What is a BR tax code and how does it affect take-home pay?

A BR (Basic Rate) tax code means all your income from that source is taxed at 20% with no personal allowance applied. HMRC issues a BR code when they believe your personal allowance is being used elsewhere — for example, against a second job or pension. It results in more tax being deducted than under a standard 1257L code.

Does this calculator include National Insurance?

Yes. Employee National Insurance at 8% is applied to earnings between the primary threshold (£12,570) and upper earnings limit (£50,270), and 2% on earnings above that. These are the 2026/27 rates following the reduction from 10% and 2% in early 2024.

Hourly to Take-Home Pay Calculator UK

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Rates and sources, 2026/27

Converts hourly pay to annual take-home using 2026/27 income tax (including the additional rate) and Category A employee NI.

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 worked example

These are the example figures the calculator opens with.

A worked example
Input	Value
Hourly Rate (£)	£15
Hours Per Week	37.5
Tax Code	1257L (Standard)

For those figures the calculator returns:

Hourly take-home: £12.60
Weekly take-home: £472.68
Annual take-home: £24,579.60

Method & assumptions

This calculator converts a gross hourly rate into weekly and annual take-home pay after UK income tax and employee National Insurance contributions using 2026/27 rates. Income tax is applied under the selected tax code: 1257L applies the standard personal allowance of £12,570 before taxing the remainder at 20% up to the higher-rate threshold (£50,270) and 40% above. The BR code taxes all income at 20% with no personal allowance. The 0T code has no personal allowance and uses the full band structure. National Insurance is calculated at 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 per year, and 2% above that limit. The calculator does not include student loan repayments, pension contributions, or salary sacrifice arrangements — all of which would further reduce (or in the case of pensions, beneficially redirect) the net amount received.

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.

Questions people ask

Multiply your hourly rate by hours per week by 52 to get annual gross pay. Then deduct income tax (using your tax code) and employee National Insurance contributions to arrive at annual take-home pay. This calculator does this automatically for the 2026/27 tax year.