This page is the quick NI check for employees on PAYE. It shows how Class 1 National Insurance interacts with salary, region and payroll frequency, which is usually the most useful question when a payslip looks higher or lower than expected.
NATIONAL INSURANCE · 2026/27
National Insurance calculator
UK TAKE-HOME PAY CALCULATOR
What reaches your bank account?
Estimated take-home pay
£2,858/month
£34,300 a year · £660 a week
- Income Tax
- £6,036
- National Insurance
- £2,414
- Pension
- £2,250
- Student loan
- £0
- Total deductions
- £10,700
Period breakdown
Yearly£34,300Net · £45,000 gross
Monthly£2,858Net · £3,750 gross
4-weekly£2,638Net · £3,462 gross
Weekly£660Net · £865 gross
Daily£132Net · £173 gross
Estimate for a full tax year with even pay. Rule version GB-2026.27.1.
Why this number can differ from a payslip
Real payslips can differ because of pay period rounding, bonuses, student loan plans, pension method, Scottish bands, tax codes and one-off corrections. Use the separate calculators to isolate the factor that changed.
2026/27 vs 2025/26No change in this example
See how much employee National Insurance is deducted from a salary and how the answer changes by payroll period, region and pay level.
This page is the quick NI check for employees on PAYE. It shows how Class 1 National Insurance interacts with salary, region and payroll frequency, which is usually the most useful question when a payslip looks higher or lower than expected.
A salary that looks fine on paper can still lose a noticeable amount to National Insurance before any pension or student-loan deduction is applied. That is why this page is useful alongside take-home pay and net-to-gross tools.
- Do not confuse Income Tax bands with National Insurance thresholds.
- Do not assume the annual and monthly NI deductions will match a simple division.
- Do not forget that pension method can change NI as well as take-home pay.
- Different payroll periods can produce different NI deductions even when the annual salary is the same.
- Scottish Income Tax changes take-home pay, but employee NI rules still matter separately.
- Pension salary sacrifice can reduce NI pay as well as Income Tax, so the combined effect can be larger than users expect.
What this calculator does
It estimates employee Class 1 National Insurance from salary and payroll inputs, so you can see how much of your gross pay is lost before it reaches your bank account. It is a planning estimate, not a substitute for a live payslip or HMRC record.
Worked example
A worker on £45,000 can pay a very different amount of National Insurance from someone on £30,000, even before Income Tax is considered. A bonus month or a change in pension method can also move the result, which is why the annual figure should be checked against the actual payroll period.
Why the result can differ
NI is calculated through payroll, not as a single simple annual percentage. The region, payroll frequency, pension method and student-loan deductions all affect the overall take-home picture, so this calculator is best used with the take-home pay page nearby.
SOURCES & REVIEW
Checked against official guidance
Last reviewed 19 October 2026 · Rule version GB-2026.27.1
Daily/weekly source monitoring. If a source changes, the affected rule set is reviewed before publication.
All source links are kept visible so you can verify the figures used on this page.
Source line: Employee Class 1 NI thresholds and rates are checked against the current UK ruleset used by the build.
GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and categories ↗GOV.UK: How much National Insurance you pay ↗Sources, methodology and update policy →Report an issue or correction →WHY RESULTS DIFFER
Why two users can see different results
Why the result can differ
Different tax codes, payroll periods, Scottish bands, pension methods or lender assumptions can change the outcome.
One-off bonuses, pay frequency, overpayments, allowances and reliefs can move the result away from a simple annual estimate.
Where a rule depends on eligibility or legal status, this page shows an estimate and links to official guidance.
This section is intentionally repeated on key tools so the explanation stays near the result instead of being hidden in a separate policy page.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
Is National Insurance the same as Income Tax?
No. NI and Income Tax are separate deductions with different thresholds and rules.
Do Scotland and England use different NI rates?
Employee NI thresholds are the same, but Income Tax bands are different in Scotland.
Can pension sacrifice reduce NI?
Yes. Salary sacrifice can reduce NI pay as well as Income Tax.
Why does my payslip NI not match the annual estimate?
Because payroll calculates NI by pay period, so the month-by-month result can differ from a simple yearly split.
Does a second job change NI?
Separate jobs can create separate NI calculations, so the result can differ across employments.
Should I use this or take-home pay first?
Use take-home pay first if you want the full payslip picture; use this page when NI is the main question.