See exactly how much of your salary you keep after UK income tax, National Insurance, pension, and student loan repayments.
Take-home pay (excluding pension)
Annual
£29,210
Monthly
£2,434
Weekly
£562
Hourly (40h/wk)
£14.04
Based on 2024/25 UK rates. Does not account for marriage allowance, blind person's allowance, or employer pension matching. Pension shown assumes salary sacrifice. Consult a qualified accountant for personalised advice.
The personal allowance for 2024/25 is £12,570 — income below this is free from income tax. Above £100,000, the personal allowance tapers by £1 for every £2 of income, disappearing entirely at £125,140.
Employees pay Class 1 NICs: 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 per year, and 2% above that. This is separate from income tax and is deducted from your pay before you receive it. Employers also pay an additional 13.8% on your earnings above £9,100.
Scotland has its own income tax bands, which differ from the rest of the UK. Scottish taxpayers pay the Starter Rate (19%), Basic Rate (20%), Intermediate Rate (21%), Higher Rate (42%), Advanced Rate (45%), and Top Rate (48%), spread across different thresholds.
Contributions to a pension through salary sacrifice reduce your taxable income, meaning you save both income tax and National Insurance. Workplace pension auto-enrolment minimum contributions are 5% employee + 3% employer. Contributing more is one of the most tax-efficient things an employee can do.
If you earn below the personal allowance and your spouse/civil partner is a basic-rate taxpayer, you can transfer up to £1,260 of your allowance to them, saving up to £252 per year in tax. You can also backdate claims for up to 4 previous tax years.
Enter your gross annual salary to see exactly how much you take home each month, week, and hour after UK income tax and National Insurance.
£30,000 salary
Approx. £24,672 take-home per year (£2,056/month)
£60,000 salary
Approx. £43,536 take-home per year (£3,628/month)
The UK PAYE (Pay As You Earn) system was introduced in 1944 as a wartime measure to ensure tax was collected efficiently from workers. It was so effective it became permanent.
UK income tax is applied in bands. For 2024/25: the first £12,570 is tax-free (personal allowance); income from £12,571 to £50,270 is taxed at 20% (basic rate); income from £50,271 to £125,140 is taxed at 40% (higher rate); income above £125,140 is taxed at 45% (additional rate). Each band only applies to the income within that range, not your total earnings.
National Insurance (NI) is a separate tax from income tax, paid by both employees and employers. For employees in 2024/25: you pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 per year, and 2% on earnings above £50,270. NI contributions build entitlement to the State Pension and certain benefits. Your employer also pays 13.8% on your earnings above £9,100, but this does not come out of your pay.
Pension contributions made through salary sacrifice reduce your gross pay before tax and National Insurance are calculated, so you save both. A 5% pension contribution on a £40,000 salary reduces your taxable income to £38,000, saving you income tax and NI on £2,000. This makes pension contributions one of the most tax-efficient ways to save.
The personal allowance is the amount of income you can earn before paying income tax — £12,570 for 2024/25. This applies to everyone earning below £100,000. Above £100,000, the personal allowance tapers: for every £2 earned above £100,000, you lose £1 of allowance. At £125,140 the allowance is zero, meaning earnings in the £100,000–£125,140 band are effectively taxed at 60%.
Scotland has its own income tax bands, which differ from the rest of the UK. Scottish taxpayers pay Starter Rate (19%), Basic Rate (20%), Intermediate Rate (21%), Higher Rate (42%), Advanced Rate (45%), and Top Rate (48%) across different thresholds. This calculator uses the standard England/Wales/Northern Ireland rates. Scottish residents will have slightly different take-home pay figures.