Gross to Net Salary Calculator
Work it out in either direction. Enter your gross salary to see your take-home pay, or enter the take-home pay you want and see the gross salary you need to ask for.
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How to use this calculator
Works in both directions — pick whichever number you actually know.
Choose what you know
“Gross pay” if you know your salary before deductions — a job offer, for example. “Take-home pay” if you know what you want to land in your bank account and need to work backwards to the salary to ask for.
Enter the amount and period
Yearly, monthly or weekly — whichever you have. Add your region, any pension sacrifice percentage, and your student loan plan if it applies.
Read the result
The figure updates instantly, with a full breakdown of income tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan underneath, and both the gross and net figures shown side by side.
Nearby
Gross vs net at common salaries
Same region, pension and student loan settings as above, at round salary figures either side of yours. Your own salary is highlighted.
| Gross (year) | Net (year) | Net (month) |
|---|
The basics
Gross pay vs net pay — what’s the difference?
Gross pay is what your contract or job offer states — your salary before anything is taken off. Net pay, also called take-home pay, is what actually lands in your bank account after income tax, National Insurance, any pension contribution and any student loan repayment have been deducted.
Job adverts and salary negotiations almost always use the gross figure, which is why “what will this actually pay me” is such a common question. Working from a target take-home figure back to the gross salary you need to ask for is the less common direction, but just as useful — this calculator does both from the same set of inputs.
What comes off
The four things that turn gross into net
| What it is | Roughly how much | |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | 20% on most income above your Personal Allowance (£12,570), 40% above £37,700 taxable, 45% above £125,140 | Varies by income |
| National Insurance | 8% of pay between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above that | Varies by income |
| Pension | Only if you contribute — commonly 3% to 8% of salary, often matched by your employer | Your choice |
| Student loan | 9% above your plan’s threshold (6% for postgraduate loans), only if you have a loan | Plan-dependent |
Scotland uses six income tax bands instead of three, with different thresholds — National Insurance and student loan rules are the same across the whole UK.
Student loans
Which student loan plan am I on?
| Plan | Who it applies to | Threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | Started before Sept 2012, or Northern Ireland | £26,900 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | Sept 2012 to July 2023, England and Wales | £29,385 | 9% |
| Plan 4 | Studied in Scotland | £33,795 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | Started Aug 2023 or later, England | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate | Master’s or doctoral loan | £21,000 | 6% |
A postgraduate loan repayment always runs alongside an undergraduate plan repayment, not instead of it, if you have both — tick the postgraduate box above as well as selecting your main plan.
Questions
Common questions
What salary do I need to take home £2,500 a month?
It depends on your region, pension and student loan, but for someone in England or Wales with no pension or student loan, £36,778 a year gross gets you to almost exactly £2,500 a month net. Enter your own numbers above for an exact figure.
Does this include pension and student loan?
Yes, both are optional inputs. Pension is calculated as salary sacrifice, which reduces the pay both tax and National Insurance are calculated on. Student loan repayments are calculated the same way whichever direction you are working in.
Why is my net pay different from what my payslip shows?
This calculator assumes the standard Personal Allowance and no unusual tax code, benefits in kind, or one-off deductions. If your tax code is not the standard one for the year, or your employer applies other deductions, your actual payslip can differ slightly.
How is the reverse calculation done?
There is no simple formula to go from take-home pay straight to gross salary, because tax and National Insurance are not flat percentages. Instead the calculator tries different gross salaries and narrows in on the one that produces your target take-home pay, accurate to the penny.
Is this the same as the main take-home pay calculator?
It uses the same tax and National Insurance rules, but this tool is built specifically to work backwards from take-home pay to gross salary, which the main calculator does not do. For extra options like bonuses, overtime, tax codes and benefits, use the main take-home pay calculator.
Where these figures come from. Income tax, National Insurance and student loan rates are taken from gov.uk for the 2026/27 tax year. The reverse calculation (take-home pay to gross salary) is worked out by this calculator using the same rates, not a separate published source. All figures were checked on 23 September 2026.
Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances · National Insurance rates · Student loan repayment rates
How we calculate · Editorial policy. This is general information, not tax advice.