UK Salary Comparison: Two Take Home Pays Side by Side
A salary comparison that shows the real difference. Enter two UK salaries and see exactly how much more lands in your account each month after 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance.
Current pay
New pay
Full breakdown
| Current pay | New pay | Difference |
|---|
Both sides use the 2026/27 rates: £12,570 personal allowance, 20%/40%/45% income tax (Scotland 19% to 48%), 8%/2% National Insurance. Pension is salary sacrifice. See the methodology for the full detail.
How to read the result
The big figure at the top is the whole point: the actual monthly take home difference between the two salaries. Under it, the breakdown table shows where the gap comes from, row by row. Income tax usually takes the biggest bite of a pay rise, then National Insurance, then your student loan if the new salary sits above your plan threshold.
Use the quick buttons to model a rise in one click. Each button adds the amount to the new pay box instantly, so you can test £1,000, £5,000 and £10,000 rises back to back and watch the take home gap move. Set new pay to current pay plus £5,000 and you will see the true value of that offer letter. Change each side’s region, pension and loan to match reality, because the numbers are only honest when both sides use your real details.
Compare the whole package
One more tip: a salary comparison should include the whole package, not just the headline number. A bigger pension match, extra holiday days or private medical cover can be worth thousands a year on top of the salary itself. Put the two salaries through the tool above, then weigh the benefits beside the take home gap. The best offer is the one that leaves you richest overall, not the one with the biggest gross figure.
Common questions
A pay rise is taxed at your marginal rate, not your average rate. If the extra pay falls inside the 20% band you keep roughly 68p of every extra pound after income tax and National Insurance. In the 40% band you keep about 50p. That is why a £5,000 rise rarely adds £5,000 a year to your bank balance.
Yes. Set each side’s region separately and the tool applies the right bands to each. On £35,000 the Scottish take home is £2,392.04 a month against £2,393.30 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so you can see the exact cross border difference.
Yes, each side has its own pension percentage and student loan plan. That matters because a new job might come with a bigger pension match or because your loan is nearly paid off. Set both sides honestly for a fair like for like result.
The tool handles it automatically. Cross £50,270 and the slice above is taxed at 40% instead of 20%. Cross £100,000 and your personal allowance starts to shrink. Watch the income tax row in the breakdown to see exactly where the extra tax bites.
More tools:
Salary calculator
Salary tables
Take Home pay index
How we calculate