2026/27 tax year. Real HMRC income tax bands, Scotland-specific rates, National Insurance, student loan repayment and pension — not a flat estimate.
Your take-home pay is your gross salary minus three things, in this order: your pension contribution (if it's deducted under a "net pay arrangement", the most common setup for UK workplace pensions), income tax, and National Insurance. Whatever's left after your student loan repayment (if any) is what actually lands in your account.
| Band | Income range | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £0 – £12,570 | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 – £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 – £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | Over £125,140 | 45% |
The Personal Allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 earned above £100,000, and is fully gone by £125,140 — so income between £100k and £125,140 is effectively taxed at 60%.
Income tax is partially devolved: Scottish taxpayers use six bands instead of three. The Personal Allowance is the same £12,570.
| Band | Income range | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Starter rate | £12,571 – £16,537 | 19% |
| Basic rate | £16,538 – £29,526 | 20% |
| Intermediate rate | £29,527 – £43,662 | 21% |
| Higher rate | £43,663 – £75,000 | 42% |
| Advanced rate | £75,001 – £125,140 | 45% |
| Top rate | Over £125,140 | 48% |
Take a £45,000 gross salary with no pension contribution. In England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that produces take-home pay of roughly £35,920/year (£2,993/month). In Scotland, the same £45,000 salary lands in the 42% higher band earlier, producing take-home pay of roughly £35,524/year (£2,960/month) — about £396 less per year, purely down to where you live. National Insurance is identical in both cases because NI is set UK-wide, not devolved.
NI is separate from income tax and applies the same way across the whole UK. Employees pay 8% on earnings between the Primary Threshold (£12,570/year) and the Upper Earnings Limit (£50,270/year), then 2% on everything above that.
| Plan | Threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate | £21,000 | 6% |
If you're repaying an undergraduate plan and a Postgraduate Loan at the same time, both repayments apply independently — effectively 15% above both thresholds combined.