Career-stage Money Guide
NHS Band 6 nurse
What an NHS Band 6 nurse on £42,618 actually takes home after NHS Pension contributions, tax, NI and Plan 2 student loan in 2026/27 — and the four decisions wor…
Take-home: £28,669/year
How to use this library
Pick the guide that most closely matches your situation. Each one is a 1,500-2,000 word walk through the financial picture for that role: the headline take-home figure, why the deductions look the way they do, the scheme-specific dynamics, the four decisions worth making, and the most common mistake.
This library will grow. The first ten roles below cover the highest-search-volume UK working positions. Subsequent batches will add public-sector specialisations (police, fire, military, HMRC), private-sector specialisations (FAANG comp, finance, law, accounting), and life-event guides (redundancy, divorce, inheritance, bereavement).
Medical Training · Money Guide
NHS junior doctor (F2/ST)
What an NHS junior doctor (F2/ST) on £52,510 with banding actually takes home after NHS Pension, tax, NI and Plan 2 student loan in 2026/27, plus the LTFT and p…
Take-home: £34,047/year
Teaching · Money Guide
Primary school teacher (M5)
What a primary school teacher on M5 (£35,841 in England outside London) actually takes home after Teachers' Pension Scheme contributions, tax, NI and Plan 2 stu…
Take-home: £25,909/year
Contracting · Money Guide
Inside-IR35 contractor (umbrella)
What a £500/day contractor working inside umb via an umbrella company actually takes home in 2026/27 — the umbrella margin, employer NI, holiday pay, and how i…
Take-home: £59,204/year
Contracting · Money Guide
Outside-IR35 contractor (Ltd company)
What a £500/day contractor working outside IR35 through their own limited company actually takes home in 2026/27 — corporation tax, salary/dividend split, divid…
Take-home: £69,656/year
Civil Service · Money Guide
Civil servant Grade 7
What a UK civil servant on Grade 7 (£68,000) actually takes home after Alpha pension contributions, tax, NI and Plan 2 student loan in 2026/27, plus the four de…
Take-home: £43,441/year
Tech · Money Guide
Tech engineer £100k + RSUs
What a UK software engineer earning £100k base plus £30k RSU vesting actually takes home in 2026/27, plus the 60% tax trap, RSU sell-to-cover mechanics, and the…
Take-home: £80,058/year
Small Business · Money Guide
Small business owner (Ltd company, £80k extraction)
What a UK Ltd company owner extracting £80,000 a year via the standard salary + dividend structure actually takes home in 2026/27, with corporation tax, dividen…
Take-home: £66,884/year
Family Tax · Money Guide
Higher-rate earner with 2 children (HICBC)
What a higher-rate earner on £75,000 with 2 children actually takes home in 2026/27 once Child Benefit, the High Income Child Benefit Charge clawback, and salar…
Take-home: £54,057/year
Pre-Retirement · Money Guide
Approaching retirement, drawing pension
What a 65-year-old drawing £40,000 a year from a defined-contribution pension actually takes home in 2026/27, plus the State Pension forecast, the 25% tax-free …
Take-home: £36,514/year
Property Investor · Money Guide · NEW
Buy-to-let landlord 2026/27
Full tax picture for UK BTL landlords in 2026/27: 5% stamp duty surcharge, Section 24 mortgage interest restriction, 18%/24% CGT on residential disposal, and th…
Effective tax rate: 35-55%
Crypto · Money Guide · NEW
Crypto investor 2026/27
UK crypto investor tax framework: CGT at 18%/24%, the £3,000 allowance, HMRC share-pooling rules, staking income, and the HMRC exchange data-sharing reality in…
CGT 18% / 24%
Saver · Money Guide · NEW
Higher-rate saver with £100k+ savings
UK higher-rate saver guide for 2026/27: the £500 PSA, £5,000 starting rate, ISA shelter strategy, Premium Bonds maths, and the HMRC tax code adjustment that ca…
PSA: £500 higher-rate
Pre-Retirement · Money Guide · NEW
Pre-retiree: annuity vs drawdown
The annuity vs drawdown decision in 2026/27: rates at 30-year highs, the MPAA trap,
worked examples at £…
Annuity rate ~£5,500-£7,800/£100k
Career-stage · Money Guide · NEW
£45k middle manager (HICBC territory)
Full tax picture for a UK £45k middle manager in 2026/27: bonus-year HICBC trap, Marriage Allowance, pension salary sacrifice at basic-rate, and Lifetime ISA op…
Take-home: £34,299/year
High-Earner · Money Guide · NEW
£150k+ City professional
UK £150k+ City/tech professional tax picture for 2026/27: 60% trap escape, tapered Annual Allowance, RSU mechanics, EIS/VCT efficiency and the four decisions w…
Take-home: ~£91,300/year
Property Buyer · Money Guide · NEW
Second-home / holiday-let buyer
UK second-home buyer tax picture in 2026/27: 5% SDLT surcharge, council tax premium (up to 200%), CGT on disposal, FHL regime abolition (April 2025), and the f…
SDLT surcharge: 5%
Ltd Co · Money Guide · NEW
Director-shareholder of a Ltd Co
UK Ltd Co director-shareholder optimal extraction in 2026/27: £12,570 salary + dividends, 19%-25% corporation tax, 10.75%-39.35% dividend tax, employer pension …
Combined effective: 26-49%
Life Event · Money Guide · NEW
Inheritance windfall recipient
What to do with a £50k-£500k UK inheritance in 2026/27: IHT framework, CGT step-up on inherited assets, pension inheritance (age 75 cliff), and the four decisi…
IHT allowance: £500k single / £1m couple
Early Retirement · Money Guide · NEW
Early retiree / UK FIRE
UK FIRE money guide for 2026/27: bridging from FIRE date to age 55-57 pension access, ISA + GIA tax-free drawdown headroom, UK rson
Tax-free GIA drawdown: ~£22k/person
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