Continue your plan
Useful next calculations
Rates & sources2026/27
2026/27 annual Income Tax, Category A employee NI and student-loan thresholds, combined with user-entered childcare and work costs. Potential Tax-Free Childcare is not an eligibility decision.
| Band / figure | Rate |
|---|---|
| Personal allowance | £12,570 before taper |
| Employee NI | 8% then 2% |
| Potential TFC contribution | 20% of qualifying cost |
| Standard TFC cap | £2,000 per child a year |
Source: HMRC — 2026/27 employer rates and thresholds — source checked for 2026/27.
When to use this calculator
- Before accepting a pay change, bonus, pension contribution or salary-sacrifice option.
- When you want a simple take-home estimate before payroll or filing.
- When you are approaching the £100,000 income level and want to see the personal allowance taper.
- When you need to convert between hourly, monthly and annual pay.
A realistic UK planning example
Use these sample inputs as a quick scenario test, then change one variable at a time to compare outcomes.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual salary for this work pattern (£) | £35,000 |
| Pension salary sacrifice (%) | £35,000 |
| Income Tax region | England, Wales or Northern Ireland |
| Student loan plan | None |
After entering these figures, review monthly household gain from working, annual gain after childcare + work costs and annual take-home pay together rather than in isolation. Then rerun the tool with one input adjusted.
How to read your results
Monthly Household Gain From Working
The figure produced by this output for the inputs you entered. Change one variable at a time if you want to see what drives it.
Annual Gain After Childcare + Work Costs
The figure produced by this output for the inputs you entered. Change one variable at a time if you want to see what drives it.
Annual Take-home Pay
The figure produced by this output for the inputs you entered. Change one variable at a time if you want to see what drives it.
Childcare After Modelled Support
The figure produced by this output for the inputs you entered. Change one variable at a time if you want to see what drives it.
Potential TFC Top-up
The figure produced by this output for the inputs you entered. Change one variable at a time if you want to see what drives it.
Effective Gain Per Paid Hour
The figure produced by this output for the inputs you entered. Change one variable at a time if you want to see what drives it.
TFC Check
The figure produced by this output for the inputs you entered. Change one variable at a time if you want to see what drives it.
Method & assumptionsAuthoritative sources
This decision tool estimates how much of the salary for a proposed work pattern remains after 2026/27 Income Tax, employee National Insurance, pension salary sacrifice, an optional student-loan plan, the annual childcare bill entered, commuting and other recurring work costs.
Enter the childcare provider's annual quote after any funded-hours arrangement. When potential Tax-Free Childcare is selected, the tool models a 20% contribution towards qualifying childcare costs, capped at £2,000 per eligible child per year, only if the adjusted-net-income figures entered do not exceed £100,000. That is not a complete eligibility decision.
The tax calculation is an annual estimate for a standard employee and supports Scottish or England, Wales and Northern Ireland income-tax bands. It does not model Universal Credit, tax codes, benefits in kind, irregular pay, postgraduate loans, multiple jobs or every childcare condition. Confirm childcare support with GOV.UK and compare the result with a payslip or HMRC estimate.
Common mistakes
- !Entering gross income when you really want take-home pay, or vice versa.
- !Ignoring pension contributions, deductions or local tax rules that change the result.
- !Comparing monthly and annual figures without standardising them first.
- !Overlooking National Insurance or student-loan plan differences that apply to you.
What to do next
- Check the same scenario with related pay or deduction calculators.
- Keep a copy of the assumptions so you can compare the next tax year or pay period.
- If you are self-employed, compare this result with the self-employment tax calculator.
- Check whether a small pension contribution change moves take-home pay more than you expect.
Frequently asked
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