Income tax calculator: work out your take-home pay

Work out exactly how much more income tax you’ll pay with our calculator

Income tax calculator
Income tax calculator
(Image credit: getty)

Our calculator shows you what your take-home pay will be after tax deductions.

When you earn money from employment, you have to pay income tax on it - but only over £12,570, otherwise known as the personal allowance.

Beyond the personal allowance, income tax is paid at different rates:

Millions of workers will now pay more income tax after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt froze thresholds until April 2028 in the Autumn Statement. It was already the case that income tax and National Insurance thresholds would be frozen until 2026, but the Chancellor has now extended this until 2028.

As most workers see their wages rise each year, it means many workers will find themselves inadvertently dragged into a higher tax band by stealth - and will end up paying more income tax as a result.

Our calculator reflects the changes announced in the Autumn Statement 

When you earn money from employment, you'll probably need to pay income tax and National Insurance from your earnings.

How much income tax you pay will depend on your earnings, tax-free allowances and how you're employed.

Income tax calculator

Note, the calculator only applies to taxpayers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

It does not take into account pension payments or other monthly deductions. If you are employed, then you will be auto-enrolled in a pension - in which case you should manually deduct that from your final take-home pay figure.

This calculator reflects the tax and National Insurance changes announced in the Autumn Statement 2022.

What is income tax?

Income tax is a tax on income that’s paid to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and charged at different rates depending on your level of income. 

If you’re employed, your employer sorts out your tax and national insurance deductions under the PAYE, (Pay As You Earn) scheme.

If you work for yourself, it’s your responsibility to calculate and pay any tax and National Insurance owed.

How much tax do I pay?

We all get an annual tax free ‘personal allowance’ - which is the amount you can earn before paying tax.  

In the current tax year this is £12,570, and frozen at this level until 2028. 

With national insurance, while it’s called ‘insurance’, it’s actually a tax on income from paid work. How much you pay depends on whether you’re employed, self employed and how much you earn. 

Remember you pay the rate of tax for what you earn within each band. For example you don’t pay any tax on the first £12,570 you earn, and then you will pay 20% on what you earn between £12,571 and £50,270.

If you earn more than £100,000 per year you gradually lose your £12,570 tax-free Personal Allowance, pound by pound. For every £2 that you earn over £100,000, you lose £1 of your Personal Allowance. 

For example if you earn £110,00 per year your personal tax allowance is reduced by £5,00 to £7,570. 

If you earn more than £125,140 you won't have any personal tax allowance and pay 20% tax on everything you earn between £0 - 50,270.

Tax bands 2022/23

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Annual SalaryIncome taxNI 6 Apr 22 - 6 July 22 NI 6 Jul 22 - 6 Nov 22 NI 6 Nov 22 - 6 Apr 23
£0 - £98800%0%0%0%
£9,880 to £12,570 0%13.25%0%0%
£12,570 to £50,27120%13.25%13.25%12%
£50,271 - £150,00040%3.25%3.25%3.25%
£150,001 +45%3.25%3.25%3.25%

These tax bands apply if you are employed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Different rules apply if you're in Scotland.

Tax bands 2023/24

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Annual salaryIncome taxNI
£0 to £12,570 0%0%
£12,571 to £50,27020%12%
£50,271 - £125,14040%3.25%
£125,141 +45%3.25%

These tax bands apply if you are employed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Different rules apply if you're in Scotland.

What other payments are taken from my salary?

As well as paying income tax and national insurance, other deductions may be made before your salary gets paid into your bank account. 

This includes pension payments from workplace pension schemes, which come from your pre-tax, or gross salary.  

Since auto-enrolment was introduced in 2012, companies must automatically enrol employees into a workplace pension scheme, depending on their age and earnings. 

While you can opt out, it’s not a good idea, as you can lose out financially as your employer chips in too. The minimum combined contribution, between both you and your employer is 8% of earnings - employers must pay 3% minimum. You then have to make up the difference, which in this case would mean contributing 5% of your salary.

Self employed income tax and National Insurance

If you're employed you typically pay tax automatically through PAYE. But if you're self-employed you need to pay your tax bill after filing a Self -assessment tax return

You need to complete an annual Self Assessment tax return by 31 January each year (31 October if you file on paper, but HMRC is in the process of making its entire tax system digital). You’ll also need to pay any tax due by 31 January. 

You can find a list of costs you can claim as allowable expenses on gov.uk.

National Insurance contributions also work differently if you're self-employed.

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Sue Hayward
contributor

Sue Hayward is a personal finance and consumer journalist, broadcaster and author who regularly chats on TV and Radio on ways to get more power for your pound.  Sue’s written for a wide range of publications including the Guardian, i Paper, Good Housekeeping, Lovemoney and My Weekly. Cats, cheese and travel are Sue’s passions away from her desk!

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