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Pay & budgeting

Pay rise calculator

Find out how much of a pay rise actually reaches your bank account once income tax, National Insurance, student loans and pension have taken their share.

UK rules · 2026/27 tax year

Your pay rise

Salary now, per year

Before tax, as on your contract.

Enter the rise as

AmountPercentage

Rise per year

How much more you’ll earn a year, before tax.

Pension and deductions

Your pension contribution

The share of your salary you pay in. Most workplace schemes start at 5%. Use 0 if you don’t pay in.

Tax region, pension type and student loansNow: England, Wales or NI, no student loan

Where you live for tax

England, Wales or NIScotland

Scotland has its own income tax bands. National Insurance is the same everywhere.

How your pension is taken

Relief at source: you pay 80% and your provider adds the 20% basic-rate tax relief. Net pay: taken before tax. Salary sacrifice: taken before tax and National Insurance. Your payslip or pension provider will say which you have.

Student loans

Turn on every plan you’re repaying. Plan 2 is most English and Welsh courses from 2012 to 2023; Plan 5 is from 2023.

Plan 1

9% of what you earn over £26,900 a year

Plan 2

9% of what you earn over £29,385 a year

Plan 4 (Scotland)

9% of what you earn over £33,795 a year

Plan 5

9% of what you earn over £25,000 a year

Postgraduate

6% of what you earn over £21,000 a year

Extra take-home each month

£180

A £3,000 rise (8.6%) adds £2,160 a year to your take-home pay. You keep 72% of it.

Extra each year: £2,160
Share you keep: 72%
New monthly take-home: £2,573.30
Tax on your next £100: 28%; After the rise

Save it before you spend it

Saving half the rise before you get used to it is £2.96 a day. SYM keeps it to one tap.

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Before and after the rise

Your yearly pay and deductions now and on the new salary.

Pay before and after the rise
Item	Now	After	Change
Salary	£35,000	£38,000	£3,000
Income tax	£4,486	£5,086	£600
National Insurance	£1,794.40	£2,034.40	£240
Take-home a year	£28,719.60	£30,879.60	£2,160
Take-home a month	£2,393.30	£2,573.30	£180

How this is calculatedShow

Extra take-home = take-home pay on the new salary − take-home pay on your current salary. The share you keep is the extra take-home divided by the rise before tax.

Uses 2026/27 rates (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027). The Personal Allowance, the amount you can earn before paying income tax, is £12,570. It falls by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000. Income tax bands then apply to what you earn above it.

National Insurance (NI) is a separate tax on earnings that pays for the State Pension and other benefits. Employees pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. Student loans take a share of what you earn over each plan’s threshold.

Salary sacrifice lowers your pay before tax, National Insurance and student loans. Net pay lowers it before tax only. With relief at source you pay 80% from take-home pay and the provider adds the 20% basic-rate relief; higher-rate taxpayers get the rest by having their basic-rate band extended.
Worked out on annual figures with a standard tax code (1257L, or S1257L in Scotland). Payroll calculates each pay period, so payslips can differ by a few pence.
Ignores benefits in kind, bonuses, the Marriage Allowance and other income.

Sources

This is a guide, not financial advice. The answer depends on the figures you enter and the assumptions above.

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How this works

The calculator works out your take-home pay on your current salary and on your new salary, then takes one from the other. That’s how much more actually reaches your bank account.

It uses the same 2026/27 income tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension rules as the take-home pay calculator. The share you keep is the extra take-home divided by the rise before tax.

What it assumes

A standard tax code and no other income.
The Personal Allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000.
Your pension percentage stays the same, so part of the rise goes into your pension too.

Worked example

Three pay rises compared

From £35,000 to £38,000, the £3,000 rise adds £2,160.00 a year to your take-home pay, £180.00 a month. You keep 72%.
From £48,000 to £53,000, part of the rise is taxed at the higher rate. You take home £3,217.80 more and keep 64%.
From £100,000 to £110,000, you lose some Personal Allowance too, so you keep only £3,800.00, or 38%.
With a Plan 2 student loan and a 5% relief-at-source pension, the first rise adds £1,770.00 to take-home pay, 59%, with some of the rest going into your pension.

Worked out with the same maths as the calculator above.

What to do next

Common questions

Can a pay rise ever leave me worse off?

Not through income tax or NI alone, because higher rates only apply to the part above each threshold. Losing a benefit, such as Child Benefit or free childcare, can make it feel that way, and those aren’t included here.

Why do I keep so little between £100,000 and £125,140?

Your Personal Allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 earned over £100,000, so each £1 in that range is taxed at an effective 60%, plus 2% NI. Paying more into your pension can bring you back below £100,000.

When will I see the rise in my pay?

Usually from the first payday after it starts. If it’s backdated, the arrears often come in one go, and that month’s tax can look higher than normal.

What should I do with a pay rise?

Decide before it arrives. Many people save at least half of a rise, which builds savings without cutting today’s spending.

Sources

Guides on this topic

BudgetingHow to budget after a pay rise without lifestyle creep