- A £180,000 salary gives a take-home of about £107,186 a year (£8,932 a month).
- That is £67,203 income tax and £5,611 National Insurance, so you keep about 60%.
- The same £180,000 as a sole trader profit nets roughly £107,940 (slightly more, lower NI).
- As £180,000 of company profit through a limited company, take-home is around £100,901.
- Pension contributions, a non-standard tax code or a student loan all change the net figure.
Calculator
Your £180,000 salary breakdown
For an employee on £180,000 in 2025/26 (England, Wales or Northern Ireland, standard tax code):
- Gross salary: £180,000
- Personal allowance: £0 (tax-free)
- Income tax: £67,203
- National Insurance: £5,611
- Take-home: £107,186 a year, £8,932 a month
Income tax is charged at 20% above the £0 personal allowance, then 40% above £50,270 and 45% above £125,140. National Insurance is 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. The calculator updates instantly if your figure differs.
£180,000: employee vs sole trader vs limited company
The same £180,000 produces a different take-home depending on how you earn it:
- Employee salary: about £107,186. Income tax plus 8%/2% employee National Insurance.
- Sole trader profit: about £107,940. Same income tax, but Class 4 NI is 6%/2% rather than 8%/2%, so you keep a little more.
- Limited company profit: about £100,901. A £12,570 salary plus dividends after corporation tax, the route most owner-managed directors use.
The limited-company figure assumes the profit is fully extracted in the year and no Employment Allowance. Leaving profit in the company, or making a pension contribution, changes it. Our optimal director salary guide works through the choices.
How to keep more of your £180,000
- Pension contributions come off before tax, so they reduce income tax (and for higher earners, can restore some personal allowance).
- Salary sacrifice for pension also cuts National Insurance, which a personal contribution does not.
- Sole traders should claim every allowable expense, covered in our allowances guide.
- Directors can tune the salary and dividend mix, see the dividend tax calculator.
Take Home models all of these against your real income, so you see your actual take-home rather than a salary-only estimate.