UK Take-Home Pay Calculator 2025/26 to 2027/28

Your Details

Annual Salary

£/year

Tax Year

Company Year Starts (for salary sacrifice)

Tax Region

England/Wales/NI

Scotland

Tax Code (from payslip, e.g. 1257L)

Mid-Year Salary Change

Model a pay rise or salary change part-way through the tax year. Enter your starting salary above, then the change details here.

I have a salary change this tax year

Effective Month

Change Type

Increase Percentage

Benefits in Kind

How BIK works

Benefits in Kind are taxable but don't come through your salary. The tax is usually collected by adjusting your tax code (reducing your allowance). Enter the P11D value from your employer.

Private Medical Insurance (P11D value)

£/year

Company Car (taxable value from P11D)

£/year

Fuel Benefit (if employer pays for private fuel)

£/year

Other Taxable Benefits (gym, loans, etc.)

£/year

Bonus & Allowances

Bonus Amount

£ Amount % of Salary

Bonus Timing

Spread Across Year One-off Payment

Plan this bonus: pension vs cash →

Additional Allowances (e.g. car, phone)

Bought Holiday

How bought holiday works

The cost is deducted via salary sacrifice across your company's year. If your company year differs from the tax year, you may need to enter days for two company years.

Days to Buy

days

Working Days/Year (typical: 260)

days

Pension

Your Contribution

Employer Contribution

Salary sacrifice scheme

Student Loan

Loan Plan

Tax-Efficient Deductions

Gift Aid Donations (extends basic rate band)

£/year

Cycle to Work (salary sacrifice)

£/month

Electric Vehicle Scheme (salary sacrifice)

£/month

Blind Person's Allowance

Marriage Allowance recipient

Employer Costs

Show employer cost breakdown

Results

Monthly Take-Home

£0

Annual Net

£0

Effective Rate

Marginal Rate

Salary Breakdown

Detailed Breakdown

Item	Annual	Monthly

Workplace Pension

(from Calculator tab)

Your Contribution

£0

Employer Contribution

£0

Total Workplace

£0

Salary sacrifice

Additional SIPP Contribution

SIPP contributions receive tax relief. Your provider adds 20% basic rate automatically. Higher/additional rate relief can be claimed via self-assessment, or you can contact HMRC to adjust your tax code.

Annual SIPP Contribution (net amount you pay in)

£/year

Carry Forward (Previous Years)

You can carry forward unused Annual Allowance from the previous 3 tax years. Enter your total pension contributions (employee + employer) for each year.

2024/25 Total Contributions

Unused: £60,000

2023/24 Total Contributions

Unused: £60,000

2022/23 Total Contributions

Unused: £40,000

Annual Allowance Summary

Total Contributions

£0

This tax year

Remaining Allowance

£60,000

Including carry forward

0% of allowance used Limit: £60,000

Allowance Breakdown

Tax Relief Summary

This tax year

Basic Rate Relief

£0

Added by provider

Higher Rate Relief

£0

Via SA or tax code adjustment

Total Tax Benefit

From all pension contributions

£0

Your Current Situation

You're in the 60% Tax Trap

Between £100k and £125,140, you lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 earned above £100k. Combined with 40% tax, this creates an effective 60% marginal rate.

Adjusted Income

£0

£0 over £100k

Personal Allowance Lost

£0

£0 remaining

Current Tax Position

How Much to Reduce?

To fully escape the 60% trap, you need to reduce your adjusted income to £100,000 or below.

Target Reduction

To reach £100,000 taxable income

£0

Note: Partial reductions still help. Every £2 you reduce recovers £1 of Personal Allowance.

Optimisation Strategies

These strategies reduce your adjusted income via salary sacrifice or Gift Aid, helping you recover Personal Allowance.

Increase Workplace Pension

Salary sacrifice - saves tax AND NI

Additional contribution £0 0% of salary

New total rate 0% Currently 0%

True cost to you £0

                                            Tax/NI saved
                                            £0
                                        

SIPP Lump Sum Contribution

Post-tax contribution - ideal after bonus

You pay in (net) £0

Provider adds (20%) £0

Gross in pension £0

                                            Higher rate relief
                                            £0
                                        

Make this contribution before 5 April to reduce this tax year's adjusted net income. Higher rate relief can be claimed via self-assessment, or contact HMRC to adjust your tax code.

