To work out your take-home pay, subtract income tax and National Insurance from your gross salary; on £30,000 in the 2026/27 tax year, that leaves about £25,120 a year.
The calculation has three ingredients: the Personal Allowance, the income tax bands and the National Insurance thresholds. This guide uses the rates published on GOV.UK for the tax year from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and works through salaries from £20,000 to £60,000. Scotland has its own income tax bands, so the tax part is different there.
How to work out take-home pay in four steps
For a salaried employee with a standard tax code and no pension or student loan deductions, the method is always the same:
- Start from the gross salary, the figure in your contract.
- Work out income tax: nothing on the Personal Allowance, then each slice of income at the rate of its band.
- Work out National Insurance: a percentage of your earnings between two thresholds, and a smaller one above the upper threshold.
- Subtract both from the gross salary, then divide by 12 for a monthly figure.
Each step is a percentage of a slice of your pay, so the only skill needed is taking 20%, 40%, 8% or 2% of a number. If percentages slow you down, our guide to percentages in your head shows the shortcuts.
The Personal Allowance and income tax rates for 2026/27
According to GOV.UK's income tax rates page, the standard Personal Allowance is £12,570: the part of your income you do not pay tax on. Above it, income is taxed in bands.
| Band | Taxable income | Tax rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | Over £125,140 | 45% |
Each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its band. On a £60,000 salary, the first £12,570 is tax-free, the next £37,700 is taxed at 20% (£7,540) and the remaining £9,730 at 40% (£3,892), for £11,432 in all. Moving into the higher band never makes your whole salary taxed at 40%.
How National Insurance is worked out on your pay
National Insurance for employees is worked out on each pay period. The GOV.UK National Insurance rates for 2026/27, category A (most employees), are:
- 0% on earnings from £559 to £1,048 a month (£129 to £242 a week);
- 8% on earnings from £1,048.01 to £4,189 a month (£242.01 to £967 a week);
- 2% on earnings above £4,189 a month (£967 a week).
GOV.UK gives its own example: on £1,000 in a week, you pay nothing on the first £242, 8% (£58) up to £967 and 2% (£0.66) on the rest, so £58.66. For a monthly salary of £2,500, the 8% applies to £2,500 − £1,048 = £1,452, which gives £116.16 a month.
Your employer also pays National Insurance on your earnings, at 15% for category A above the employer threshold, but that comes on top of your salary and does not reduce your take-home pay.
Take-home pay at different salaries
The table applies the 2026/27 rates to five salaries, for an employee in England, Wales or Northern Ireland with the standard Personal Allowance, category A National Insurance and no pension or student loan deductions. National Insurance uses the monthly thresholds multiplied by 12, so a real payslip can differ by a few pounds.
| Gross salary | Income tax | National Insurance | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £1,486 | £594 | £17,920 | £1,493 |
| £30,000 | £3,486 | £1,394 | £25,120 | £2,093 |
| £40,000 | £5,486 | £2,194 | £32,320 | £2,693 |
| £50,000 | £7,486 | £2,994 | £39,520 | £3,293 |
| £60,000 | £11,432 | £3,210 | £45,358 | £3,780 |
Two things stand out. From £20,000 to £50,000, each extra £10,000 of salary adds £7,200 a year to take-home pay, because 20% income tax and 8% National Insurance take £2,800 of it. Between £50,000 and £60,000, the extra £10,000 adds only £5,838, because the higher rate of 40% starts at £50,271 while National Insurance drops to 2% above £4,189 a month.
The same arithmetic tells you what a pay rise is really worth after tax, as our guide to pay rises and inflation explains. A rise from £30,000 to £33,000 stays inside the basic rate band, where 20% income tax and 8% National Insurance apply, so you keep 72% of it: £2,160 a year, or £180 a month. Above £50,270 and below £100,000, the rates become 40% and 2%, so you keep £58 of every extra £100.
Weekly pay works the same way with the weekly thresholds. On £600 a week, National Insurance is 8% of £600 − £242 = £358, which is £28.64, and income tax depends on the share of the Personal Allowance given to each week through your tax code.
Earning over £100,000: when the allowance shrinks
GOV.UK explains that the Personal Allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000, and is zero at £125,140 or above.
The effect is steep. Between £100,000 and £125,140, each extra £100 is taxed at 40%, and it also removes £50 of allowance, which is then taxed at 40% too: £40 + £20 = £60 of income tax on £100. That is an effective rate of 60% on this slice, before the 2% of National Insurance, and it is why salaries just above £100,000 keep less of each pay rise than salaries below it.
Other payslip deductions to check
The table shows the simplest case. A real payslip often has more lines, each of which lowers take-home pay:
- Pension contributions, a percentage of your pay under workplace pension rules, sometimes taken before tax.
- Student loan repayments, a percentage of earnings above a threshold that depends on your plan.
- Your tax code, which tells your employer how much tax-free pay to give you; a wrong code is a common reason for a payslip that does not match the expected figure.
- Benefits in kind, such as a company car, which can reduce your tax-free pay.
If a figure looks wrong, GOV.UK's "Check your Income Tax" service shows your Personal Allowance, your tax code and how much tax you have paid so far in the current tax year. Keep your payslips: they are the easiest way to spot a deduction that changed from one month to the next.
Checking your payslip in your head
A quick estimate catches most mistakes. For a basic rate taxpayer under £50,270, take 28% of the part of the salary above £12,570 (20% income tax plus 8% National Insurance) and subtract it from the salary. On £35,000: £35,000 − £12,570 = £22,430, and 28% of that is about £6,280, so take-home pay is about £28,720 a year, or a little under £2,400 a month.
The exact figure is £28,720.08, because the National Insurance threshold is £12,576 a year in monthly terms rather than £12,570. The estimate lands within a pound. The same kind of percentage reasoning works for VAT, as in our guide to working out VAT. Kalc trains times tables, fractions, percentages and algebra in about ten minutes a day.
Frequently asked questions
How do you work out take-home pay from a salary?
Subtract income tax and National Insurance from the gross salary. Income tax is 0% on the first £12,570, then 20% up to £50,270 and 40% up to £125,140. Employee National Insurance is 8% between the monthly thresholds of £1,048 and £4,189, and 2% above.
What is the take-home pay on £30,000 in 2026/27?
About £25,120 a year, or £2,093 a month, for an employee in England, Wales or Northern Ireland with a standard tax code and no pension or student loan deductions.
What is the Personal Allowance for 2026/27?
£12,570, according to GOV.UK. It goes down by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000 and is zero at £125,140 or above.
How much National Insurance do employees pay in 2026/27?
In category A, 8% on earnings between £1,048.01 and £4,189 a month, and 2% on earnings above £4,189 a month, according to GOV.UK.
Why is my take-home pay lower than the calculation?
Usually because of pension contributions, student loan repayments, benefits in kind or a different tax code. Your payslip lists each deduction.
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