Methodology

Scottish income tax bands (2026/27)

Scotland uses five bands set by the Scottish Parliament. National Insurance rates are UK-wide regardless of region.

Scottish personal allowance taper mirrors rUK: £1 withdrawn per £2 above £100,000.

National Insurance (employee, 2026/27)

The calculator assumes NI Category A (employed, not contracted out). Static salary pages use an annual equivalent basis. The full calculator uses monthly equivalent logic.

Source: HMRC National Insurance rates and categories. NI rates are UK-wide — they do not vary by region.

Student loan repayment thresholds (2026/27)

Repayments are calculated at the applicable rate on income above the threshold. Plan and Postgraduate Loan repayments are calculated independently. If you hold both, they sum together.

Source: HMRC student loan repayment thresholds.

Pension contribution logic

Two pension contribution types are supported:

• Salary sacrifice — contribution is deducted from gross pay before income tax and NI are calculated. Reduces both tax and NI. The calculator models this by subtracting the sacrifice amount from gross before applying any other calculation.
• Standard (net pay or relief at source) — contribution is taken from pay after PAYE deduction. Income tax relief is applied (treated as reducing taxable income by the contribution amount), but NI is not saved. The calculator models this by applying income tax relief but leaving NI calculated on the pre-contribution gross.

The calculator does not model employer contributions or the annual allowance limit (£60,000 for 2026/27). It is a planning estimate only.

Calculation sequence

1. Start with gross annual salary.
2. If salary sacrifice pension is selected, subtract pension contribution from gross to get adjusted gross for tax purposes.
3. Apply the selected region's income tax bands to adjusted gross, using the personal allowance derived from the tax code (default: £12,570 / code 1257L). Apply taper if adjusted gross exceeds £100,000.
4. Calculate employee NI on the original gross pay (before salary sacrifice) using the Category A schedule. NI is not affected by salary sacrifice in the calculator's model.
5. Apply student loan repayment on gross pay (before sacrifice) above the plan threshold at the plan's rate.
6. If standard pension (not sacrifice) is selected, subtract contribution from take-home after tax and NI.
7. Derive annual, monthly, weekly (÷52) and daily (÷260 working days) take-home outputs.

Employer payroll systems calculate NI monthly. For steady salaries, annual and monthly-equivalent approaches produce identical results. Bonuses and irregular pay periods are not modelled.

Default assumptions on salary pages

Static salary pages use these defaults to produce comparable server-rendered figures:

• Tax region: England/Wales/Northern Ireland (rUK bands)
• Tax code: 1257L (standard personal allowance)
• Student loan: none
• Pension: none
• NI category: Category A (standard employed)

To model your actual situation, use the full calculator which accepts all these inputs.

Known limitations

• Does not model benefits-in-kind (company car, private medical) which alter the effective personal allowance via K codes.
• Does not model multiple employment or cumulative NI across multiple jobs.
• Bonus payments are not modelled — one-off payments are taxed differently in real payroll (annualised in the month paid).
• Self-employed income, dividend income and rental income are outside scope.
• Does not model Class 1A or employer NI contributions.
• Marriage Allowance and Blind Person's Allowance are not modelled.

Sources

• HMRC: Income tax rates and personal allowances
• HMRC: Scottish income tax
• HMRC: National Insurance rates and categories
• HMRC: Student loan repayment thresholds and rates
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