Required salary calculator 2026/27
Enter the take-home pay you want — per month or per year — and this calculator works backwards to the gross salary you need to earn after UK Income Tax and National Insurance.
Find your required salary →From net target to gross salary
Most salary calculators start with gross pay and deduct tax. This tool reverses the calculation: you set a target take-home figure and it searches for the gross salary that produces it under 2026/27 HMRC rules — Personal Allowance of £12,570, Income Tax bands and employee National Insurance.
Because tax is banded, the answer is not a simple percentage. A higher take-home target can require a disproportionately larger gross salary once you cross into the 40% higher-rate band, or lose Personal Allowance above £100,000.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to earn for a specific take-home pay?
Because UK tax is banded, there is no flat multiplier. Enter your monthly or annual take-home target in the calculator and it finds the exact gross salary using 2026/27 Income Tax and National Insurance rates.
Why does my required gross salary rise faster than my take-home target?
Each extra pound above a tax threshold is taxed at a higher marginal rate — 40% Income Tax above the higher-rate threshold, plus National Insurance — so bigger take-home targets need disproportionately larger gross salaries.
Does the calculator include pension and student loan deductions?
The required salary tool works from Income Tax and National Insurance. For a full picture with pension contributions and student loan repayments, use the main take-home pay calculator.