Take-Home Pay Calculator Guide
Your take-home pay is what lands in your bank account after every deduction. The gap between gross and net can be larger than people expect: a typical salary can lose a quarter or more to tax and other deductions before you ever see it. This calculator shows every deduction line by line and updates as you change your inputs.
How to Use
- Region. Pick UK or US. The calculator switches currency, tax rules, and available deductions accordingly.
- Salary type. Choose Annual or Hourly. For hourly, enter your rate and hours per week; the calculator annualises at rate times hours times 52.
- Tax year. Rates change each year. Pick the year you want to model.
- Options. Choose England, Wales and Northern Ireland or Scotland (different income tax bands apply), enter a pension percentage if you contribute via relief at source, and select your student loan plan if you have one.
- Options. Choose your filing status (single, married filing jointly or separately, or head of household), pick your state, and enter your number of children under 17 and any other dependents. Add a 401(k) contribution percentage and any annual HSA or pre-tax health deduction, then set your pay frequency to see per-paycheck figures.
The Results tab shows a full deduction breakdown, and the Chart tab shows the share of your pay that each deduction takes.
Gross vs Net
Gross pay is your salary before anything is deducted. Net pay (take-home) is what remains after income tax, social contributions, and any other deductions. Everything in between is money the government collects or money that goes into tax-advantaged accounts on your behalf.
How Income Tax Works
Income tax is progressive: higher slices of income are taxed at higher rates, and each rate applies only to the income inside its band, not to your whole salary. Being in a higher band does not mean that rate applies to everything you earn; it applies only to the part of your income that falls inside that band.
This gives rise to two rates worth understanding:
- Marginal rate. The rate that applies to the next unit of income you earn. It is the rate that matters when you weigh up extra work or a pay rise.
- Effective rate. Your total tax divided by your gross income. Because the lower bands are taxed at lower rates, your effective rate is always below your marginal rate.
UK Income Tax
UK income tax uses a Personal Allowance (£12,570 in 2026/27) below which no tax is due. Above that, bands apply in order: 20% basic rate on income up to £50,270, 40% higher rate on income between £50,270 and £125,140, and 45% additional rate above £125,140. Scottish taxpayers have separate bands set by the Scottish Parliament, with a starter rate of 19% and an intermediate rate of 21% sitting below the basic-rate equivalent.
Each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its band, so your tax is the sum across the bands:
On a £35,000 salary (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27) the Personal Allowance covers the first £12,570, and the remaining £22,430 sits in the 20% band:
One quirk worth knowing: the Personal Allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000. This means income between £100,000 and £125,140 is effectively taxed at 60% (40% income tax plus the cost of losing the allowance at 20p per £1). Pension contributions can pull income back below £100,000 and restore the allowance.
US Federal Income Tax
US federal income tax applies a standard deduction before any brackets kick in. For 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for married filing jointly. Federal brackets above that run from 10% on the lowest slice up through 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% on income above $640,600 (single) or $768,700 (married filing jointly) in 2026.
Tax is the sum across brackets of the taxable income in each bracket times its rate:
On a $60,000 salary (single, 2026), the standard deduction leaves $43,900 taxable. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10% and the remaining $31,500 at 12%:
Pre-tax contributions to a 401(k) or HSA reduce your taxable income, which is why they reduce federal income tax, though the saving depends on your marginal bracket.
State Income Tax
Most states levy their own income tax on top of federal tax and FICA. Nine states tax no wage income at all (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, and New Hampshire, which taxed only interest and dividends through 2024). The rest apply either a single flat rate or a set of progressive brackets, with top rates running from about 2.5% to over 13%.
State tax is worked out on its own taxable income: your pay minus the state's standard deduction and any personal or dependent exemptions. These differ from the federal figures and vary widely by state, so two people on the same salary can owe very different state tax depending on where they live.
Pre-tax contributions usually carry over to the state, but not always: Pennsylvania taxes 401(k) contributions even though the federal government does not, and California, New Jersey, and Hawaii tax HSA contributions. The calculator handles these state by state. It covers state income tax only; local and city income taxes (such as New York City, Yonkers, and Philadelphia) are not included.
