What salary do I need?
Enter the amount you want to be paid after deductions, as a monthly or a yearly figure. The calculator works backwards through income tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension for 2026/27 and shows the gross salary that reaches it.
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What the calculator assumes
- The 2026/27 tax year, 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.
- You have the standard tax code for the year and this salary is your only income.
- Income tax follows the rates for where you live: England, Wales and Northern Ireland share one set, and Scotland has its own. Choose Scotland in the calculator if you live there.
- You pay the standard rate of employee National Insurance (category A).
- The pension percentage applies to your whole salary, under the pension method you choose.
- A monthly target is one twelfth of the yearly take-home. The tax is worked out for the whole year at once.
How the salary is found
No single formula turns take-home pay back into a salary, because tax, National Insurance and student loan repayments each start and change at different points. So the calculator searches for the answer. It tries a salary, works out the take-home with the same engine as the take-home pay calculator, and moves up or down until it finds the lowest salary, to the penny, that reaches your target.
Salaries are rarely quoted in pence, so the result is rounded up to the next whole pound. The take-home at that rounded salary can be a few pence more than you asked for. The table shows the salary to the penny, the rounded salary and the take-home each one gives.
Why each extra pound of take-home costs more
A higher target needs more than a matching rise in salary. For someone in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, income tax takes 20% of each extra pound in the basic rate band, and National Insurance takes 8%. In the higher rate band, income tax rises to 40%, although National Insurance falls to 2% on pay above £50,270. A student loan takes its own share once pay passes the plan's threshold.
The steepest part comes once income passes £100,000, where the personal allowance starts to shrink. Each extra pound of salary there also loses some tax-free allowance, so a small rise in the target can need a much larger rise in salary. The income tax rates page lists every band for 2026/27, including the Scottish ones.
A pension paid by salary sacrifice lowers the pay that tax and National Insurance are worked out on, so the salary needed for the same take-home goes up by less than the pension itself. The salary sacrifice calculator shows that trade in more detail.
What it leaves out
- Income from anywhere else, such as a second job, savings interest or rent.
- Bonuses, overtime and commission, which payroll can tax differently in the month they are paid.
- Benefits in kind, such as a company car, and any other change to your tax code.
- The High Income Child Benefit Charge and Marriage Allowance.
- Your employer's own pension contributions, which do not reach your bank account.
If your target comes from a rent, letting agents usually check gross income. The rent affordability calculator shows the income a common referencing check asks for.
Official guidance
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances on GOV.UK
- How much National Insurance you pay on GOV.UK
Report a mistake
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Thank you. We check every report against the official source.
Spotted a mistake?
Email [email protected]. Tell us what you entered and what you expected to see. Fixed errors are listed on the corrections page.