Net-to-Gross Calculator
Calculate the gross salary required to achieve your desired take-home pay. Perfect for salary negotiations, recruiters, and employment contracts.
Rates checked against GOV.UK on 19 October 2026 · How we check our calculators
Desired Take-Home Pay
Enter your desired take-home pay to calculate the required gross salary
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Important Disclaimer
This tool provides indicative calculations only and does not constitute financial, accounting, tax, or legal advice. The accuracy of results depends on the accuracy of information you provide. Consult a qualified professional for complex situations.
Overview
A net-to-gross calculation runs the payroll maths backwards: you know the take-home figure you need, and you want the gross salary that produces it. It is the calculation behind most salary negotiations, recruiter offers and contractor day-rate conversions — and it is harder than it looks, because the relationship between gross and net is not a straight line. Income tax bands, the employee National Insurance step-down at £50,270, student loan thresholds and the personal allowance taper above £100,000 all bend the curve at different points. Working forwards from a gross figure instead, use the take-home pay calculator.
Worked Example (2026/27)
Worked Example: Targeting £2,500 a Month Take-Home
Target: £2,500 net per month, or £30,000 net per year. No pension contributions or student loan.
Working backwards: 1. Below £50,270 every extra pound of gross is taxed at 20% and carries 8% employee NI, so you keep 72p in the pound 2. The first £12,570 is free of both, which is worth £3,519.60 in retained pay 3. Net = 0.72 × gross + £3,519.60 4. £30,000 = 0.72 × gross + £3,519.60 → gross = £36,778
Check: on £36,778 the tax is £4,841.60 and employee NI is £1,936.64, leaving £29,999.76 — £2,500 a month.
Rule of thumb: in the basic-rate band, every £1,000 of extra take-home costs roughly £1,389 of gross salary. That ratio worsens sharply higher up.
2026/27 Rates & Thresholds
| Gross band | Marginal tax | Employee NI | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £12,570 | 0% | 0% | 100p in the £ |
| £12,571 – £50,270 | 20% | 8% | 72p |
| £50,271 – £100,000 | 40% | 2% | 58p |
| £100,001 – £125,140 | 40% + allowance taper | 2% | **38p** |
| Above £125,140 | 45% | 2% | 53p |
The £100,000 Trap Nobody Budgets For
Between £100,000 and £125,140 the personal allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 earned, which stacks on top of the 40% band to produce an effective marginal rate of 60% — 62% once employee NI is counted. You keep just 38p of each extra pound.
In net-to-gross terms the effect is brutal. To take home £70,000 you need roughly £103,800 of gross salary, and inside that band every extra £1,000 of salary delivers only about £380 of take-home. Someone negotiating a £5,000 rise through this band gains under £1,900. A pension contribution that keeps taxable income at £100,000 is usually worth far more than the equivalent cash, which is why this band drives so much salary-sacrifice planning.
Why Recruiters and Employers Get Different Answers
A net-to-gross figure is only meaningful alongside the assumptions behind it, and the common ones move the answer by thousands:
- Student loan plan — Plan 2 deducts 9% above £29,385 (2026/27), which raises the gross needed for the same net considerably
- Pension contributions — salary sacrifice reduces taxable pay and NI, so the gross required for a given net is lower than a naive calculation suggests
- Tax code — anything other than the standard code changes the free-pay allowance entirely
- Scottish taxpayers — different bands and rates apply to non-savings income
When quoting a gross figure to a candidate, state the assumptions with it. And remember the employer's own cost sits above the gross: employer NI at 15% on earnings over £5,000 means a £36,778 salary costs the business roughly £41,545 before pension — see the employer NI calculator.
Common Mistakes HMRC Penalises
- Scaling linearly — doubling the target net does not double the gross, because each band retains a different proportion.
- Ignoring student loan repayments, which add 9% above the plan threshold and materially raise the gross required.
- Quoting a net figure without stating the pension, student loan and tax-code assumptions behind it.
- Forgetting employer NI when budgeting a hire — the gross salary is not the cost of employment.
- Negotiating a raise through the £100,000–£125,140 band without realising only 38p in the pound reaches your account.
- Applying rUK bands to a Scottish taxpayer, whose rates and thresholds differ.
When to Seek Professional Advice
Take advice if you are structuring a package around the £100,000 taper, converting a contractor day rate into a permanent salary, or comparing an offer that mixes salary with bonus, equity or benefits — each is taxed differently and a headline net figure hides that. Employers should also take advice before guaranteeing a net figure in a contract: net-of-tax pay clauses shift the risk of future rate and threshold changes onto the business, and those thresholds are frozen until 2028.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the 2026/27 personal allowance affect my net-to-gross calculation?+
For the 2026/27 tax year, the personal allowance remains at £12,570, meaning the first £12,570 of gross salary is tax-free. Any amount above this threshold is subject to income tax at the basic rate of 20% until reaching the higher rate band. This allowance directly reduces the gross figure needed to achieve a specific net pay target.
What are the dividend tax rates and allowance for 2026/27?+
Dividend tax rates for 2026/27 are 10.75% for basic rate, 35.75% for higher rate, and 39.35% for additional rate taxpayers. The tax-free dividend allowance is set at £500 per year, below which no tax is due. Calculations must account for this allowance before applying the relevant marginal tax rates to your dividend income.
How is employer National Insurance calculated on salaries above £5,000?+
Employers pay Class 1 National Insurance at a rate of 15% on earnings above the £5,000 annual threshold for the 2026/27 tax year. This cost is separate from employee deductions and is often factored into total employment costs during salary negotiations. Understanding this helps in determining the true gross cost of a role versus the net take-home pay.
When does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment become mandatory?+
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) becomes mandatory for individuals with gross income exceeding £50,000 from April 2026. This requires maintaining digital records and submitting quarterly updates to HMRC. The threshold is expected to lower to £30,000 in the following tax year, expanding the scope of affected taxpayers.
What is the s455 tax rate and when does it apply to company distributions?+
The s455 tax rate is 35.75% and applies to loans made by a close company to a participator that are not repaid within nine months of the accounting period end. This charge is refundable to the company once the loan is repaid, but it creates a significant cash flow impact. Accurate net-to-gross calculations for directors must consider potential s455 liabilities on outstanding loans.
Sources and how this calculator is checked
The rates and thresholds in this calculator come from the GOV.UK pages below. We last checked them on 19 October 2026. The calculation engine is covered by 400+ automated tests, whose expected figures come from GOV.UK worked examples and PolicyEngine UK, an open-source model of the UK tax system. Read our methodology.
Spotted a figure that doesn't match GOV.UK? Tell us and we'll correct it.
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