UK Tax Guides 2026/27

Plain-English guides to help you understand UK tax and keep more of your salary.

What Salary Do I Need to Take Home £X?

Essentials

Net-to-gross table for 2026/27: the salary needed for every monthly take-home from £1,200 to £10,000, UK and Scotland, with and without pension and student loan.

How Is a Bonus Taxed?

Tax Planning

What you keep of a £1,000–£10,000 bonus at every salary, why the bonus payslip looks worse, and when to sacrifice it into a pension.

Take-Home Pay Table 2026/27

Essentials

Income tax, NI, take-home and marginal rate for every £1,000 salary from £10,000 to £200,000 — UK and Scotland side by side.

Take-Home Pay Explained

Essentials

What gets deducted from your salary and how to calculate your actual take-home pay.

Tax Codes Explained

Essentials

What your tax code means, how to check it, and what to do if it's wrong.

National Insurance

Essentials

NI rates, thresholds, and how contributions affect your take-home pay.

Scottish Tax Rates 2026/27

Scotland

All 6 Scottish tax bands compared to England. See the difference at every salary.

Pension Tax Relief

Tax Planning

How pension contributions reduce your tax bill and how to maximise relief.

Salary Sacrifice

Tax Planning

How salary sacrifice works for pensions, electric cars, and cycle to work schemes.

£100k Tax Trap

Tax Planning

The hidden 60% tax rate between £100k and £125k and how to avoid it.

Student Loan Repayment

Deductions

Repayment thresholds, rates, and strategies for Plans 1-5 and postgraduate loans.

Marriage Allowance

Tax Savings

Transfer £1,260 of personal allowance to your partner and save up to £252/year.

Self-Employed Tax

Self-Employment

Income tax, Class 4 NI, allowable expenses, and payments on account.

Scottish Income Tax 2026/27

Scotland

New starter and basic rate bands, take-home pay changes, and Scotland vs England comparison.

How Much Tax Do I Pay? 2026/27

Essentials

Worked examples at £20k, £30k, £50k, £75k, and £100k showing income tax, NI, and take-home pay.

Making Tax Digital 2026/27

Self-Employment

MTD for Income Tax is live from April 2026. Who's affected, quarterly filing obligations, software, and how to prepare.

Child Benefit & High Income Charge

Tax Planning

The £60,000 HICBC threshold, how the taper works with examples, and salary sacrifice strategies to keep your benefit.

Dividend Tax Explained 2026/27

Self-Employment

Dividend tax rates, allowances, worked examples for Ltd company directors, and strategies to reduce your tax bill.

UK Tax Changes April 2026

Essentials

Every change from 6 April 2026: frozen thresholds, dividend tax rises, NLW at £12.71/hr, MTD launch, and homeworking relief scrapped.

Try the Salary Calculator