What actually reaches your bank account
Take-home pay is gross pay minus the full stack of deductions, applied in the order payroll applies them. The pension arrangement you are on materially changes the answer.
Figures stated for the 2026/27 UK tax year. Content last checked against official sources on .
What this calculator does
- Models pension, Income Tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions together.
- Distinguishes salary sacrifice, net pay and relief at source arrangements, which are taxed differently.
- Supports standard and flat-rate tax codes.
- Shows both what you keep and what lands in your pension.
How the calculation works
Pay is converted to an annual gross figure, then deductions are applied in payroll order. A salary sacrifice contribution is removed from gross pay before anything else, so it reduces Income Tax, National Insurance and student loan repayments together. A net pay contribution comes out before Income Tax but after National Insurance has been assessed, so it saves tax but not National Insurance. A relief at source contribution comes from pay that has already been taxed, with basic rate relief added back into the pension by the provider. Your tax code then sets the allowance: 1257L gives the standard £12,570, while BR, D0 and D1 charge the whole of that employment at a single band rate with no allowance at all. Income Tax is computed on the resulting taxable pay using your jurisdiction's bands. National Insurance is charged on earnings above £12,570 at 8%, then 2% above £50,270. Student loan repayments take 9% of income above your plan's threshold, and a postgraduate loan takes a further 6% above £21,000.
The rule
Net pay = gross − pension deduction (arrangement-dependent) − Income Tax − National Insurance − student loan − postgraduate loan.
Step by step
- Convert entered pay to an annual gross figure.
- Apply the pension arrangement: a sacrifice before all assessments, a net pay contribution before Income Tax only.
- Resolve the tax code to a Personal Allowance or a flat band.
- Charge Income Tax on taxable pay using your jurisdiction's bands.
- Charge National Insurance on gross earnings above the primary threshold.
- Charge student loan and postgraduate loan above their own thresholds.
- Subtract every deduction from gross pay and divide into periods.
Worked example
Aisha earns £45,000, pays 5% into a net pay workplace pension with a 3% employer match, and is repaying a Plan 2 student loan.
What was entered
| Gross income | £45,000 |
|---|---|
| Tax code | 1257L |
| Pension arrangement | Net pay |
| Pension contribution | 5% |
| Employer contribution | 3% |
| Student loan plan | Plan 2 |
The arithmetic
- The 5% net pay contribution of £2,250 is deducted before Income Tax is assessed.
- Taxable pay is £45,000 − £2,250 − £12,570 = £30,180, taxed at 20%: £6,036.
- National Insurance is assessed on the full £45,000, because a net pay arrangement does not reduce it: 8% of £32,430 = £2,594.40.
- Plan 2 takes 9% of income above the £29,385 threshold: 9% of £15,615 = £1,405.35.
- Net pay is £45,000 − £2,250 − £6,036 − £2,594.40 − £1,405.35 = £32,714.25, or £2,726.19 a month.
- The pension receives £2,250 from Aisha plus £1,350 from her employer: £3,600 in total.
What the calculator returns
| Income Tax | £6,036.00 |
|---|---|
| National Insurance | £2,594.40 |
| Student loan repayment | £1,405.35 |
| Your pension contribution | £2,250.00 |
| Total into your pension | £3,600.00 |
| Take-home pay for the year | £32,714.25 |
| Take-home pay per month | £2,726.19 |
Key assumptions
- Employer pension contributions are shown for completeness and are never deducted from take-home pay.
- The pension percentage is applied to full gross pay, not to qualifying earnings only.
- Student loan repayments are estimated annually rather than per pay period.
Limitations
- K codes and Week 1 / Month 1 markers are not supported by an annual estimate and are deliberately excluded.
- Taxable benefits in kind, company car charges and salary advances are not modelled.
- Real payroll assesses student loan repayments each pay period, so a month of variable earnings can differ noticeably from one twelfth of the annual figure.
- Where an employer operates a qualifying-earnings pension basis, the pension figures here will be higher than your scheme's.
Common questions
Which pension arrangement should I choose?
Why is National Insurance charged on my full salary when my pension is not?
Do I repay a student loan and a postgraduate loan at the same time?
What if my tax code is not 1257L?
Related calculators
- Salary Sacrifice Calculator — See what the same contribution would save if it were a salary sacrifice instead.
- Student Loan Repayment Calculator — Look at the student loan repayment on its own, across every plan type.
- UK Income Tax Calculator — Isolate the Income Tax component without the other deductions.
- National Insurance Calculator — Isolate the National Insurance component.
Official sources
Every figure in this guide was checked against the sources below. Where a source could not confirm a figure, it is marked as requiring verification rather than presented as settled.
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances — GOV.UK (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027)Personal Allowance £12,570; basic 20% to £50,270; higher 40% to £125,140; additional 45% above; taper from £100,000
- National Insurance rates and categories — GOV.UK (2026 to 2027)Category A employee Class 1: nothing to £242 a week, 8% to £967 a week, 2% above
- Repaying your student loan: what you pay — GOV.UKPlan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000 at 9%; Postgraduate £21,000 at 6%
- Tax codes — GOV.UKMeaning of 1257L, BR, D0 and D1 codes