Net pay
What actually reaches your bank account after income tax, National Insurance, pension and anything else.
Why it matters
It is the only figure worth budgeting from, and it is the one almost no financial rule of thumb is expressed in.
Where you will see it
The bottom line, and the figure that reaches your account.
What people get wrong
Almost every budgeting rule you will read is expressed against gross by people who have not noticed the difference. On a UK payslip that difference is between a fifth and a third.
What it looks like in numbers
| Salary | Income tax | National Insurance | Take-home | A month | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £2,486 | £994 | £21,520 | £1,793 | 13.9% |
| £35,000 | £4,486 | £1,794 | £28,720 | £2,393 | 17.9% |
| £50,000 | £7,486 | £2,994 | £39,520 | £3,293 | 21.0% |
| £75,000 | £17,432 | £3,510 | £54,058 | £4,505 | 27.9% |
| £110,000 | £33,432 | £4,210 | £72,358 | £6,030 | 34.2% |
Every figure above is computed from the published 2026/27 rates by the same engine that runs the calculators on this site, so the number in a table and the number in a calculator can never disagree. There is a fuller explanation here.
And the marginal rate, which is usually the point
| Salary | England, Wales, NI | Scotland | With a Plan 2 loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | 28.0% | 28.0% | 28.0% |
| £35,000 | 28.0% | 29.0% | 36.4% |
| £50,000 | 38.2% | 45.6% | 47.8% |
| £60,000 | 42.0% | 44.0% | 51.6% |
| £105,000 | 62.0% | 69.5% | 70.4% |
The same salary, by pay frequency
| Paid | Gross | Income tax | National Insurance | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly | £45,000.00 | £6,486.00 | £2,594.40 | £35,919.60 |
| Monthly | £3,750.00 | £540.50 | £216.16 | £2,993.34 |
| 4-weekly | £3,461.54 | £498.92 | £199.48 | £2,763.13 |
| Fortnightly | £1,730.77 | £249.46 | £99.74 | £1,381.57 |
| Weekly | £865.38 | £124.73 | £49.87 | £690.78 |
Income tax across a full year is the same whichever row you are on. National Insurance is not quite, because it is worked out on each pay period in isolation rather than cumulatively — which is a small effect on steady pay and a larger one on irregular hours.
Related terms
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Taxable pay | Your gross pay less anything that reduces the income tax base, such as a net pay pension contribution or salary sacrifice. |
| Marginal tax rate | The share of your next pound of income that does not reach you. |
| Effective tax rate | Total tax and National Insurance as a share of your gross pay across the year. |
| Salary sacrifice | An arrangement where you give up part of your contractual salary and your employer pays the equivalent into a pension or a benefit instead. |
Questions people actually ask
What does net pay mean?
What actually reaches your bank account after income tax, National Insurance, pension and anything else.
Where does net pay show up on my payslip?
The bottom line, and the figure that reaches your account.
Figures on this page are for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) and were last checked on 29 August 2026. Every rate we use is listed on the sources page.