Tax year 2026/27 · rates from GOV.UK

See what salary sacrifice really does to your take-home pay

Enter your salary and pension details. The planner works out your monthly take-home, compares the three ways of paying into a pension, and shows how much extra you would need to sacrifice to keep your Child Benefit, your childcare support or your full personal allowance.

Annual salary before any sacrifice

Your contractual gross pay, the figure in your contract or offer letter.

Where you pay income tax

How you pay into your pension Not sure? Your payslip or pension scheme booklet says which. How to tell.

Your pension contribution

% of salary £ a year

The gross amount that goes into your pension from you (before any employer top-up).

Employer contribution

Of your salary before sacrifice. Auto-enrolment minimum is 3%.

Employer passes on its National Insurance saving Salary sacrifice saves your employer 15% NI on the sacrificed amount. Some employers share it.

Student loans, children and other options

Student loan plan

Postgraduate loan6% above £21,000

Children you claim Child Benefit for Used for the High Income Child Benefit Charge, which starts above £60,000.

We use Tax-Free Childcare or the 30 funded hoursBoth stop if either parent's income goes over £100,000.

Hours you work a week Used to check salary sacrifice keeps you above the National Minimum Wage.

I am over State Pension ageNo employee National Insurance. Show the April 2029 £2,000 salary sacrifice capSacrificed contributions above £2,000 a year will attract National Insurance from 6 April 2029.

Your monthly take-home pay —

Where your salary goes

How much more would you need to sacrifice?

Same pension contribution, three ways of paying it

Each row puts the same gross amount into your pension. The difference is what happens to your National Insurance and how the tax relief arrives.

The £2,000 salary sacrifice cap from April 2029

How much of your next £1,000 pay rise you keep

The line shows the share of each extra £1,000 lost to tax, National Insurance, loans and the Child Benefit charge, with your pension contribution held fixed. The marker is you.

Child Benefit and childcare

Assumptions and sources

This planner covers employment income only. It does not include bonuses taxed separately, benefits in kind, Marriage Allowance, Blind Person's Allowance, Gift Aid, other income, or the tapered pension annual allowance for very high earners. Payroll works period by period, so a payslip can differ by a few pounds.