Estimate your UK Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions for the 2025/26 tax year. See your gross income, tax deductions and estimated monthly take-home pay in seconds.
Enter your annual gross income (before any tax is deducted). The personal allowance is pre-filled at £12,570, which is the standard 2025/26 figure for most UK employees. If you have a different tax code, adjust this figure accordingly.
Personal Allowance — Up to £12,570 — 0% tax
Basic Rate — £12,571 to £50,270 — 20% Income Tax
Higher Rate — £50,271 to £125,140 — 40% Income Tax
Additional Rate — Over £125,140 — 45% Income Tax
National Insurance is calculated on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 at 8%, and at 2% on earnings above £50,270.
Annual income £45,000 → Income Tax approximately £6,486, National Insurance approximately £2,584, monthly take-home approximately £2,994, effective rate 20.2%.
The UK operates a PAYE (Pay As You Earn) system for employed workers. Your employer deducts Income Tax and National Insurance from each payslip before you receive your salary. This calculator estimates those deductions based on your annual income so you can understand your take-home pay in advance — useful when evaluating job offers, planning a pay rise request, or working out whether you can afford a particular monthly commitment.
The effective tax rate shown is arguably more useful than the marginal rate. Someone earning £45,000 is a higher-rate taxpayer only on earnings above £50,270 — which at £45,000 means none of their income is taxed at 40%. Their effective rate on all earnings is around 20–22%, including NI contributions. Many people overestimate their tax burden by confusing marginal and effective rates.
For the most accurate result, use your actual annual salary before any deductions. If your employer operates salary sacrifice (for pension, childcare vouchers or electric vehicle schemes), you may pay less tax than shown — enter your post-sacrifice salary to see the effect.
If you have a non-standard tax code (shown on your payslip), adjust the personal allowance field. A tax code of 1257L means £12,570 allowance. A tax code of 0T means zero allowance — enter 0. A code like 1357L means a higher allowance of £13,570.
This tool is a planning estimate only. For your official tax liability, HMRC's own tax checker at gov.uk is the authoritative source. If you are self-employed, have investment income, rental income, or complex tax affairs, you should use a qualified accountant or tax adviser.
HMRC's PAYE service allows you to check your tax code and view what your employer has paid in tax on your behalf. If your tax code looks wrong, contact HMRC directly to have it corrected — an incorrect tax code can mean underpaying (creating a later bill) or overpaying (entitled to a refund).
Common questions about this calculator and how to use it.