How UK Take Home Pay Is Worked Out
Your employer runs three separate calculations on the same gross pay each payday.
- Income tax: nothing on the first £12,570 (the Personal Allowance), then 20%, 40% and 45% bands.
- National Insurance: 8% on earnings from £12,570 to £50,270, then 2% above that.
- Student loan: 9% of earnings above your plan's threshold, if you have one.
Net pay = Gross − salary sacrifice − income tax − National Insurance − student loan
The two sets of thresholds are aligned on purpose: both start at £12,570 and the NI main rate stops where the higher rate of tax begins, £50,270.
UK Income Tax Bands for 2026/27
These are the bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, shown in total salary terms for someone on tax code 1257L.
| Band | From | To | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £0 | £12,570 | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 | £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 | £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | over £125,140 | 45% |
The bands have been frozen since 2021 and stay frozen in 2026/27. A pay rise therefore pulls more of your salary into the 40% band each year. Scotland sets its own bands, covered on the Scotland Gross to Net Calculator.
Worked Example on a £39,000 Salary
Take a salary of £39,000 with no pension and no loan.
- Income tax: (£39,000 − £12,570) × 20% = £5,286
- National Insurance: (£39,000 − £12,570) × 8% = £2,114.40
- Net pay: £31,599.60 a year, £2,633.30 a month, £607.68 a week
Deductions take 19.0% of the salary. At £60,000 the share rises to 24.4%, because £9,730 of pay now sits in the 40% band, while NI on that part drops to 2%. Net pay at £60,000 is £45,357.40.
UK Net Pay at Six Salary Levels
| Gross a year | Income tax | National Insurance | Net a year | Net a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £1,486 | £594.40 | £17,919.60 | £1,493.30 |
| £30,000 | £3,486 | £1,394.40 | £25,119.60 | £2,093.30 |
| £39,000 | £5,286 | £2,114.40 | £31,599.60 | £2,633.30 |
| £50,000 | £7,486 | £2,994.40 | £39,519.60 | £3,293.30 |
| £75,000 | £17,432 | £3,510.60 | £54,057.40 | £4,504.78 |
| £125,000 | £42,432 | £4,510.60 | £78,057.40 | £6,504.78 |
The £125,000 row shows the hidden 60% zone. Above £100,000 you lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 earned, so each extra pound costs 40% tax plus 20% from the lost allowance, before NI.
The Personal Allowance Taper Above £100,000
Adjusted net income over £100,000 shrinks the tax free allowance. At £110,000 it is £7,570, and at £125,140 it is gone.
Between £100,000 and £110,000 of salary, net pay grows from £68,557.40 to £72,357.40: only £3,800 of the extra £10,000. Salary sacrifice lowers adjusted net income, so a larger pension contribution is the usual way people in this band keep their allowance.
Pension and Student Loan Deductions
The calculator treats the pension box as salary sacrifice: the amount comes off your pay before tax, NI and student loan are worked out. On £39,000 with 5% sacrificed, net pay is £30,195.60, so the £1,950 going into the pension costs you only £1,404 of take home pay.
Schemes that use relief at source take the contribution from net pay instead and the provider claims 20% back. The pension pot ends up similar, but there is no NI saving.
Student loan thresholds for 2026/27:
| Plan | Yearly threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% |
| Plan 4 | £33,795 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | 6% |
A Plan 2 graduate on £39,000 repays £865.35 a year, leaving £30,734.25.
What Is Taxed and What Is Not
- Taxed and NI'd: salary, overtime, bonuses, commission, holiday pay, sick pay and statutory parental pay.
- Taxed but no employee NI: most benefits in kind such as a company car, which HMRC collects through your tax code.
- Not taxed: salary sacrificed into a pension, employer pension contributions, and the first £30,000 of redundancy pay (see the Redundancy Gross to Net Calculator).
Your employer also pays its own 15% National Insurance above £5,000 a year. That cost never appears on your payslip.
Monthly and Weekly UK Pay
Payroll applies the thresholds pay period by pay period: £1,048 of tax free pay a month on code 1257L, or £242 a week. With steady pay the yearly totals match the calculator. If your pay jumps around, NI per month can differ, since NI has no year end catch up for employees.
Starting a job mid year, or being on an emergency code (1257L W1 or M1), can mean too much tax early on. HMRC refunds the overpayment through later payslips or after the tax year ends.
Assumptions, Limits and Sources
- Tax code 1257L for a whole tax year, one job, National Insurance category A.
- No Marriage Allowance, Blind Person's Allowance, benefits in kind or underpayments in the code.
- Pension as salary sacrifice; one student loan plan at a time.
Sources: HMRC Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, GOV.UK Income Tax rates and Repaying your student loan. Rates for 2026, tax year 2026/27. To start from the pay you want and find the salary, use the Net to Gross Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is £39,000 after tax in the UK?
£31,599.60 a year in 2026/27, or £2,633.30 a month, after £5,286 income tax and £2,114.40 National Insurance.
Is this the same as the HMRC gross to net calculator on gov.uk?
It uses the same HMRC rates and thresholds for 2026/27 and the same method. The GOV.UK estimator also asks about other income, benefits and pension, which this page leaves out.
Does it work for London salaries?
Yes. London uses the same tax and NI rules as the rest of England. London weighting is simply part of your gross pay.
What is the Personal Allowance for 2026/27?
£12,570, the same as since 2021. It shrinks by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000.
How much National Insurance do employees pay?
8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% on anything above.
Does a student loan come out before or after tax?
It is worked out on your gross pay (after any salary sacrifice), but it is taken from pay that has already been taxed. It does not reduce your income tax.
Why is my payslip different from the calculator?
Common reasons are a different tax code, a pension that uses relief at source, benefits in kind, or pay that varies month to month. Your code is on the payslip and in your HMRC app.