Free calculator · 2026/27 rates

Pay rise calculator

A pay rise is taxed at your marginal rate, so you keep 72% of it as a basic rate taxpayer and 58% above £50,270. A rise from £35,000 to £38,000 adds £3,000 to gross pay but £2,160 to take-home, £180 a month. Enter your current salary and the rise to see what you actually keep.

Your pay rise

Current salary

Rise given as

PercentAmountNew salary

Pay rise

Pension contribution

Taken before tax (net pay). Set to 0 if none.

Student loan plan

Tax year

Scottish taxpayer

What the rise is worth · 2026/27

Extra take-home per month

£99

Per year

£1,190

Gross rise: £1,750
You keep: 68%
Marginal rate before: 27%
Marginal rate after: 27%

A rise from £35,000 to £36,750 adds £1,750 to your gross pay but £1,190 to your take-home, because 32% goes in income tax, National Insurance and pension.

Before and after, per year
Item	Before	After	Change
Gross salary	£35,000	£36,750	+£1,750
Pension	£1,750	£1,838	+£88
Income tax	£4,136	£4,469	+£333
National Insurance	£1,794	£1,934	+£140
Take-home pay	£27,320	£28,510	+£1,190
Take-home per month	£2,277	£2,376	+£99

How much of a pay rise do you keep?

Only the extra income is taxed at the higher rates, and the rate that applies is the one for the band the extra income lands in. Basic rate taxpayers lose 20% tax and 8% NI. Above £50,270 the rate is 40% tax and 2% NI. Between £100,000 and £125,140 the personal allowance is withdrawn as well, so the marginal rate is 62%. Pension contributions and student loans take a further slice.

Rise (2026/27, no pension or loan)	Gross rise	Take-home rise	Kept
£25,000 to £27,000	£2,000	£1,440	72%
£35,000 to £38,000	£3,000	£2,160	72%
£48,000 to £53,000	£5,000	£3,218	64%
£60,000 to £65,000	£5,000	£2,900	58%
£98,000 to £108,000	£10,000	£4,200	42%

Worked example: £35,000 to £38,000

Before the rise, take-home pay is £28,720 (£2,393 a month). After it, £30,880 (£2,573 a month). Income tax rises by £600 and National Insurance by £240, so 72% of the rise reaches your account. With a 5% pension and a Plan 2 loan, the share kept drops to about 59%.

What do people get wrong about pay rises?

Thinking a rise into the 40% band taxes everything at 40%. Only the slice above £50,270 is taxed at 40%.
Ignoring cliff edges outside income tax. Child Benefit starts to be clawed back from £60,000, and tax-free childcare and 30 hours childcare stop at £100,000 adjusted net income.
Comparing a backdated first payslip. A lump sum of arrears is taxed as if you earned it every month, so the first month looks worse than the ongoing effect.

Pension contributions can reduce the tax on a rise; see the pension tax relief calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How much of a pay rise do you actually keep?

It depends on your marginal rate. A basic rate taxpayer keeps 72% of a rise after 20% tax and 8% NI. Above £50,270 you keep 58% (40% tax plus 2% NI). Between £100,000 and £125,140 you keep only 38% because the personal allowance is withdrawn. Pension and student loan deductions reduce it further.

Can a pay rise leave me worse off?

Almost never through tax alone, because the UK uses marginal bands: only the income above a threshold is taxed at the higher rate. You can be worse off if a rise pushes you over a cliff edge for benefits such as Child Benefit (from £60,000), tax-free childcare (£100,000) or the personal allowance taper, so check those separately.

Why did my take-home pay barely change after a raise?

Common causes are crossing into the 40% band, a student loan starting to be deducted, an increased pension percentage, or a tax code adjustment that arrived at the same time. If your rise was backdated, the first payslip may also have a lump sum taxed as if you earned that much every month, which evens out later.

Is a 5% pay rise good?

Compare it with inflation and with pay growth in your sector. If prices rose 3% and you got 5%, your real pay rose about 2%. Average UK regular pay growth has been between 4% and 6% in recent years, so a 5% rise is broadly in line with the market rather than exceptional.