Pay rise calculator

How it works

A pay rise is quoted before tax, but what matters is how much more reaches your bank account. This calculator works out your take-home pay before and after the rise, using the same engine as our main salary calculator, and shows the difference per month and the share of the rise you keep.

Your marginal rate decides how much you keep

Each extra pound of salary is taxed at your highest rate, not your average rate. That rate depends on where your pay sits:

• Basic rate (up to £50,270): 20% income tax plus 8% National Insurance, so you keep about 72%.
• Higher rate: 40% income tax plus 2% National Insurance, so you keep about 58%.
• Between £100,000 and £125,140: you also lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 you earn, so you keep only about 38%.

Student loan repayments take another 9% of pay above your plan’s threshold, and a percentage pension contribution grows with your salary, so add those under “More options” for an accurate figure.

Rises that cross a threshold

If your rise takes you over a threshold, part of it is taxed at one rate and part at another. The calculator handles this automatically, because it works out your full take-home pay on both salaries rather than applying a single rate to the rise. If you’re just over the higher-rate threshold, a pension contribution through salary sacrifice can bring your pay back under it and save 40% tax on that slice.

Comparing job offers

The same approach works when you’re comparing a new job with your current one. Enter your current salary and choose “New salary” to type the offer. The extra monthly take-home is usually the number that matters most for your budget, but remember to compare pension contributions, bonus schemes and benefits too: an employer that pays more into your pension can be worth more than a slightly higher salary.

If the rise is backdated, the arrears are usually paid in one go and taxed in the month they’re paid. That can make one payslip look unusually heavily taxed, but over the full tax year the total tax works out the same as if the rise had been paid month by month. Use the bonus calculator to see the effect on a single payslip.

Finally, check whether the rise changes anything else. Moving into a higher band can affect Marriage Allowance, and crossing the High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold means paying back some Child Benefit through Self Assessment.

Figures are for 2026/27, using rates verified against HMRC on 5 October 2026.

Worked example

A 10% rise from £30,000 to £33,000 adds £3,000 to your salary. Your take-home goes up by £2,160 a year, or £180.00 a month: you keep 72%.

The same 10% rise from £100,000 to £110,000 adds £3,800 a year after tax, 38% of the rise.