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Salary Hub

This is the cleanest route through the salary side of the site. Use it when the real question is not just "what is my tax?" but "what is actually happening to my payslip, threshold exposure, or employer trade-off?"

How to use this hub

Where to start on a pay question

The right salary page depends on whether the problem is take-home pay, thresholds, payroll admin, or employer-linked trade-offs. This hub is there to route you into the right calculator before you start changing inputs blindly.

Last reviewed26 September 2026
Who this hub is forEmployees, higher earners, and families trying to understand payroll, ANI, salary sacrifice, and employer-benefit trade-offs.
Where to startStart with the full annual pay picture, then isolate the threshold or payroll quirk that is actually moving the result.
Main riskFocusing on one payslip line while missing the threshold or allowance that is doing the real damage.
Best next move. Open the Tax Drag Calculator first, then add ANI, Child Benefit, emergency-tax, or company-car pages only if the salary story actually points you there.
By · Reviewed

Pick the salary question first

Most-used calculators

Incremental

Bonus / Pay Rise

See what the next raise, overtime block or one-off payment really leaves you with.

Threshold

Adjusted Net Income

Work out the number behind Child Benefit, childcare and Personal Allowance tapering.

Benefit

Company Car Tax

Compare EV, hybrid and combustion-car benefit-in-kind costs.

Useful explainers and update pages

Take-home pay by salary band (2026/27) — England, Wales, NI

Twelve specific salary bands with full UK 2026/27 tax + NI breakdowns. Each page also includes a Scotland comparison and links into the tax calculator pre-filled.

£25,000

£25k take-home in 2026/27

Graduate / first proper job. Comfortably basic rate, ~86p kept per £1. ~£21,520 a year, ~£1,793/month.

£60,000

£60k take-home in 2026/27

HICBC kicks in for parents. Effective ~52% marginal on £60k-£80k slice. ~£45,357, ~£3,780/month.

£85,000

£85k take-home in 2026/27

Best-positioned higher rate. Headroom before the 60% trap. ~£59,857, ~£4,988/month.

Take-home pay by salary band (2026/27) — Scotland

Scotland-specific take-home calculations for three key bands. Income tax is set by the Scottish Parliament (six bands, with 19% starter through 48% top rate). National Insurance is reserved UK-wide.

£50,000 · Scotland

£50k Scottish take-home

Higher rate (42%) starts £6.6k earlier than rUK. ~£1,500/yr more income tax. ~£38,024, ~£3,169/month.

£100,000 · Scotland

£100k Scottish take-home

Top of 45% Advanced Rate band. ~£3,300/yr more income tax than rUK. ~£65,257, ~£5,438/month.

£150,000 · Scotland

£150k Scottish take-home

48% Top Rate territory. UK's highest income tax band. ~£5,931/yr less than rUK. ~£85,355, ~£7,113/month.

P60 season — payroll documents demystified

If you receive a P60 between May and July, these short guides cover what each box means and what to do if anything looks wrong.

Guide

How to read a P60

Box-by-box walkthrough of the year-end payroll summary, plus the four checks worth doing.

Guide

Five P60 mistakes

The most common quiet errors — wrong tax code, missing pension contributions, P11D mismatches.

Decision frameworks

For the moments where the calculator output isn't enough — these guides walk through the decision behind it.

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Pages are checked against the primary sources listed on each page and reviewed by the Editor; corrections are logged in the changelog. Pages are drafted with the help of AI tools (how AI is used). No affiliate revenue. No sponsored content. No paid placements.

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UK Tax Drag is an independent publication by Finsolve Consulting Limited, not affiliated with or endorsed by HMRC, GOV.UK or any government body.