£70k vs £80k salary: how much extra do you actually keep?

Summary

This example compares a £70,000 salary with an £80,000 salary for a UK employee in 2026/27. The point is not just the £10,000 gross difference, but how much of that increase reaches your bank account after income tax and National Insurance. Around this income level you are normally above the higher-rate threshold, so the next pound is taxed more heavily than income in the basic-rate band. The comparison link opens both salaries side by side so you can change region, pension and loan details.

Key takeaways

• A £10,000 pay rise is useful, but the net increase will be materially lower than £10,000 once PAYE deductions are included.
• For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, most of the extra pay between £70k and £80k is usually in the 40% income tax band plus 2% employee NI.
• Employer cost is higher than gross salary because employer National Insurance is added on top of pay.
• Salary sacrifice can change the answer because sacrificed pay can reduce income tax, employee NI and sometimes employer NI.

Calculation assumptions

• The prefilled comparison uses gross annual salary only, with no bonus, benefits in kind, taxable savings interest or dividend income.
• The default calculator setting uses England, Wales and Northern Ireland tax bands unless you switch the region to Scotland.
• No student loan repayments are assumed until you choose a loan plan.
• No pension contribution is assumed until you add salary sacrifice, net-pay pension or relief-at-source pension details.
• The calculation is for the 2026/27 UK tax year and assumes the standard personal allowance unless you override the tax code.

Tax breakdown

• Income tax applies after the personal allowance and then across the relevant basic, higher and additional rate bands.
• Employee National Insurance is charged separately from income tax. Above the upper earnings limit, the employee NI rate is lower, but it still reduces the extra take-home pay.
• Employer National Insurance does not come out of your payslip, but it explains why the employer's total cost can be much more than your net gain.
• Student loan repayments, pension contributions and Scottish tax bands can all move the final comparison, so use the live calculator for your own position.

What this means

Use this comparison when judging a raise, promotion or job offer. If the job change adds commuting costs, unpaid overtime or lost benefits, compare those against the net increase rather than the headline £10,000. If you are deciding whether to put part of the raise into a pension, open the pension calculator from this page and test the same salary with salary sacrifice.

FAQ