About Salary Sacrifice Calculator

What this website does

Salary sacrifice is one of the more confusing parts of UK payroll. People are often told they will “save 40%” or that a scheme is “tax free”, without any explanation of what actually happens to their pay packet. The numbers that matter, the difference between the salary given up and the take-home pay actually lost, are rarely shown.

This site exists to show those numbers. The Salary Sacrifice Calculator takes your salary, your tax region, your student loan plan and the amount you are considering sacrificing, and produces a before-and-after breakdown of Income Tax, National Insurance and estimated take-home pay.

There is one calculator, not a collection of them. Pension, electric vehicle, cycle to work and other benefits are handled as modes within the same tool, because the underlying calculation is the same and only the treatment of the benefit changes.

The tool is informational

This is important enough to state plainly rather than bury in a disclaimer.

• Results are estimates The calculator applies published rates and thresholds for the 2026/27 tax year using standard annual PAYE assumptions and a standard tax code. It produces an estimate, not a payslip.
• Actual payroll results may differ Your employer’s payroll works from your actual tax code, your pay periods, any mid-year changes, other taxable benefits and the specific rules of your employer’s scheme. Any of these can move the result.
• This is not financial or tax advice Nothing here takes account of your personal circumstances. For decisions that matter, check with your employer, your payroll provider or a qualified professional.
• Not affiliated with HMRC This is an independent website. It is not connected with, endorsed by or operated by HM Revenue & Customs or any government department.

How the calculator is built

All calculations run in your own browser. Nothing you type into the calculator is sent to this website or stored anywhere. You can use it without an account, without an email address and without providing any personal details.

Tax rates and thresholds are held in a single configuration in the calculator rather than being scattered through the code, so they can be reviewed and updated as a set when a new tax year begins or when rates change.

What the calculator covers

• Income Tax for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, including the separate Scottish bands
• The Personal Allowance and its taper above £100,000
• Employee Class 1 National Insurance
• Employer National Insurance, shown separately and never added to your take-home figures
• Student loan Plans 1, 2, 4, 5 and Postgraduate
• Benefit-in-kind treatment for electric vehicle schemes

What it does not cover

• Non-standard tax codes, multiple jobs or income other than the salary you enter
• Mid-year changes, irregular pay periods or bonuses
• Pension annual allowance limits, including the tapered allowance for high earners
• The specific rules, fees and conditions of any individual employer’s scheme

Keeping the figures accurate

Tax rates, thresholds and rules change. UK Income Tax bands, National Insurance thresholds and student loan repayment thresholds are reviewed by government on their own timetables, and Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands separately from the rest of the UK.

The figures used here are the published rates for the 2026/27 tax year. Where a future change has been announced but has not yet taken effect, it is described on the relevant page and clearly dated, rather than being applied to the current year’s calculation.

Where to start

• Salary Sacrifice Calculator The main tool. Enter your figures and see a before-and-after breakdown.
• How Salary Sacrifice Works A plain-English explanation of the arrangement, the five stages, and what to check before agreeing to one.
• Salary Sacrifice Tax & National Insurance The 2026/27 rates and thresholds, and why the saving differs from one person to another.