What does a GBP 450 daily contract rate actually leave in your pocket? This worked example runs the numbers through a limited company for 2026/27, covering corporation tax, an optimal salary and dividends.
A pay rise from GBP 99,000 to GBP 101,000 triggers the Personal Allowance taper and the 60% trap. Here is the 2026/27 take-home on each side of GBP 100,000 and the surprising marginal maths.
Earning past GBP 50,270 makes you a higher-rate taxpayer for the first time. Here is what changes for income tax, National Insurance, dividends and savings in 2026/27, with a clear worked example.
Cutting from five to four days for a 20% pay cut does not cut your take-home by 20%. A GBP 50,000 worker dropping to GBP 40,000 loses about GBP 7,200 net, not GBP 10,000, because tax and NI fall too.
A GBP 33,000 graduate salary looks healthy until the Plan 5 student loan and pension auto-enrolment land. Here is the full 2026/27 take-home, deduction by deduction.
Moving from an hourly wage to an annual salary changes how you think about pay. Here is how to convert the two fairly and compare real take-home in 2026/27, with the National Living Wage as a baseline.
A non-cash long-service award can be tax-free if you have at least 20 years' service and the value stays within GBP 50 per year of service. Here is how the exemption works with a worked example for 2026/27.
A new graduate earning GBP 28,000 with a Plan 5 student loan keeps roughly GBP 23,000 a year after income tax, National Insurance and loan repayments. Here is the full breakdown for 2026/27.
A common 2026/27 strategy is a small director salary plus dividends. The GBP 500 dividend allowance and 10.75% basic dividend rate shape the split, and a salary around the GBP 12,570 Personal Allowance keeps income tax at zero.
A 3% pay rise sounds generous, but tax, National Insurance and frozen thresholds quietly claw a chunk back. Here is what a typical raise actually adds to your take-home in 2026/27.
Crossing GBP 100,000 does not just trigger the 60% tax trap. It can also strip away Tax-Free Childcare and funded hours, so a modest raise can leave a parent worse off in 2026/27.
A pay rise can quietly add another 9% deduction if you are repaying a Plan 2 student loan above GBP 29,385. Here is how the maths stacks with income tax and NI in 2026/27.
