Compare salaries
Enter two salaries, or three, and see what each one leaves after income tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension in 2026/27. Each salary has its own settings, so you can set a job in Scotland against one in England, or the same salary with and without a pension.
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What the calculator assumes
- The 2026/27 tax year, 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.
- Each salary comes with the standard tax code, and it is the only income for the person who earns it.
- Each salary pays the standard rate of employee National Insurance (category A).
- A pension percentage applies to the whole of that salary, under the method you choose for it.
- Each salary is worked out for the whole year at once.
- The difference compares the highest take-home with the lowest, whichever boxes they are in.
Why the gap after tax is smaller
A difference of a few thousand pounds in salary shrinks once deductions come off, because the extra pay is taxed at your top rate. For extra pay in the basic rate band, income tax takes 20% and National Insurance takes 8%. For extra pay in the higher rate band, income tax takes 40%. A student loan takes a further share once pay is over the plan's threshold.
The gap can be smallest of all when the higher salary is over £100,000. Above that figure you start to lose your personal allowance, so each extra pound also turns some tax-free income into taxable income. To look at one rise from a single starting salary, try the pay rise calculator.
Comparing salaries with different settings
Scotland has its own income tax bands and rates, from 19% to 48%, so the same salary can give a different take-home there. National Insurance is the same across the UK.
A salary with a larger pension contribution shows a lower take-home, but that money goes into your pension. The table counts only the pay you receive, and it leaves out what your employer adds. The salary sacrifice calculator shows how much a contribution made that way takes off your pay after deductions.
When a salary is a whole number of pounds and we have a page for it, its row links to that salary after tax page, with the full breakdown for a single salary.
What it leaves out
- Employer pension contributions, bonuses and benefits such as a company car or health cover.
- Hours, holiday and the cost of getting to work. The hourly rate calculator turns a salary into pay for each hour.
- A second job, savings interest or any other income.
- Tax codes other than the standard one.
Official guidance
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances on GOV.UK
- How much National Insurance you pay on GOV.UK
- What you pay on a student loan on GOV.UK
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