Wales salary calculator 2026/27

Income tax if you live in Wales

If you live in Wales you pay Welsh rates of Income Tax, which the Welsh Government sets each year, and HMRC puts a C in front of your tax code. For 2026/27 the Welsh rates produce the same bands and the same tax as in England and Northern Ireland, so the result here matches theirs.

You pay the Welsh rates if you live in Wales for longer than anywhere else in the UK during the tax year, wherever your employer is.

Income Tax in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27

The first £12,570 of income is covered by the Personal Allowance. Above it, each slice of income is taxed at the rate of its own band; a higher rate never applies to the whole salary. The Welsh rates are set separately by the Welsh Government and, for 2026/27, give the same result as in England and Northern Ireland.

If you live in Scotland instead

Scotland is the one part of the UK where a salary is taxed differently. Use the Scotland calculator if your main home is there.

Personal Allowance above £100,000

The Personal Allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000, so it is gone at £125,140. Between those two figures each extra pound is taxed and also exposes 50p of income that was tax-free, which is why the effective rate in that range is higher than the band rate.

Employee National Insurance

National Insurance is separate from income tax and is the same in all four countries. As an employee in category A you pay 8% on pay between the primary threshold and the upper earnings limit, and 2% above it. It is worked out on each payslip on its own, not on the year as a whole.

Your employer pays a further 15% on pay above £5,000 a year. That is the employer's cost; it is shown under the result for information and never deducted from your pay.

Workplace pension contributions

Under automatic enrolment you usually pay 5% and your employer at least 3% of qualifying earnings, the part of your pay between £6,240 and £50,270 a year. How the contribution affects your tax depends on the arrangement, so the calculator asks which one you have.

• Net pay arrangement: the contribution is taken before income tax, so you get tax relief at your own rate straight away. National Insurance is still charged on your full pay.
• Relief at source: the contribution is taken after tax. You pay four fifths and your provider adds the rest as 20% tax relief. Extra relief for higher-rate taxpayers is claimed from HMRC and is not included.
• Salary sacrifice: you give up part of your salary and your employer pays it into your pension. Income tax, National Insurance and loan repayments are all worked out on the lower pay.

Student and postgraduate loan repayments

You repay 9% of pay above the threshold for your plan, and 6% above the Postgraduate Loan threshold. Both can apply at once. Repayments are taken per payslip and rounded down to the pound.

Annual estimate, not a payslip

The result is an estimate of your income tax for the whole tax year, with National Insurance and loan repayments worked out per pay period as payroll does. Monthly and weekly figures are the annual result divided by 12 and 52.

A real payslip can differ. PAYE spreads your allowance through a tax code and rounds in its own way, and bonuses, a job that starts mid-year, benefits in kind, a non-standard tax code or more than one job all change the outcome.

• Not covered: company directors (annual National Insurance), more than one job, self-employment, people over State Pension age, and married women's reduced rate.
• Not covered: Blind Person's Allowance, Married Couple's Allowance, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, and savings or dividend income.
• RealPayHQ is independent. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or certified by HMRC.

Common questions

Is tax different in Scotland?

Yes. People who live in Scotland pay Scottish Income Tax on their earnings, with rates from 19% to 48% across six bands. England, Wales and Northern Ireland share three bands of 20%, 40% and 45% for 2026/27. National Insurance is the same everywhere.

Does it matter where my employer is based?

No. The rates depend on where you live. If your main home is in Scotland you pay Scottish rates even if your employer is in London, and the other way round.

Why is my payslip slightly different from this result?

This is an estimate of the tax due for the year. PAYE collects it through your tax code payslip by payslip, with its own rounding, and corrects itself over the year. One-off payments and a changed tax code also move individual payslips.

Is employer National Insurance taken from my salary?

No. The 15% employer contribution is paid by your employer on top of your salary. It is shown separately so you can see the full cost of employing you.