and salary sacrifice arrangements can reduce it further. A net salary calculator does the arithmetic for all of these at once so you can see the real number, not the optimistic one.

Your 2026/27 deductions

For employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the deductions work like this:

• Personal Allowance: the first £12,570 of income is tax-free. It is reduced by £1 for every £2 you earn above £100,000, disappearing entirely at £125,140.
• Income Tax: 20% on taxable income up to £37,700, 40% from £37,700 to £125,140, and 45% above that.
• National Insurance (Class 1): 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% on anything above £50,270.

Scotland sets its own income tax bands and rates (starter 19%, basic 20%, intermediate 21%, higher 42%, advanced 45% and top 48%), though the £12,570 Personal Allowance and National Insurance rules are the same UK-wide. If you live in Scotland, switch the region setting so the calculator applies the correct bands.

How the calculator works

The formula behind your net salary is straightforward once it is laid out:

Net salary = Gross salary − Income Tax − National Insurance − Pension

Each piece is calculated in turn. Income Tax is worked out on your taxable income (gross salary minus your Personal Allowance), slicing it through the bands. National Insurance is calculated on your earnings above the £12,570 primary threshold. A workplace pension percentage is taken off before tax in most schemes, which lowers your taxable pay.

One nuance worth knowing: National Insurance is genuinely calculated per pay period, not cumulatively across the year like Income Tax. An annual calculation is a close approximation, and a monthly figure simply divides the annual result by 12. For most steady salaries the difference is negligible.

Worked example - net salary on £35,000

Take Priya, a nurse on a gross salary of £35,000 with no pension contribution for now.

• Personal Allowance: £12,570, so taxable income = £35,000 − £12,570 = £22,430
• Income Tax: all £22,430 falls in the basic rate → £22,430 × 20% = £4,486
• National Insurance: (£35,000 − £12,570) × 8% = £22,430 × 8% = £1,794.40
• Net salary = £35,000 − £4,486 − £1,794.40 = £28,719.60 a year

That works out at roughly £2,393 a month. So a £35,000 salary delivers just under £2,400 in the bank each month before any pension.

A higher earner - £55,000

Now take Marcus on £55,000, which crosses into the higher-rate band.

• Taxable income: £55,000 − £12,570 = £42,430
• Income Tax: £37,700 × 20% (£7,540) + £4,730 × 40% (£1,892) = £9,432
• National Insurance: £37,700 × 8% (£3,016) + £4,730 × 2% (£94.60) = £3,110.60
• Net salary = £55,000 − £9,432 − £3,110.60 = £42,457.40 a year (about £3,538 a month)

Pension and salary sacrifice

A pension contribution is one of the few deductions that works in your favour, because it cuts your taxable pay. Say Priya on £35,000 puts 5% into a salary sacrifice pension - that is £1,750 a year diverted before tax.

• Adjusted salary: £35,000 − £1,750 = £33,250
• Income Tax: (£33,250 − £12,570) × 20% = £4,136
• National Insurance: (£33,250 − £12,570) × 8% = £1,654.40
• Net take-home cash = £33,250 − £4,136 − £1,654.40 = £27,459.60

Her bank deposit drops by about £1,260 a year, yet £1,750 has gone into her pension - the difference is the tax and NI she would otherwise have paid. Salary sacrifice also reduces National Insurance, which a personal pension paid from net salary does not.

2026/27 rates & thresholds

Figures are checked against the official HMRC tables for 2026/27. See gov.uk Income Tax rates for the source detail.

Net pay per month

To get your monthly net salary, divide the annual figure by 12. Priya's £28,719.60 becomes about £2,393 a month; Marcus's £42,457.40 is roughly £3,538. If you are paid weekly, divide by 52 instead. Bear in mind your first payslip in a new job, or a month with a bonus, can look different because of how PAYE catches up across the year. Our take-home pay calculator and salary calculator show the same numbers framed slightly differently if you prefer.

Things people get wrong

• Assuming the whole salary is taxed at one rate. Only the slice above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate - a £51,000 salary is not taxed at 40% across the board, just the portion over £50,270.
• Forgetting the wrong tax code. If HMRC has you on an emergency code (like 1257L W1/M1) or an outdated one, your net pay will be off. Check the code on your payslip against your expected Income Tax.
• Ignoring student loans. Repayments of 9% above your plan threshold come out before you see your money and are not included unless you add them.
• Applying England's bands in Scotland. Scottish taxpayers face different rates entirely, so always set your region.
• Overlooking the £100,000 trap. Once you pass £100,000, losing £1 of allowance for every £2 earned creates an effective 60% marginal rate on that band.

For a closer look at the deductions, our National Insurance calculator and gross to net calculator break each one down further.

These figures are estimates for guidance only and are not personal tax or financial advice. Your exact net salary depends on your tax code, pension scheme and individual circumstances.

Who should use this calculator

“Net salary” is the accounting term for what remains after deductions, as opposed to gross salary before them. If you have been handed a figure and told it is net, this shows what gross salary produces it — and what deductions sit between the two.

The distinction trips people up in job offers, particularly from employers used to other countries where quoting net pay is normal. In the UK an advertised salary is virtually always gross. If a recruiter quotes a net figure, the gross equivalent is substantially higher, and that is the number that goes in your contract.

What this calculator assumes

• Net salary is gross pay less Income Tax, National Insurance and any pension or student loan.
• You are an employee taxed through PAYE on a standard code.
• Pay is even across the year.
• Scottish rates apply where Scotland is selected.

Limitations — what it does not cover

• Benefits in kind, which reduce net pay through an adjusted tax code without appearing as a deduction.
• Non-statutory deductions — season tickets, union fees, salary-sacrifice schemes.
• Uneven pay. A bonus month is taxed more heavily at the time under cumulative PAYE.
• Second employments, where allowance is split and the second is usually taxed at BR.
• The self-employed, who pay Class 4 rather than Class 1 NI on profit.

Related calculators

Carry on with the salary calculator for a full payslip view, the gross to net calculator to reverse the maths, or the income tax calculator to isolate just your tax bill.

You might also need

• Tax Code Checker, confirm your code matches your situation.