The Child Tax Credit
The federal Child Tax Credit reduces the income tax you owe, dollar for dollar, for each qualifying child. For 2025 and 2026 it is $2,200 per child under 17 (raised from $2,000 by the 2025 tax law), plus $500 for each other dependent. The calculator applies it as a reduction to your federal income tax, so it lifts your take-home pay but cannot push your federal tax below zero.
The credit begins to phase out once income passes $200,000 ($400,000 for married filing jointly), losing $50 for every $1,000 above the threshold:
Here is the base credit ($2,200 per child plus $500 per other dependent), is your income, and is the $200,000 or $400,000 threshold. Enter your number of children under 17 and any other dependents to see the credit applied.
Social Contributions
UK National Insurance
National Insurance (NI) funds the state pension and NHS. For employees in 2026/27, NI is charged at 8% on earnings between the Primary Threshold (£12,570) and the Upper Earnings Limit (£50,270), and at 2% above the upper limit. NI and income tax are calculated separately; the Personal Allowance and the Primary Threshold happen to match in 2026/27, so both kick in at the same earnings point.
The two bands combine into a single formula:
US FICA
FICA covers Social Security and Medicare. Social Security is charged at 6.2% on wages up to the annual wage base ($184,500 in 2026). Medicare is 1.45% on all wages with no cap. High earners pay an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). Unlike income tax, FICA applies to gross wages before any 401(k) deduction, so a 401(k) reduces income tax but not Social Security or Medicare.
Putting the three pieces together:
Pension and Pre-Tax Contributions
UK Pension Contributions
The calculator supports the two ways a UK workplace or personal pension is usually paid, because they affect your take-home differently. Pick the one your scheme uses.
Relief at source (personal pension or SIPP). You contribute from your net pay, so the amount leaving your pay is 80% of the gross contribution; the provider claims the other 20% from HMRC and adds it to the pot. Each £80 that leaves your pay becomes £100 in your pension. Higher-rate taxpayers can claim a further 20% through a self-assessment tax return, which the calculator shows as relief returned to you rather than added to the pot.
Salary sacrifice (employer scheme). You give up part of your gross salary before income tax and National Insurance are worked out, so it lowers both. The whole amount goes into the pot, and because you also save the 8% or 2% National Insurance on it, salary sacrifice leaves a little more in your take-home than relief at source for the same contribution.
Either way, pension contributions also help high earners restore the Personal Allowance. If your income is between £100,000 and £125,140, a contribution that brings it back below £100,000 recovers the allowance and saves tax at the effective 60% rate over that band.
US 401(k) and HSA
A traditional 401(k) contribution reduces your federal (and usually state) taxable income but does not reduce wages for Social Security or Medicare. A $5,000 contribution when you are in the 22% bracket saves roughly $1,100 in federal income tax.
An HSA (Health Savings Account) is even more tax-efficient for those with a qualifying high-deductible health plan. HSA contributions reduce both taxable income and FICA wages, giving a tax saving on all three: income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. Money in an HSA rolls over indefinitely and can be invested.
UK Student Loan Repayments
UK student loan repayments are collected through payroll and calculated as a percentage of income above a plan-specific threshold. For 2026/27, Plan 1 charges 9% above £26,900 per year; Plan 2 charges 9% above £29,385; Plan 4 (Scotland) charges 9% above £33,795; Plan 5 charges 9% above £25,000; and the Postgraduate Loan charges 6% above £21,000. Multiple plans run simultaneously if you have more than one. These are not voluntary contributions; they are deducted automatically like tax, though they do not affect your tax bands.
A Note on What Is Included
The calculator uses the official rates and thresholds for the tax year you select.
The UK figures use HMRC rates and cover income tax and National Insurance; the Scottish income tax bands are applied when Scotland is selected. They do not include benefits in kind, tax-code adjustments, or any other payroll deductions.
The US figures use IRS and SSA rates and cover federal income tax, FICA, and, when you pick a state, state income tax and the Child Tax Credit. Local and city income taxes, and any other payroll deductions, are not included.