Glossary · UK
What is Take-Home Pay?
The amount of salary you actually receive after Income Tax, National Insurance and other deductions.
Full Definition
Take-home pay (also called net pay) is what is left from your gross salary after all deductions. For an employee in 2026/27 the main deductions are Income Tax (0% up to the £12,570 Personal Allowance, 20% to £50,270, then 40% to £125,140 and 45% above), employee National Insurance at 8% then 2%, plus workplace pension contributions and any student loan. For example, a £35,000 salary leaves roughly £28,000 a year, or about £2,330 a month, before pension. Salary sacrifice arrangements — for pensions or electric cars — reduce gross pay before tax and NI are calculated, which lowers tax but also your take-home figure on paper while boosting savings. Scottish taxpayers have different rates and bands, which changes their take-home pay compared with the rest of the UK.
How Take-Home Pay is calculated
Take-home = Gross - Income Tax - National Insurance - Student Loan - Pension- Gross
- Total annual salary before any deductions.
- Income Tax
- PAYE tax after the Personal Allowance and tax bands.
- National Insurance
- Class 1 employee NI (8% then 2% in 2026/27).
- Student Loan
- Repayment on income above the plan threshold, if any.
- Pension
- Workplace or personal pension contribution.
Worked example: A GBP 35,000 salary in England with no pension or student loan: Income Tax = (35,000 - 12,570) x 20% = GBP 4,486; NI = (35,000 - 12,570) x 8% = GBP 1,794.40; take-home = 35,000 - 4,486 - 1,794.40 = GBP 28,719.60 a year (about GBP 2,393 a month).