Calculate Your UK Income Tax
Our income tax calculator can help you work out your take home pay after tax deductions.
Take home pay also known as net pay, is the salary you have left after your employer or pension provider makes deductions like income tax and national insurance.
The income tax calculator will give you an estimate of the tax and national insurance you pay through your salary under PAYE, as well as an estimate of your monthly take home pay.
Working out your take home pay is a helpful exercise to manage your personal budgets and plan your future finances.
It can also help highlight overpayments of income tax. This can mean you are owed a tax refund from HMRC which which may require your direct involvement to recover.
How to use the income tax calculator UK
To get your income tax deduction and take home pay estimation you need to:
- Select a tax year – you can only go back four tax years.
- Enter your total annual salary.
Here’s an example result for the 24/25 tax year based on a taxpayer earning £30,000:
- Over the year, you’ll pay £3,486.00 income tax and £1,394.40 national insurance.
- Your monthly income before tax is £2,500.00.
- Your take home pay is £2,093.30 a month.
You can use the income tax calculator as many times as you want. Go ahead and reset it to get as many estimates of your take-home pay as you need.
It’s also important to understand the limitations of the calculator and the other factors that can affect how much money you keep after deductions.
How does the income tax calculator work?
The figures used to calculate the estimated tax, national insurance and monthly take home pay are:
- The standard tax free personal allowance for the tax year. This means you only pay tax on earnings over the tax free allowance.
- Your total income from PAYE sources only.
- PAYE tax rates which can change depending on your earning levels. The rates of tax under PAYE are currently 20%, 40%, and 45%.
- Class one national insurance rate for that tax year.
The income tax calculator UK doesn’t take into consideration adjustments to your tax free personal allowance.
How your income tax bill is calculated plays a major part in working out your overall take home pay.
But don’t forget about national insurance and other automatic deductions like student loans.
Net pay calculation: From gross to take-home
Net pay calculation involves several steps beyond just income tax.
Your gross salary goes through multiple deductions before becoming your take-home pay:
- Gross salary – Your salary before any deductions.
- Minus pension contributions – Can be deducted before tax (salary sacrifice).
- Minus income tax – Based on your tax code and tax bands.
- Minus national insurance – Employee contributions.
- Minus student loan repayments – If applicable.
- Equals net take home pay – Your actual take-home amount.
Understanding this process helps you see exactly where your money goes and identify opportunities to increase your take-home pay.
Factors affecting my take home pay in the UK
The main factor affecting how much tax you pay is based on the PAYE tax rate(s) used against your income.
- Basic rate tax (20%) on earnings between £12,571-£50,270
- Higher rate tax (40%) on earnings between £50,271-£125,140
- Additional rate tax (45%) on earnings above £125,140
Scottish taxpayers encounter different income tax bands, though national insurance calculations remain consistent with UK-wide rates.
Several factors beyond basic tax rates can impact your final take-home pay:
- Tax code accuracy – An incorrect tax code can mean overpaying or underpaying tax. Check your code regularly and contact HMRC if it seems wrong.
- Benefits in kind – Company cars, private medical insurance, and other benefits are taxable and affect your tax code.
- Student loan repayments – If you are paying back a student loan this will be taken from your salary by your employer before you are paid.
Plan 1 loans deduct 9% of income over £22,015, while Plan 2 loans deduct 9% over £27,295.
- Pension contributions – These typically reduce your taxable income, increasing your take-home pay percentage.
- Multiple income sources – Second jobs, pensions, or rental income can push you into higher tax brackets.
- National minimum wage: If you qualify for the national minimum wage you should check on your payslip that you are being paid the correct hourly rate.
How can I increase my take home pay?
After you have figured out what your take home pay is it is worth exploring ways to keep more of the money you are earning.
Individuals who are employed have some options that can reduce their taxable income by using tax free allowances and tax reliefs.
Claiming back what you can from HMRC will decrease your tax bill which in turn boosts the amount of pay you keep.
Expenses of employment:
HMRC gives employees under PAYE tax relief on some expenses incurred because of their job.
If applicable the tax relief reduces your income tax bill and can mean you are owed a tax rebate from the past.
Salary Sacrifice Schemes:
These reduce both your taxable income and national insurance contributions. Many employers offer salary sacrifice arrangements for:
- Pension contributions.
- Childcare vouchers.
- Cycle-to-work schemes.
- Electric car schemes.
Tax free savings ISA:
Savings income is taxable after the personal allowance and savings allowance have been used.
Using an individual savings account also known as an ISA let’s you receive the interest from savings kept within the ISA free from tax.
