Your take home pay is what is left after Income Tax, National Insurance and any student loan repayment. On a salary of £35,000 outside Scotland, it is £28,719.60 for the year in 2026/27, after £4,486 of Income Tax and £1,794.40 of National Insurance. Enter your salary in the calculator for your own figure.
Key points
✓Employees pay 8% National Insurance on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% above that.
✓Student loan repayments are 9% of income over your plan's threshold, and a postgraduate loan takes 6% over £21,000.
✓If you live in Scotland, you pay Scottish Income Tax on your wages, pension and most other taxable income.
✓Student loan threshold amounts change on 6 April every year.
Calculate your take home pay
£
How is take home pay worked out?
This calculator works out Income Tax, National Insurance and student loan repayments. Income Tax is charged on income above your Personal Allowance, which is £12,570 as standard. National Insurance is charged on earnings above the primary threshold. A student loan is repaid only on income over your plan's threshold.
These are the 2026 to 2027 rates for employees in National Insurance category A.
Earnings
A week
A month
A year
Rate
Up to the primary threshold
£242
£1,048
£12,570
0%
From the primary threshold to the upper earnings limit
£967
£4,189
£50,270
8%
Above the upper earnings limit
Over £967
Over £4,189
Over £50,270
2%
How much student loan comes off your pay?
You repay 9% of your income over the threshold if you are on Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5, and 6% of your income over the threshold on a Postgraduate Loan plan. The threshold amounts change on 6 April every year.
Plan
Who is usually on it
Yearly threshold
Plan 1
Student Finance Northern Ireland, and courses in England or Wales started before 1 September 2012
£26,900
Plan 2
Undergraduate courses in England started from 1 September 2012 to 31 July 2023, and in Wales from 1 September 2012
£29,385
Plan 4
Student Awards Agency Scotland
£33,795
Plan 5
Undergraduate courses in England started on or after 1 August 2023
£25,000
Postgraduate Loan
Master's or doctoral courses in England or Wales
£21,000
If you are on more than one plan type and do not have a Postgraduate Loan, you repay 9% of your income over the lowest threshold of the plans you have. You can check your plan by signing in to your online student loan account.
Worked examples for 2026/27
These use GOV.UK's own example salary of £35,000 and the top of the basic rate band, with the standard Personal Allowance and no student loan.
Salary and where you live
Income Tax
National Insurance
Take home for the year
£35,000, outside Scotland
£4,486
£1,794.40
£28,719.60
£35,000, Scotland
£4,501.07
£1,794.40
£28,704.53
£50,270, outside Scotland
£7,540
£3,016
£39,714
National Insurance at £35,000 is 8% of £22,430, the earnings between £12,570 and £35,000. On Plan 2, a £35,000 salary would also repay £505.35 of student loan for the year, which is 9% of the £5,615 above the £29,385 threshold.
Why might your payslip be different?
The calculator works on the yearly thresholds. GOV.UK also sets them for each week and month, so the National Insurance primary threshold is £242 a week or £1,048 a month, and a payslip uses the figure for its pay period.
Your tax code also changes the result, because its numbers tell your employer how much tax-free income you get. 1257L is the tax code currently used for most people who have one job or pension. If too much was taken, our guide to claiming a tax refund explains how to get it back.
The calculator does not include pension contributions, benefits in kind, a second job or other income. Our tax guides cover those questions.