Self-Employed Take-Home Pay Calculator UK 2026/27
How much of what you earn as a self-employed tradesperson do you actually keep? This free self-employed take-home pay calculator works out your Income Tax, Class 4 National Insurance and student loan, then shows your take-home pay per year, month, week and working day, plus how much to put aside for your tax bill. It uses 2026 to 2027 rates for the whole UK, including Scotland.
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Your year in numbers
2026 to 2027 rates. England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Personal Allowance £12,570, Income Tax 20% / 40% / 45%. Scotland: 19% / 20% / 21% / 42% / 45% / 48%. Personal Allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 over £100,000. Class 4 National Insurance 6% on profits from £12,570 to £50,270 and 2% above (UK-wide). Student loans 9% above your plan threshold, Postgraduate Loan 6% above £21,000. Assumes self-employment is your only income. An estimate, not tax advice.
How Self-Employed Tax Works
As a sole trader you pay tax on your profit, not your turnover: what you invoiced minus your allowable business expenses. On that profit you pay:
- Income Tax: nothing on the first £12,570 (your Personal Allowance), then 20% up to £50,270 and 40% above that in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has six bands, from 19% to 48%.
- Class 4 National Insurance: 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above. Class 2 is no longer charged; if your profits are £7,105 or more it is treated as paid, protecting your State Pension record.
- Student loan repayments: collected through your tax return, at 9% of income over your plan’s threshold.
You pay it all through Self Assessment, usually by 31 January after the tax year ends. If you are in CIS, the deductions taken from your pay count towards this bill; our CIS tax calculator shows whether you are likely to get money back.
The First-Year Tax Trap: Payments on Account
Once your tax bill is £1,000 or more, HMRC asks for payments on account: two advance payments towards next year’s bill, each half of this year’s, due on 31 January and 31 July. In your first big year that means the January bill can be around one and a half times what you expected. The calculator above shows this figure so you can plan for it.
How Much Should I Put Aside for Tax?
A common rule of thumb is 20 to 30% of profit, but the right figure depends on how much you earn. The calculator works out your exact percentage and a monthly amount to move into a separate savings pot. If your profit is uneven, set aside a percentage of every payment you receive rather than a fixed sum.
Frequently Asked Questions
You pay Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance on your profit, not your turnover. On £36,000 profit in England, that is £4,686 Income Tax and £1,405.80 National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, about 17% of profit, leaving roughly £29,908 take-home.
Many sole traders set aside 20 to 30% of profit. For basic-rate profits the real figure is often nearer 15 to 20%, but it climbs above £50,270 profit. Use the calculator for your exact percentage, and remember payments on account can add half again in your first big year.
No. Class 2 is no longer charged for most self-employed people. If your profits are £7,105 or more it is treated as paid, which protects your State Pension record. Below that you can choose to pay voluntary Class 2 at £3.65 a week.
Income Tax is different in Scotland, with six bands from 19% to 48% for 2026 to 2027. Class 4 National Insurance is the same across the UK. Select Scotland in the calculator to use the Scottish rates.
If your Self Assessment bill is £1,000 or more, HMRC usually asks for two advance payments towards next year, each half of this year’s bill, due on 31 January and 31 July. They are not extra tax, but they make the first January bill much bigger.
Yes. Choose your plan and it adds 9% of your income above the threshold (Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000), plus 6% above £21,000 if you also have a Postgraduate Loan.
TradeStack HQ helps UK tradespeople find the best tools to run smarter businesses. Rates checked against gov.uk in October 2026 for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. This calculator gives an estimate and is not tax advice; your bill can differ if you have other income, pension contributions or allowances. See how we test and check.