Tax free premium bonds:
Using premium bonds is another way to receive income from savings free from tax.
Having premium bonds gives you the opportunity to win tax free prizes worth up to £1 million.
Tax free self employed trading allowance:
The self employed trading allowance can be used to reduce tax on income from self employment under the trading allowance threshold.
Tax free property allowance:
The property allowance can be used by individuals who have rental income from property.
Using the property allowance allows property income up to the threshold to be earned free from tax.
Tax free dividend allowance:
The dividend allowance is applicable to income from dividends up to the allowance threshold.
Using the dividend allowance can reduce the tax you pay on income from dividends in the tax year they are received.
Why use a take home pay calculator?
Using the income tax UK calculator has some key benefits starting with the monthly breakdown of your take home pay.
Budgets: Having a monthly breakdown is ideal when making important financial decisions – whether you’re considering a mortgage application, buying a car, or simply trying to establish a realistic monthly budget that accounts for all your commitments.
Overpayment and underpayments of tax: Checking your tax deductions regularily can help you stay on top of your tax position throughout the year. Potentially catching overpayments or underpayments before they become problematic.
Tax refunds: Often missed, looking into past tax years might reveal refunds that haven’t been paid back or are ready to be claimed through your personal tax account.
Comparing salaries: It’s useful to compare take home pay outcomes especially if you’re reducing your income or trying to land a new job with a higher salary.
Real Salary Examples
Many people ask “What is my pay after tax on £30,000” or similar questions.
Here are some common examples:
£30,000 Annual Salary:
- Annual take-home: £24,771
- Monthly take-home: £2,064
- Income tax: £3,486 annually
- National Insurance: £1,743 annually
£45,000 Annual Salary:
- Annual take-home: £35,271
- Monthly take-home: £2,939
- Income tax: £6,486 annually
- National Insurance: £3,243 annually
£60,000 Annual Salary:
- Annual take-home: £44,603
- Monthly take-home: £3,717
- Income tax: £11,432 annually
- National Insurance: £3,965 annually
Our other tax refund calculators
Tax Rebate Services has produced multiple tax refund calculators to help support you on your tax rebate journey and they are all completely free to use.
The calculators cover many of the popular subjects surrounding refunds and taxpayers who overpay income tax.
Tax refund calculators by Tax Rebate Services:
- Uniform tax calculator for washing your own uniform and protective clothing.
- Mileage tax relief calculator for using your own vehicle to travel to temporary workplaces.
- UK tax back calculator if you leave the UK for the current and last four tax years.
- Tool tax refund calculator if you purchase your own tools to do your job.
- Car and vehicle mechanics tool tax rebate calculator if you buy your own tools for work purposes.
- MOD mileage tax rebate calculator if you work for the MOD and travel to temporary assignments.
- CIS tax rebate calculator if you are a self employed CIS subcontractor.
- Pension tax rebate calculator if you pay into your own private pension scheme and are a higher rate taxpayer.
After you have used our refund calculators you will be given more information on each subject to guide you through the HMRC claims process.
Income tax calculator UK frequently answered questions:
Does the calculator include student loan repayments?
No. Our calculator focuses on income tax and national insurance. Remember to factor in student loan repayments separately on income above the threshold for your plan type.
Can I use this for previous tax years?
Yes, our calculator supports calculations for up to four previous tax years, useful for checking historical pay or tax refund calculations.
How often do PAYE tax rates change?
UK PAYE tax rates and thresholds are typically reviewed annually in the Budget, with changes usually taking effect from April 6th each year.
What if I think I’ve overpaid tax?
If you believe you’ve overpaid tax, you can claim a refund from HMRC for up to four previous tax years. Our claiming tax refunds from HMRC process guide provides detailed instructions.
Will I pay 40% tax on my entire salary if I’m a higher rate taxpayer?
No, you won’t pay 40% tax on your entire salary. The 40% tax rate only applies to the portion of your income between that falls into the forty percent tax bracket.
Are tax rebates repaid automatically?
Some tax rebates are repaid automatically by HMRC’s PAYE system, but importantly not all. It’s possible for you to be owed a refund that needs to be actively requested via your HMRC personal tax account.
For work expenses, uniform costs, travel expenses, or if you’ve changed jobs, you’ll likely need to claim manually as these aren’t automatically processed.
Is there a deadline to claim a refund?
There is a time limit of four tax years for you to claim your refund. This could be good news because if you have overpaid income tax in more than one tax year you could get a larger tax rebate than you expected.
