Autumn Budget · 28 October 2026
Budget 2026 and your take-home pay
Updated 28 October 2026, 2:30pm with figures from the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026.
The Chancellor delivered the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 28 October 2026. Here's what changed for your pay packet, what stayed the same, and how to see your own take-home for 2027/28.
Short answer:
Tax and National Insurance rates and thresholds are unchanged for 2027/28, so most people's take-home pay stays the same, but frozen thresholds mean you'll keep a little less of any pay rise.
Check my take-home pay
Each link compares 2027/28 with 2026/27.
What changed
| What | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 student loan | £26,900 | £28,005 | 6 April 2027 |
| England Plan 2 student loan | £29,385 | £29,385 (frozen, England) | 6 April 2027 |
Student loan rows cover Plan 1 and England Plan 2.
In plain English
- The Personal Allowance stays at £12,570, so you start paying income tax at the same point as this year.
- The higher rate still starts at £50,270, and that threshold is now frozen until April 2031.
- If you have a Plan 2 student loan from England, the repayment threshold is frozen at £29,385 from April 2027, while Plan 1 rises to £28,005.
What didn't change
| What | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £12,570 | £12,570 | 6 April 2027 |
| Basic rate band (England, Wales, NI) | £37,700 | £37,700 | 6 April 2027 |
| Higher rate threshold | £50,270 | £50,270 | 6 April 2027 |
| Additional rate threshold | £125,140 | £125,140 | 6 April 2027 |
| Employee NI primary threshold | £12,570 | £12,570 | 6 April 2027 |
| Employee NI upper earnings limit | £50,270 | £50,270 | 6 April 2027 |
| Postgraduate loan | £21,000 | £21,000 | 6 April 2027 |
| Pension (salary sacrifice / relief) | Annual allowance £60,000; salary sacrifice free of NI | Annual allowance £60,000; no change (a £2,000 NI cap on salary sacrifice starts April 2029) | 6 April 2027 |
- Income tax rates stay at 20%, 40% and 45%.
- Employee National Insurance stays at 8% on earnings between the primary threshold and the upper earnings limit, and 2% above it.
- Thresholds remain frozen until April 2031.
- The pension annual allowance stays at £60,000, and pension salary sacrifice works the same way until April 2029.
Frozen thresholds, in plain words: when thresholds don't rise but pay does, more of each pay rise lands in a higher band. Your tax rate hasn't changed, but the share of your pay you keep can still shrink.
What it means for your pay
Three quick examples (annual, England, no pension or student loan unless stated).
| Gross salary | Take-home 2026/27 | Take-home 2027/28 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £25,119.60 | £25,119.60 | £0 |
| £45,000 | £35,919.60 | £35,919.60 | £0 |
| £60,000 | £45,357.40 | £45,357.40 | £0 |
These are examples only. Your real number depends on your tax code, pension, student loan plan and where you live.
See your own number.
Put in your salary, pension and student loan and we'll show your take-home for 2026/27 and 2027/28 side by side.
Calculate my take-home
Each link compares 2027/28 with 2026/27.
If you're planning a pay rise conversation
A Budget changes what a raise is actually worth after tax. Before your next review, check what a rise turns into in your pocket, not just on paper.
Work out a pay riseScotland
Income tax rates and bands for Scottish taxpayers are set by the Scottish Parliament, usually in the Scottish Budget later in the year, so today's announcements on income tax bands don't change Scottish rates or bands. National Insurance is UK-wide, so any NI change applies in Scotland too. We'll update Scottish figures when they're announced. Check your own Scottish pay: 2027/28 compared with 2026/27.
FAQs
Most income tax and National Insurance changes apply from the start of the new tax year on 6 April 2027. The National Living Wage rises to £13.21 an hour slightly earlier, on 1 April 2027.
It depends on your salary and deductions. With tax and National Insurance thresholds frozen, most people on the same salary will take home the same next year, and any pay rise is taxed at the same rates as now. Use the calculator to see your exact figure for England and Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland.
No. The basic, higher and additional rates are unchanged.
No. Employee National Insurance stays at 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above that, for 2027/28.
Plan 1's threshold rises to £28,005 from April 2027, Plan 2 (England) is frozen at £29,385 and the postgraduate threshold stays at £21,000. Plan 4 and Plan 5 figures haven't been published yet. You repay a percentage of what you earn above your plan's threshold, so a threshold change shifts how much leaves your pay each month.
Not yet. Nothing changes in April 2027. From April 2029, only the first £2,000 a year you put into your pension through salary sacrifice will be free of National Insurance; it stays free of income tax as now.
National Insurance changes do. Scottish income tax is set separately; see the Scotland section above, or check Scottish take-home.
Yes. The calculator uses the 2027/28 figures announced on 28 October 2026 alongside the current 2026/27 figures. Scottish bands and Plan 4 and 5 thresholds are marked provisional until they're published.
If frozen thresholds or other changes mean you keep less, it's a fair point to raise in your next review. Our guide on what a £5k pay rise is really worth after tax shows what you actually keep.
Sources
- Budget 2026 in full — Autumn Budget 2026 documents
- Budget 2026: rates and allowances
This page summarises announcements for general information. It isn't financial or tax advice. Figures can change before they become law.