A UK employee’s salary normally has Income Tax and employee National Insurance deducted before payment. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a £30,000 salary leaves approximately £25,120 a year after those deductions in 2026/27, assuming the standard Personal Allowance, ordinary employee contribution rates and no other deductions. Your pension, student loan, tax code and Scottish taxpayer status can change the result.
For an online seller, start by identifying what you are measuring: a salary from employment, a salary from your own company or income from self-employment. Putting shop sales into a salary calculator will answer a different question from the one you meant to ask.
Salary deductions explain the gap between gross and net pay
Gross salary is your pay before deductions. Net pay, also called take-home pay, is what remains afterwards. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is the payroll system used to collect Income Tax and National Insurance for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
- Income Tax: depends on your taxable income, available Personal Allowance and tax bands.
- Employee National Insurance: depends on your earnings and contribution category.
- Student loan repayments: can be deducted through payroll when your earnings exceed the relevant threshold.
- Pension contributions: need to be included when comparing a salary estimate with your actual take-home pay.
Employer National Insurance is a separate employer contribution. Do not subtract it from your gross salary when calculating your employee take-home pay. If you own the company paying the salary, it still matters to the company’s budget.
Our guide to understanding your payslip helps you compare the deductions with the payment you receive.
Salary after tax estimates for 2026/27
The tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. The following illustrations assume employment income only, the full £12,570 Personal Allowance, England, Wales or Northern Ireland rates, and category A employee National Insurance. They exclude pensions, student loans, taxable benefits and other adjustments.
These are annual planning estimates using annual National Insurance thresholds. The monthly column is the annual estimate divided by 12, not a prediction of an individual payslip. Each displayed amount is rounded independently to the nearest pound.
| Gross annual salary | Income Tax | Employee National Insurance | Annual take-home estimate | Monthly average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £1,486 | £594 | £17,920 | £1,493 |
| £25,000 | £2,486 | £994 | £21,520 | £1,793 |
| £30,000 | £3,486 | £1,394 | £25,120 | £2,093 |
| £35,000 | £4,486 | £1,794 | £28,720 | £2,393 |
| £40,000 | £5,486 | £2,194 | £32,320 | £2,693 |
| £45,000 | £6,486 | £2,594 | £35,920 | £2,993 |
| £50,000 | £7,486 | £2,994 | £39,520 | £3,293 |
| £60,000 | £11,432 | £3,211 | £45,357 | £3,780 |
For illustration, the £60,000 row uses the assumptions above. Income Tax is £37,700 at 20 per cent (£7,540), plus £9,730 at 40 per cent (£3,892), totalling £11,432. Employee National Insurance is £37,700 at 8 per cent (£3,016), plus £9,730 at 2 per cent (£194.60), totalling £3,210.60. Take-home pay is therefore £60,000 minus £11,432 minus £3,210.60 = £45,357.40, rounded to £45,357 in the table.
Use our salary after tax calculator for an estimate based on your circumstances. Check its tax year and assumptions before using the result for a household budget.
Income Tax applies to slices of your salary
With the standard Personal Allowance, the first £12,570 is free of Income Tax. For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the basic rate is 20 per cent, the higher rate is 40 per cent and the additional rate is 45 per cent.
| Annual income band | Income Tax rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £12,570, with the full Personal Allowance | 0% |
| £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% |
| £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% |
| Over £125,140 | 45% |
The allowance reduces at higher incomes, as explained below. This table therefore needs that qualification when you earn above £100,000.
Crossing into a higher band does not make your entire salary taxable at the higher rate. Only the income falling within that band attracts that rate. The tax system takes slices, not a fresh bite out of everything you have already earned.
For the underlying rules, see GOV.UK’s Income Tax rates and allowances. Our Income Tax calculator provides a separate starting point if you want to examine tax before other salary deductions.
Employee National Insurance uses its own thresholds
For most employees in category A, National Insurance is 8 per cent on earnings above the primary threshold up to the upper earnings limit, then 2 per cent above that limit. These names simply mean the point where contributions start and the point where the contribution rate changes.
| Pay interval | Primary threshold | Upper earnings limit |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | £242 | £967 |
| Monthly | £1,048 | £4,189 |
| Annual | £12,570 | £50,270 |
For an ordinary employee, check National Insurance against the thresholds for each pay period. The monthly thresholds do not multiply into exactly the annual thresholds, so even regular monthly pay can produce a different annual total from these illustrations. If your pay varies during the year, use the individual pay periods rather than relying on the annual estimate. Your contribution category also matters: category A is common, but it does not cover every employee.
Your employer deducts employee contributions before paying you, and your payslip shows them. Employees stop paying Class 1 National Insurance at State Pension age. Read GOV.UK’s contribution rates and category letters when checking which rates apply.
An Etsy seller’s salary increase, worked through
This is an illustration, not a real client. An Etsy seller runs a limited company and has been its director throughout the tax year. Their annual salary increases from £30,000 to £32,000. Assume England’s Income Tax rates, the full Personal Allowance, category A National Insurance, no other income and no pension or student loan deductions.
