Answers · UK 2025/26

What is my take-home on a £300 day rate inside IR35 in 2026/27?

On a £300 day rate inside IR35 working about 220 days a year, your gross fees are roughly £66,000. After employer National Insurance, the Apprenticeship Levy, employee tax and employee National Insurance are deducted through PAYE, your net take-home is around £41,900 to £46,300 a year, depending on pension contributions and the fee payer's exact deductions.

Last updated: 10 July 2026Last reviewed: 10 July 2026How we verify

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Inside IR35 means HMRC treats you as an employee for tax, so the fee payer (the agency or end client) deducts Income Tax and employee National Insurance through PAYE before paying you, and also accounts for employer National Insurance and the Apprenticeship Levy. A £300 day rate over roughly 220 working days gives gross fees of about £66,000. From this the employer National Insurance at 15% on earnings above £5,000 and the 0.5% Apprenticeship Levy are usually taken out of the assignment rate first, reducing the amount treated as your deemed salary to roughly £57,800. On that deemed salary you then pay Income Tax of about £10,550 (20% basic rate on most of the income) and employee National Insurance of about £3,166 (8% then 2% above the Upper Earnings Limit). The result is net take-home of broadly £41,900 to £46,300 a year, although the exact figure depends on whether employer costs are deducted from your rate before or after any umbrella margin, and on pension contributions. Making employer pension contributions through an umbrella or deemed payment arrangement is tax-efficient inside IR35 because it reduces both Income Tax and National Insurance on the sacrificed amount. Compared with the same rate outside IR35 through your own limited company taking salary and dividends, inside-IR35 take-home at this rate is typically lower because you lose the dividend tax advantage, though the gap narrows at lower day rates. Use the contractor take-home or take-home pay calculator to model your day rate, days worked and pension.