UK Salary After Tax 2026/27
Written by James HartleyCIMA
Rates last verified:
A UK salary is taxed through PAYE, so your take-home pay is your gross salary minus income tax and National Insurance, and for 2026/27 you keep the first £12,570 tax free, pay 20 percent up to £50,270, 40 percent up to £125,140 and 45 percent above that, with National Insurance of 8 percent then 2 percent on top. On this page you can see exactly what every common UK salary is worth after tax for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a full breakdown for each amount. Figures use the standard 1257L tax code and HMRC 2026/27 rates.
Key facts
- Personal allowance: £12,570 (You pay no income tax on this, unless you earn over £100,000 when it tapers away)
- Income tax: 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140, 45% above (England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2026/27)
- National Insurance: 8% then 2% (8 percent from £12,570 to £50,270, then 2 percent)
- Source: HMRC 2026/27 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
- Scotland: Different bands (Scotland has different bands, covered on our Scotland pages)
2026/27 income tax and National Insurance bands
| Band | Taxable income | Income tax rate | NI rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | £0 to £12,570 | 0% | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% | 8% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% | 2% |
| Additional rate | over £125,140 | 45% | 2% |
How take-home pay is worked out
- Start with your gross annual salary.
- Subtract the tax-free personal allowance of £12,570 to find your taxable income.
- Apply income tax at 20 percent, 40 percent and 45 percent across the bands above.
- Subtract employee National Insurance at 8 percent, then 2 percent above £50,270. What is left is your take-home pay.
Browse take-home by salary
Use the interactive salary calculator to model pension contributions, student loans and other deductions on any amount. If one partner earns under the £12,570 Personal Allowance, the Marriage Allowance calculator checks whether transferring £1,260 to a basic-rate spouse could cut your household tax by up to £252 a year. If you are planning a property purchase, the mortgage affordability calculator estimates how much you could borrow at about 4.5 times income.
Scottish income tax
These figures use England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands. If you pay Scottish income tax, browse the same salaries with six Scottish bands in our Scotland salary after tax hub.
£15k to £20k
£20k to £30k
£30k to £40k
£40k to £50k
£50k plus
Frequently asked questions
Take-home pay is the amount of your salary you actually receive after income tax and National Insurance are deducted through PAYE. For 2026/27 it depends on your gross salary, your tax code, and any pension or student loan deductions.
On the UK median full-time salary of around £37,000, you pay roughly £4,886.00 in income tax and £1,954.40 in National Insurance in 2026/27, leaving about £30,159.60 take-home, based on HMRC rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Gross pay is your salary before any deductions, the figure employers advertise, while net pay, also called take-home pay, is what remains after income tax, National Insurance and any pension or student loan are removed.
No, these figures use the income tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland sets its own bands and rates, so a Scottish taxpayer keeps a different amount.
You can increase your take-home pay by claiming the right tax code, using salary sacrifice for pension or other benefits to cut taxable pay, checking you are not overpaying through an emergency tax code, and claiming allowances such as Marriage Allowance if eligible.
Reviewed by James Hartley, CIMA qualified financial analyst. Figures use HMRC 2026/27 rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and are general guidance, not personal tax advice.