Buy Additional Holiday

Salary sacrifice scheme

Days to buy 0 days

Gross cost £0

                                            Net cost after tax saving
                                            £0
                                        

Gift Aid Donations

Extends basic rate band

Donation needed (net) £0

Charity receives (gross) £0

                                            Your tax relief
                                            £0
                                        

Gift Aid works differently: it extends your basic rate band rather than reducing taxable income directly. Higher rate relief can be claimed via self-assessment, or contact HMRC to adjust your tax code (you'll need to tell them about your donations).

Before vs After Comparison

Metric	Current	Optimised	Difference

* Optimised figures assume pension contribution increase to reach £100k adjusted income

Your Bonus

(from Calculator tab)

Bonus Amount

£0

One-off

Kept if All Cash

£0

0% of bonus

Amount to put into pension instead of cash

£0 £0 £0

Employer NI saving passed to pension (bonus sacrifice saves your employer 15% NI; some employers add it to your pot)

Household Context

A bonus can push your adjusted net income over thresholds that withdraw family benefits. These inputs let the planner value what is at stake.

Children you claim Child Benefit for

children

I use Tax-Free Childcare or funded childcare hours

Both are lost entirely if either parent's adjusted net income goes over £100,000. Tax-Free Childcare is worth up to £2,000 per child per year, plus the value of any funded hours.

Recommended Actions

Scenario Comparison

Metric	All Cash	Bonus Sacrifice	Cash + SIPP

Timing & Practicalities

Leave Setup

Maternity Paternity Shared Parental Adoption

Start month

Holiday entitlement

days

Statutory/paid leave

1 39 weeks 52

Paternity leave

1 week 2 weeks

Employer enhanced pay statutory only

All weeks at statutory pay

KIT days full pay

of 10

Keeping In Touch days — work up to 10 days during leave at full daily rate without ending your leave.

Pension during leave full salary

Continues on full salary Based on actual pay Paused during leave

Impact Summary

Total Take-Home Loss

—

vs working full time

Lowest Monthly Net

—

Months Below Normal

—

months with reduced pay

Your Leave Plan

—

Holiday Planner

Accrued During Leave

—

days

Worth

—

gross

Use holiday to extend time off

Take accrued holiday at the end of your statutory leave — you'll be paid at full rate for these days.

0 0 days 28

Holiday remaining on return —

Holiday continues to accrue throughout maternity, paternity, shared parental, and adoption leave. Bank holidays during leave are also included.

Month-by-Month Breakdown

Month	Status	Gross Pay	Tax	NI	Net Pay	vs Normal
Enter a salary on the Calculator tab to see results

Strategic Summary

Enter a salary on the Calculator tab to see insights.

Considering a different working pattern when you return?

Many parents return from leave on a reduced schedule — for example, 4 days per week. Use the Working Pattern tab to model the salary, tax, pension, and holiday impact of changing your hours.

Model a different working pattern →

Working Pattern Change

Model the impact of changing your working days — reducing or increasing. Uses all inputs from the Calculator tab.

Current days/week

1 5 days 5

Proposed days/week

1 4 days 5

Impact Summary

Monthly Change

—

Breakeven Day Rate

—

Net rate to offset loss

Pension Change

—

Employee + employer

Net Cost After Freelance

—

Net Gain After Costs

—

Free Days/Year

—

After holidays

Benefits & Entitlements

Contractual holiday (total days at 5-day week, including bank hols)

days

Death in service (salary multiple, 0 if none)

× salary

Freelance Offset

Freelance day rate (£0 = not freelancing)

£/day

Billable weeks per year (52 minus holidays/illness)

weeks

Side-by-side Comparison

Item	Current (5 days)	Proposed (4 days)	Difference

Learning

Guides to UK tax, pensions, and optimisation strategies.

Coming soon...

Your Details

Impact of Salary Change

Results

Salary Breakdown

Detailed Breakdown

Workplace Pension

Additional SIPP Contribution

Annual Allowance Summary

Allowance Breakdown

Tax Relief Summary

No Optimisation Needed

Your Options

Your Current Situation

Current Tax Position

How Much to Reduce?

Optimisation Strategies

Increase Workplace Pension

SIPP Lump Sum Contribution

Buy Additional Holiday

Gift Aid Donations

Before vs After Comparison

No Bonus Entered

Your Bonus

Household Context

Recommended Actions

Scenario Comparison

Timing & Practicalities

Leave Setup

Impact Summary

Your Leave Plan

Holiday Planner

Month-by-Month Breakdown

Strategic Summary

Working Pattern Change

Impact Summary

Benefits & Entitlements

Freelance Offset

Additional Costs of Working More

Side-by-side Comparison

Learning