What net-to-gross means
Who this guide is for: Useful if you are budgeting from a target take-home figure, comparing job offers, or checking whether a proposed salary meets your needs after tax.
Your gross salary is the figure in your employment contract before deductions. Your net salary (take-home pay) is what remains after Income Tax, employee National Insurance and any other payroll deductions.
A net-to-gross calculation works backwards: you start with the take-home amount you want and estimate the gross salary that would produce it. This is useful when budgeting from a target income, comparing job offers quoted in different ways, or checking whether a proposed pay rise meets your needs.
How the calculation works
Payroll software applies deductions in a set order. Broadly, for UK employees in 2026/27:
- Start with gross pay for the period (salary plus any taxable bonuses, unless excluded).
- Deduct pension contributions that reduce taxable pay (for example salary sacrifice or net pay arrangements).
- Calculate Income Tax on taxable pay using the Personal Allowance (£12,570.00 for most people) and the relevant tax bands.
- Calculate employee Class 1 National Insurance on earnings above the Primary Threshold (£12,570.00 annually).
- Deduct student loan repayments if your plan threshold is exceeded.
- Subtract any other payroll deductions to reach net pay.
Because Income Tax and National Insurance use thresholds and bands, you cannot simply divide net pay by 0.7 or another fixed ratio — the required gross depends on where your income sits in the structure. For how those bands work, see Income Tax Bands Explained.
Worked example
Target take-home of £30,000.00 a year
2026/27 · England · standard employee · no pension · no student loan
| Target take-home | £30,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Required gross salary (key figure) | £36,777.68 |
| Income Tax | £4,841.54 |
| Employee National Insurance | £1,936.13 |
| Student loan | £0.00 |
| Employee pension | £0.00 |
| Take-home achieved (key figure) | £30,000.01 |
Figures are generated from the same reverse solver as the Net to Gross Salary Calculator for 2026/27. Payroll rounding and tax codes can still differ in practice.
If you also pay into a workplace pension by salary sacrifice, taxable pay is lower. The gross salary required for the same take-home may therefore be higher than without the pension — even though the contribution itself is not lost money. Use the calculator below to model that case.
Estimate the gross salary for your target take-home Use the Net to Gross Salary Calculator
Common misconceptions
- Gross equals cost to employer. Employers also pay Class 1 employer National Insurance on earnings above the Secondary Threshold (£5,000.00 in 2026/27). See Employer National Insurance Explained.
- One tax rate applies to all income. UK Income Tax uses bands; NI has its own thresholds up to the Upper Earnings Limit (£50,270.00).
- Net-to-gross is exact. Real payroll uses cumulative tax codes, period rounding and benefits — estimates are for planning. See Tax Codes Explained if your payslip code looks wrong.
When to use the calculator
Use the Net to Gross Salary Calculator when you have a target take-home figure and want to see the gross salary and employer cost that might deliver it. Add pension, student loan and tax-code settings if they apply to you — small changes can shift the required gross by hundreds of pounds over a year.
If you already know the gross salary, use the Income Tax Calculator instead. For how deductions reach HMRC, see PAYE Explained.