Compare Two UK Salaries: Net Take-Home Side by Side (2026/27)
Two job offers compared after income tax, NI, pension, and student loan. Updated 17 April 2026.
Beyond the headline salary number
A higher gross salary does not always mean a higher take-home pay. A job in Scotland paying £52,000 will net you less income tax than the same salary in England, but if one role includes a generous salary-sacrifice pension and the other does not, the net monthly cash position may be quite different. The calculator above lets you model each offer on its own terms.
When comparing two offers, consider the following factors beyond take-home pay:
Financial factors
- Employer pension contribution: a 10% match on a £45,000 salary adds £4,500/year in pension savings, which does not appear in take-home figures.
- Bonus structure: a guaranteed annual bonus of £5,000 is worth around £2,900 to a 40% taxpayer after tax and NI.
- Benefits in kind: a company car, private health insurance, or cycle-to-work scheme all have real monetary value that salary comparisons miss.
- Share options: vesting schedules, HMRC-approved vs unapproved schemes, and capital gains tax treatment all affect real value.
Non-financial factors
- Commute cost and time: a role requiring a £3,000/year season ticket and two hours of daily travel may leave you worse off than a lower salary with remote working.
- Holiday entitlement: 25 days vs 30 days is worth about 2% of salary in time value.
- Career progression: a lower-paying role with faster promotion ladders may be the better long-term choice.
- Job security: a fixed-term contract vs a permanent role is not captured in the salary figure.
Salary vs salary plus bonus: how to compare
When one offer includes a guaranteed annual bonus, convert it to a gross annual equivalent before comparing. A base salary of £48,000 plus a guaranteed £5,000 bonus is equivalent to a £53,000 total gross package. Enter the higher figure in the calculator to see the true net position.
Be careful with discretionary bonuses: they are not guaranteed and should be treated as a best-case figure, not a planning assumption. If you are comparing a role with a large "target bonus" against one with a lower but stable base, weight the base salary more heavily in your comparison.
For bonus-specific tax calculations, including how a one-off bonus interacts with your annual income bands and NI, see the bonus tax calculator.
Scottish vs rest-of-UK offers
If you are comparing a job in Edinburgh with one in Manchester, the income tax bands are different. The calculator handles this: use the country toggle in each job's column to set England/Wales/NI or Scotland as appropriate. The National Insurance calculation remains the same regardless of country.
As a general guide, Scottish taxpayers earning above approximately £28,000 to £30,000 pay more income tax than their English counterparts. At £50,000 the difference is approximately £1,005 per year, and at £75,000 it is approximately £3,105 per year. This should be factored into any cross-border salary comparison.