Home › Salary after tax › £21,000
£21,000 after tax UK 2026-27: take-home pay
On a £21,000 salary you take home £18,639.60 a year, which is £1,553.30 a month or £358.45 a week, in the 2026-27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027). That's after £1,686.00 Income Tax and £674.40 employee National Insurance, with no student loan or pension. Figures are for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
£21,000 salary: tax and take-home pay
| Year | Month | Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £21,000.00 | £1,750.00 | £403.85 |
| Income Tax | £1,686.00 | £140.50 | £32.42 |
| National Insurance | £674.40 | £56.20 | £12.97 |
| Take-home pay | £18,639.60 | £1,553.30 | £358.45 |
Monthly and weekly figures are the yearly amounts divided by 12 and 52. Your payslip can differ slightly because payroll works each payday on monthly or weekly thresholds.
Change the details in the full calculatorWhat a £21,000 salary means for your tax
Altogether you pay 11.2% of your salary in Income Tax and National Insurance (£2,360.40). All of your taxable pay (£8,430.00 after the £12,570 Personal Allowance) falls in the 20% basic rate band, and you pay 8% National Insurance on the same slice. So for every extra £100 you earn you keep £72, a marginal rate of 28%. You're £29,270 below the £50,270 point where the 40% higher rate starts (and National Insurance drops to 2%).
Your take-home pay is the same as in 2025-26 (£18,639.60): GOV.UK lists the same Personal Allowance, tax bands and National Insurance rates for both years. Student loan thresholds rose on 6 April 2026 (Plan 1 to £26,900, Plan 2 to £29,385, Plan 4 to £33,795), but at this salary you're under all three in both years.
Your employer also pays about £2,400.00 of employer National Insurance on your salary (15% on pay over £5,000 a year, before any Employment Allowance), so the job costs them around £23,400 before pension and other costs.
£21,000 after tax with a student loan
Student loans are repaid at 9% of your pay over your plan's threshold (6% over £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan), taken through payroll. Here's what each plan means at £21,000 in 2026-27:
| Plan | Threshold | Repayment a year | A month | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £1,553.30 |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £1,553.30 |
| Plan 4 | £33,795 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £1,553.30 |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £1,553.30 |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £1,553.30 |
Not sure which plan you're on? GOV.UK says most people who started an undergraduate course in England between September 2012 and July 2023 are on Plan 2, those who started from August 2023 are on Plan 5, Scottish loans are Plan 4 and Northern Ireland loans Plan 1. With a Plan 2 loan your marginal rate at this salary is 28% (no repayment yet). Payroll rounds each deduction down to the pound, so payslips can be a little lower.
£21,000 after tax with a 5% pension
Pay 5% of your salary (£1,050.00 a year) into a workplace pension through a net pay arrangement and it comes out before Income Tax, so your tax falls by £210.00. Your take-home pay would be £17,799.60 a year (£1,483.30 a month): putting £1,050.00 into your pension costs you £840.00. National Insurance stays at £674.40, because net pay contributions get tax relief only.
With relief at source instead, you'd pay £840.00 from your take-home pay and your provider adds £210.00 basic rate relief, so the same £1,050.00 goes in and your take-home pay ends up the same: £1,483.30 a month.
Salary sacrifice works differently (your salary itself goes down, which can also save National Insurance). Try other percentages in the take-home pay calculator.
Nearby salaries after tax
| Salary | Take-home a year | A month | A week |
|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £17,919.60 | £1,493.30 | £344.61 |
| £21,000 | £18,639.60 | £1,553.30 | £358.45 |
| £22,000 | £19,359.60 | £1,613.30 | £372.30 |
| £23,000 | £20,079.60 | £1,673.30 | £386.15 |
Going from £20,000 to £21,000 (a £1,000 rise) adds £720.00 a year to your take-home pay, £60.00 a month, so you keep 72.0% of the rise. A rise to £22,000 would add £720.00 a year (£60.00 a month).
Make your take-home pay go further
Now you know what lands in your account each month, add up your bills and see what's left. Simple UK money spreadsheets are in the Tidy Sheets shop.
Free bills monthly cost calculatorSide income on top of your salary? The tax set-aside calculator shows what to put away. Browse more spreadsheets in the shop.
Sources
Rates and thresholds checked on GOV.UK on 17 October 2026: Income Tax rates, Income Tax rates and allowances, National Insurance rates, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 and 2025 to 2026, Repaying your student loan, Pension tax relief, Scottish Income Tax.
These figures are estimates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, assuming the standard 1257L tax code, category A National Insurance, one job and no benefits in kind. They're general guidance only, not tax or financial advice. Scottish taxpayers have different Income Tax bands (National Insurance is the same across the UK).