The additional £2,000 remains entirely within the basic Income Tax band and the main employee National Insurance band. The change in personal take-home pay is:
| Change | Amount |
|---|---|
| Additional gross salary | £2,000 |
| Additional Income Tax at 20% | £400 |
| Additional employee National Insurance at 8% | £160 |
| Additional annual take-home pay | £1,440 |
The figures reconcile exactly: £2,000 minus £400 minus £160 equals £1,440. This measures the seller’s personal pay increase. It does not calculate the company’s total employment cost or recommend that salary level.
Directors who hold office throughout the tax year have an annual National Insurance earnings period. Directors appointed during the year have a proportionately shorter earnings period. Under the alternative calculation method, contributions are initially calculated by pay period and reconciled on the final payment. The illustration above assumes the seller was a director throughout the tax year.
Pensions, student loans and tax codes change the result
A salary table without pension or student loan deductions is a useful baseline. It is not a complete household budget if either applies to you.
For your pension, check the contribution amount and how your scheme handles tax relief. A contribution is money going towards retirement, so it deserves its own line when comparing deductions. Do not assume that every pension arrangement produces the same change in take-home pay. Our pension tax relief guide explains the distinctions.
For student loans, identify your repayment plan before relying on an estimate. Payroll software calculates deductions when earnings exceed the applicable threshold. A calculator using the wrong plan can give a plausible-looking answer that does not match your payslip.
Your tax code affects how much Income Tax payroll deducts. GOV.UK’s Income Tax checking service lets employed people check their Personal Allowance, tax code, tax paid so far and likely tax for the rest of the year. Compare those details with your circumstances before assuming the salary table is wrong.
Higher incomes can reduce the Personal Allowance
Your Personal Allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000. It is completely withdrawn at £125,140. Adjusted net income is the income measure used for this test, so gross salary alone may not settle the calculation where you have other income or relevant reliefs.
This withdrawal means that an extra amount of salary can both attract tax and make more existing income taxable. The simple higher-rate calculation is therefore incomplete in this range.
Before comparing salary options, establish your full income position. Our guide to the Personal Allowance taper covers the issue in more detail.
Scottish salary tax needs a separate calculation
Scottish taxpayers have different Income Tax bands for wages. Do not use the England, Wales and Northern Ireland table above to estimate Scottish take-home pay.
An employed Scottish taxpayer’s tax code starts with S. The code is S1257L where the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance applies. National Insurance still follows the UK contribution rules.
Check GOV.UK’s Scottish Income Tax guidance and confirm that any calculator uses Scottish rates before relying on its answer. Moving between Scotland and elsewhere in the UK can also affect your position, so location deserves more attention than a postcode entered and forgotten.
Online sellers need to separate salary from business income
A Shopify seller who is an employee of their own limited company can pay Class 1 National Insurance through payroll. A self-employed seller’s National Insurance instead depends on their profits. The same amount entered into an employee calculator and a self-employed calculator can therefore produce different answers.
If you have a job alongside an eBay business, your employer deducts Class 1 contributions from wages and you may also owe Class 4 contributions on self-employed profits. HMRC determines the National Insurance due after your Self Assessment return, taking account of the combined position.
Choose the self-employed tax calculator for a self-employment estimate. If you take salary and dividends from a company, read our guide to salary versus dividends before treating an employee salary estimate as your entire personal tax bill.
For help interpreting company payroll deductions, our team can explain the figures through our payroll services.
Frequently asked questions
How much is tax on salary in the UK?
UK salary deductions normally include Income Tax and employee National Insurance, with the amount depending on earnings and circumstances. For 2026/27, the standard Personal Allowance is £12,570. England, Wales and Northern Ireland then use Income Tax rates of 20, 40 and 45 per cent. Scotland has different salary tax bands.
How much is £50,000 after tax?
A £50,000 salary gives estimated annual take-home pay of £39,520, or about £3,293 a month, using annual thresholds for 2026/27. This assumes England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the full Personal Allowance and category A National Insurance. Pension contributions, student loans and other adjustments are excluded, and actual payroll amounts can differ.
How much is £60,000 after tax?
A £60,000 salary gives estimated annual take-home pay of £45,357, or about £3,780 a month, using annual thresholds for 2026/27. This assumes England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the full Personal Allowance and category A National Insurance. It excludes pensions, student loans and other adjustments, so it is a planning estimate rather than a payslip guarantee.
Does entering a higher tax band tax my whole salary more?
No. A higher Income Tax rate applies only to the slice of income within that band. Earlier slices retain their own treatment. However, the Personal Allowance can also reduce at higher incomes, which changes the calculation. Pension contributions, student loans and other circumstances can affect how much of a pay rise reaches you.
Is employer National Insurance deducted from my salary?
Employer National Insurance is a separate employer contribution, not the employee contribution deducted from your gross salary. Your take-home calculation should subtract employee National Insurance where applicable. If you own the company paying your wages, keep the employer contribution in the company’s cost calculation rather than subtracting it again from your personal pay.
Can an online seller use a salary after tax calculator?
An online seller can use a salary calculator for employment pay, including salary paid through their own company’s payroll. It does not calculate self-employed National Insurance on business profits. If you have employment and self-employment together, consider both sources before treating the salary estimate as your complete personal tax position.
