Take-home pay at every salary, 2025/26
| Income | Employed, take-home | A month | Own limited company | Better at this level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £17,920 | £1,493 | £17,266 | Employment |
| £25,000 | £21,520 | £1,793 | £20,962 | Employment |
| £30,000 | £25,120 | £2,093 | £24,657 | Employment |
| £35,000 | £28,720 | £2,393 | £28,353 | Employment |
| £40,000 | £32,320 | £2,693 | £32,049 | Employment |
| £45,000 | £35,920 | £2,993 | £35,744 | Employment |
| £50,000 | £39,520 | £3,293 | £39,440 | Employment |
| £55,000 | £42,457 | £3,538 | £43,136 | Limited company |
| £60,000 | £45,357 | £3,780 | £46,831 | Limited company |
| £65,000 | £48,257 | £4,021 | £49,625 | Limited company |
| £70,000 | £51,157 | £4,263 | £52,060 | Limited company |
| £75,000 | £54,057 | £4,505 | £54,495 | Limited company |
| £80,000 | £56,957 | £4,746 | £56,929 | Employment |
| £85,000 | £59,857 | £4,988 | £59,364 | Employment |
| £90,000 | £62,757 | £5,230 | £61,799 | Employment |
| £95,000 | £65,657 | £5,471 | £64,233 | Employment |
| £100,000 | £68,557 | £5,713 | £66,668 | Employment |
| £110,000 | £72,357 | £6,030 | £71,538 | Employment |
| £120,000 | £76,157 | £6,346 | £76,407 | Limited company |
| £125,000 | £78,057 | £6,505 | £78,842 | Limited company |
| £130,000 | £80,686 | £6,724 | £80,872 | Limited company |
| £140,000 | £85,986 | £7,166 | £84,088 | Employment |
| £150,000 | £91,286 | £7,607 | £87,303 | Employment |
| £160,000 | £96,586 | £8,049 | £90,519 | Employment |
| £170,000 | £101,886 | £8,490 | £94,786 | Employment |
| £180,000 | £107,186 | £8,932 | £99,244 | Employment |
| £190,000 | £112,486 | £9,374 | £103,702 | Employment |
| £200,000 | £117,786 | £9,816 | £108,159 | Employment |
Employed figures are salary after income tax and National Insurance. The limited company column takes a director salary at the National Insurance threshold and the rest as dividends after corporation tax, which is the usual arrangement and not always the best one.
How the number is worked out
On a £40,000 salary the personal allowance covers the first £12,570, the next slice is taxed at 20%, and National Insurance is charged separately on earnings above the primary threshold. That leaves £32,320, or £2,693 a month.
Above £100,000 the personal allowance is withdrawn by £1 for every £2 of income, which creates an effective marginal rate of 60% between £100,000 and £125,140. At £100,000 the take-home is £68,557. That taper is the single most expensive band in the UK system and it is why pension contributions do disproportionate work in that range.
Salary against a limited company
At £40,000 the two routes are close: £32,320 employed against £32,049 through a company on the same revenue. The gap widens with income, but a company brings filing, accounting and the risk of getting IR35 wrong, and the comparison above ignores all of that.
The larger point is that the structure is a smaller lever than where you are tax resident. The same £150,000 through a UK company is worth £87,303 in the UK and £113,982 to a Portuguese resident on IFICI. That corridor is priced here.
Scotland, and what this does not cover
- Scottish taxpayers pay different income tax rates. Scottish take-home is calculated separately.
- Student loan repayments, salary sacrifice, company benefits and pension contributions are not in these figures.
- The figures assume one source of income, no other allowances and a full year.