Your money
What you earn, what you keep and what it costs
What this means
Pick the thing you actually came to find out. The calculators do the sums for you. The explainers answer the questions the sums raise.
Every figure links to the official source it came from, and the tax year it applies to is always on the page.
Start here
What do you want to work out?
Calculator
Take-home payWork out what I keep
Scottish income tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan, worked out on the figures for this tax year. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Calculator
Council tax by bandCheck what my council tax costs
Every band in all 32 councils, with the Scottish Water charges shown separately, and what it rose by this year.
Explainer
Universal CreditUnderstand what happens if I work more hours
Why an extra shift does not always leave you better off, and how much of each extra pound you actually keep.
Explainer
Emergency helpFind help with rent or an emergency
Crisis Grants, Discretionary Housing Payments and what to do when the rent help does not cover the rent.
Explainer
Cost of livingUnderstand why a bill has risen
Energy, food and the gap between falling inflation and prices that stay where they are.
Pay and wages
What you earn, what you keep, and how the two differ.
- Take-home pay calculatorWhat you keep on Scottish tax rates
- Minimum wage in ScotlandWhat full-time work at the legal minimum actually pays
- Real Living Wage versus minimum wageOne is the law, one is voluntary. What separates them
- Universal Credit and extra hoursWhy more work does not always mean more money
Bills and housing
The costs that arrive whether or not the money is there.
- Council tax by bandAll 32 councils, water charges shown separately
- How council tax worksBands, discounts and the help most people miss
- What council tax rose by this yearEvery council, and what it means for a Band D bill
- Local Housing AllowanceWhy rent help often falls short of the rent
- The energy price capWhat the cap is, and what it does not cap
Help you may be entitled to
Payments and grants that exist, and how to apply for them.
Why prices are what they are
The explanations behind the numbers on your bills.
Straight answers
Questions people ask
Does the take-home pay calculator send my salary anywhere?
Why is my council tax bill higher than the figure shown?
Do Scottish income tax rates differ from the rest of the UK?
Your bill went up. Someone decided that.
Council tax is set by your council. Income tax bands are set at Holyrood. is set at Westminster. Find out which one to write to, and what to say.
One simple next step