Self-employed take-home pay calculator
The direct question: once income tax, Class 4 NI, student loan and pension are deducted from profit, how much do you actually keep? Annual and monthly figures shown.
Updated for 2026/27. Uses UK tax bands and HMRC/GOV.UK guidance. Estimates only — not tax advice.
Calculator checked against GOV.UK and HMRC rules on (how we check).
Calculate sole trader tax Read the guidesFree check · 2026/27
Turn your take-home into a dated payment plan
See your 2026/27 bill, every payment with its date and amount, and what to set aside each month.
Your Self Assessment payment timeline
Based on your estimated bill of £8,431.80 for 2026/27, here is when HMRC expects payment — and why your first January bill can feel much bigger than the tax itself. Estimate only — your exact HMRC figures may differ.
ends 5 Apr 31 Jan 31 Jul Next
31 Jan
Your self-employed take-home pay — all deductions included
Take-home pay for the self-employed is taxable profit minus income tax, Class 4 NI, student loan repayments (if applicable) and pension contributions (if applicable). This calculator shows all those deductions together in one view.
Use this page when you want the cleanest picture of what you keep annually and monthly after everything has been deducted. The annual figure is useful for financial planning; the monthly figure helps with cashflow and budgeting.
- Annual take-home: the figure to use for financial planning and year-end budget reviews.
- Monthly take-home: divide annual by 12 — useful for matching against regular spending commitments.
- Include pension: a contribution lowers take-home now, but Income Tax relief means it costs you less than its face value.
Rates checked against Budget 2026 Annex A on 30 October 2026. Written and reviewed by James Whitfield against current GOV.UK and HMRC guidance. Estimates for planning only — not tax, accounting or financial advice.
Self-employed take-home pay, by year, month and week
For an employee, take-home pay is what lands in the bank on payday, with tax already taken off. The self-employed have no payday: money arrives gross, and the tax on it is paid later, mostly on 31 January after the tax year ends. So self-employed take-home pay is a planning figure: the share of your profit you can treat as yours once Income Tax, Class 4 National Insurance and any student loan are set aside.
That is why the figure only works if the tax money actually stays put. If you spend everything that arrives, part of this year's take-home is borrowed from next January. Use the monthly figure as your personal budget and move the rest into a separate account as it comes in.
Take-home at common profit levels, 2026/27
| Profit | Tax and Class 4 NI | Yearly take-home | Monthly | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £18,000 | £1,411.80 | £16,588 | £1,382.35 | £319.00 |
| £25,000 | £3,231.80 | £21,768 | £1,814.02 | £418.62 |
| £32,000 | £5,051.80 | £26,948 | £2,245.68 | £518.23 |
| £40,000 | £7,131.80 | £32,868 | £2,739.02 | £632.08 |
| £50,000 | £9,731.80 | £40,268 | £3,355.68 | £774.39 |
| £60,000 | £13,888.60 | £46,111 | £3,842.62 | £886.76 |
| £75,000 | £20,188.60 | £54,811 | £4,567.62 | £1,054.07 |
England, Wales or Northern Ireland, no other income, student loan or pension. Weekly is the year divided by 52.
The same amount as a salary or as self-employed profit
| Amount | Employee take-home | Sole trader take-home | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £25,119.60 | £25,468.20 | £348.60 |
| £45,000 | £35,919.60 | £36,568.20 | £648.60 |
| £60,000 | £45,357.40 | £46,111.40 | £754.00 |
Employee figures from the same site's PAYE engine: 8% and 2% employee National Insurance, tax code 1257L.
The difference is National Insurance: Class 4 is 6% where employee National Insurance is 8%, while the Income Tax is the same. It is not a like-for-like comparison, though. An employee also gets paid holiday, sick pay and an employer pension contribution, and the employer pays its own National Insurance on top of the salary. A sole trader pays for all of that out of the profit.
With a Plan 2 student loan and £2,000 a year paid into a personal pension, £35,000 of profit leaves £26,663, or £2,221.90 a month: £505.35 goes on the loan and the £2,000 pension contribution is taken off as money you pay out. The calculator does not add the tax relief on the pension, so your real take-home is a little higher.
Every figure here comes from the calculator above, using 2026/27 rates. Estimates for planning only, not tax advice.
Take-home pitfalls
- Budgeting on a good month. Tax is on the year's profit, so use a cautious annual estimate and divide by 12.
- Forgetting the first-year payment on account. Your first bill of £1,000 or more can come with half as much again towards next year, due on the same 31 January.
- Using take-home on a mortgage application. Lenders usually ask for your taxable profit from your tax calculations, not the after-tax figure.
- Counting VAT you have charged as income. If you are VAT-registered, the VAT belongs to HMRC.
Take-home pay — questions
What is the difference between profit and take-home pay?
What monthly take-home should I show on a mortgage application?
How do I increase take-home pay as a sole trader?
Where to go next
Official sources for this page
Calculator and worked examples checked against GOV.UK and HMRC rules on 3 November 2026.
Thinking of going limited? Compare first: with 2026/27 rates, a sole trader who takes all the profit out usually keeps more. If you already run a company, the Director's Pay & Tax Pack (£4.99) covers salary versus dividends, the director's loan account and year-end planning for 2026/27.