ScotlandCounted

Scotland · 2026/27 rates

Take-home pay calculator

Enter what you earn and see what actually reaches your bank account, on Scotland's six income tax bands. Or work backwards from the pay you need to live on.

What this means

Scotland has its own income tax bands. Six of them, not the three used in the rest of the UK.

National Insurance is the same everywhere. It is income tax that differs, and the crossover is around £30,000 a year.

Nothing you type is sent anywhere. The sum happens in your browser.

The bit other calculators leave out

A number is not the same as enough

Every salary calculator gives you a figure and stops. What matters is whether the figure covers rent, council tax, energy and food where you live. On full-time minimum wage in Glasgow it does not, and I show the whole household budget rather than asserting it.

£24,785 a year

£1,784

a month, after tax and NI

£40 a year less than the rest of the UK

£30,000 a year

£2,096

a month, after tax and NI

£35 a year less than the rest of the UK

£40,000 a year

£2,688

a month, after tax and NI

£65 a year more than the rest of the UK

£50,000 a year

£3,169

a month, after tax and NI

£1,496 a year more than the rest of the UK

The first of those is full-time work at the legal minimum. See what is left of it after rent, council tax, energy and food — and why the average Glasgow pay figure you may have seen is not what a typical worker earns.

Questions

What people ask about Scottish tax

How much is take-home pay on minimum wage in Scotland?

At £12.71 an hour for 37.5 hours a week, gross pay is about £24,785 a year. After Scottish income tax of about £2,403 and National Insurance of about £977, take-home is roughly £21,404 a year, or £1,784 a month.

Do Scots pay more income tax?

It depends what you earn. Scotland has six income tax bands rather than three, and the crossover is around £30,000. Below roughly that, a Scottish taxpayer pays slightly less than someone on the same salary elsewhere in the UK. Above it, they pay more, and the gap widens as pay rises. The calculator shows your own difference.

What are the Scottish income tax rates for 2026/27?

After the £12,570 Personal Allowance: starter rate 19% to £16,537, basic rate 20% to £29,526, intermediate rate 21% to £43,662, higher rate 42% to £75,000, advanced rate 45% to £125,140, and top rate 48% above that.

Is National Insurance different in Scotland?

No. Income tax is set by the Scottish Parliament, but National Insurance is set UK-wide. It is 8% of pay between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above that, wherever you live.

Can I work out the salary I need for a certain take-home?

Yes. Choose 'Know your take-home? Work backwards', enter the amount you need per month or per year, and the calculator solves for the gross salary that produces it — including any pension and student loan you have set.

Does it handle student loans and pensions?

Yes. Student loan Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5, postgraduate loans, and a postgraduate loan running alongside a numbered plan. Pensions can be a percentage or a fixed amount, taken as net pay, salary sacrifice or relief at source. All are under More options.

Where the rates come from

Scottish Income Tax: rates and bands, 2026 to 2027

Scottish Government

The bands used to work out take-home pay: a £12,570 personal allowance, then 19% to £16,537, 20% to £29,526 and 21% to £43,662.
National Insurance rates and categories

UK Government

Class 1 employee National Insurance, category A: nothing below £242 a week, 8% between £242 and £967, and 2% above.
National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates

UK Government

The legal hourly minimums from 1 April 2026: £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for ages 18–20, and £8 for under-18s and eligible apprentices.

The tax maths behind this page is a single tested module, and it is the same one that produces the take-home figures quoted elsewhere on this site — so the calculator and the written pages can never disagree.

Pay is a political choice, not weather

What is left after tax, rent and bills is decided by people you can write to. Enter your postcode and I find your MP and MSP, then write both emails for you.

One simple next step

Find my MP and MSPSee what would help