Whether it's a pay rise, a counter-offer, or a new job on the table — see exactly how much more take-home pay it's really worth, once tax takes its share.
The headline gap between two salaries is always bigger than the real gap in take-home pay.
A gross pay rise of, say, £6,000 doesn't mean £6,000 extra in your bank account — it's taxed at your marginal rate, same as a bonus would be. If it pushes part of your income into a higher Income Tax band, or past the Upper Earnings Limit for NI, the "keep rate" on the raise itself can be noticeably lower than your overall average tax rate.
This is also the right way to compare two job offers with different salaries: the two can lead to different decisions once pension contributions or student loan repayments are factored in on both sides — not just the raw salary gap.
Rates and thresholds are for the 2026/27 tax year. Figures assume identical pension and student loan settings for both salaries — adjust them to match your actual offer if either changes.