Answers · UK 2025/26

What is my take-home on a £500 day rate inside IR35 in 2026/27?

On a £500 day rate inside IR35 working about 220 days a year, your gross is roughly £110,000. After employer National Insurance, employee tax and National Insurance are deducted through PAYE, your net take-home is around £67,000 to £70,000 a year, depending on pension and the fee payer's deductions.

Last updated: 7 June 2026Last reviewed: 7 June 2026How we verify

Full answer

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 £500 day rate over roughly 220 working days gives gross fees of about £110,000. From this the employer National Insurance at 15% on earnings above £5,000 and the 0.5% levy are usually taken out of the assignment rate first, reducing the amount treated as your deemed salary to roughly £95,000 to £96,000. On that deemed salary you then pay Income Tax (20% basic, 40% higher rate above £50,270) and employee National Insurance at 8% then 2%, plus the loss of Personal Allowance as income approaches £100,000 has limited effect here. The result is net take-home of broadly £67,000 to £70,000 a year, although the exact figure depends on whether employer costs are deducted from your rate, on any umbrella margin, and on pension contributions. Making employer pension contributions through an umbrella or deemed payment is highly tax-efficient inside IR35 because it reduces both Income Tax and National Insurance. Compared with the same rate outside IR35 through your own limited company taking salary and dividends, inside-IR35 take-home is typically several thousand pounds lower because you lose the dividend tax advantage. Use the contractor take-home or take-home pay calculator to model your day rate, days worked and pension.