UK Salary Context

Where does a salary actually sit? Take-home, tax band, minimum-wage gap and national percentile — with no baked-in numbers.

Minimum-wage age band
Student loan plan
Advanced options pension & employer match, tax code, extra income, loan payoff
Pension

Enter as
Pension method How your contribution is treated for tax & National Insurance:
Salary sacrifice — taken before both, so you save income tax and NI.
Net pay — before tax but after NI (typical of workplace schemes); saves tax only.
Relief at source — paid from your take-home; the pot is topped up 20%, and higher-rate relief comes back via a wider tax band. when it's taken vs tax & NI
What your employer pays in, as a % of your salary — straight from your contract or payslip (e.g. you pay 7.08%, they pay 10.62%). It's separate from your own contribution and costs you no take-home. % of salary

Employer adds nothing yet — enter their contribution (% of your salary).

Your PAYE code (on your payslip) sets your tax-free allowance. e.g. 1257L = £12,570 tax-free; BR/D0/D1 tax everything at 20/40/45%; K codes add untaxed income; 0T gives no allowance. Leave blank for the standard allowance. overrides your allowance

Marriage Allowance A married or civil-partnered couple can move 10% of one person's personal allowance to the other. Pick I receive it if your partner (a non-taxpayer) transfers theirs to you; I transfer it if you give yours to your partner. ignored if a tax code is set
Income taxed on top of your salary — e.g. rental profit, or savings interest and dividends above their allowances. It pushes you further up the tax bands, but isn't added to your take-home here.
Benefits-in-kind from your employer — e.g. a company car, private medical insurance or gym membership. Their cash-equivalent value (from your P11D) is taxed like extra income.
Student loan payoff

Select a student loan plan above to project a payoff.

Take-home pay

—

— / month

—gross / hr —take-home / hr

Where your gross goes

    Vs minimum wage

    —

    Which student loan plan?

    For undergraduate loans it depends on where you studied and when your course started:

    • Plan 5England — course started on/after 1 Aug 2023
    • Plan 2England & Wales — 1 Sep 2012 – 31 Jul 2023
    • Plan 1Northern Ireland — or England/Wales before Sep 2012
    • Plan 4Scotland
    • PostgradA Master's or Doctoral loan — repaid alongside any of the above

    Still unsure? Check your exact plan on gov.uk, or your annual statement from the Student Loans Company.

    Income tax breakdown

    Bands apply to your taxable income (gross minus any pension). The personal allowance shown is after any high-income taper. Rest-of-UK rules — Scotland differs.

    Pension projection

    The average yearly return you assume for the pot (and for the "if invested" line). It's nominal, before inflation and charges — 5% is a common illustration; real returns vary and aren't guaranteed.
      Show the numbers