Umbrella company calculator
Work out what you take home from a day rate when you are paid through an umbrella company.
2026 to 2027 rates from HMRC, checked 13 November 2026.
Result
On £400.00 a day for 5 days a week and 46 weeks, you take home about £54,331.87 a year through an umbrella company: £4,527.66 a month, or 59.1% of the £92,000.00 paid for your work.
take-home pay a year
| Paid to the umbrella company | £92,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Umbrella company fee | £1,150.00 |
| Employer National Insurance | £11,025.53 |
| Employer pension | £1,320.90 |
| Your gross pay | £78,503.56 |
| Income Tax | £18,829.82 |
| Your National Insurance | £3,580.67 |
| Your pension | £1,761.20 |
- Take-home pay £54,331.87 (59%)
- Income Tax and your NI £22,410.49 (24%)
- Umbrella fee, employer NI and levy £12,175.53 (13%)
- Pensions £3,082.10 (3%)
Show the workings
| Step | Sum | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Left after the umbrella company's fee | £92,000.00 − £1,150.00 | £90,850.00 |
| Your gross pay: the most the rest covers, with employer costs on top | £78,503.56 + £11,025.53 employer NI + £1,320.90 employer pension = £90,849.99 | £78,503.56 |
| Employer National Insurance | £73,503.56 above £5,000.00 × 15% | £11,025.53 |
| Qualifying earnings | £78,503.56 between £6,240.00 and £50,270.00 | £44,030.00 |
| Employer pension | £44,030.00 × 3% | £1,320.90 |
| Qualifying earnings for your pension | £78,503.56 between £6,240.00 and £50,270.00 | £44,030.00 |
| Your pension contribution | £44,030.00 × 5% | £2,201.50 |
| Tax-free pay from tax code 1257L | £12,570.00 allowance, which code 1257L covers up to £12,579.00 | £12,579.00 |
| Taxable pay | £78,503.56 − £12,579.00 | £65,924.56 |
| Basic rate | £37,700.00 × 20% | £7,540.00 |
| Higher rate | £28,224.56 × 40% | £11,289.82 |
| Income Tax | £7,540.00 + £11,289.82 | £18,829.82 |
| National Insurance | £37,700.00 × 8% + £28,233.56 × 2% | £3,580.67 |
| Pension from your pay | £2,201.50 less 20% tax relief your provider claims | £1,761.20 |
| Take-home pay | £78,503.56 − £1,761.20 pension − £18,829.82 tax − £3,580.67 National Insurance | £54,331.87 |
What this leaves out or assumes
- Umbrella companies set their own fees, and some do not pass on the Apprenticeship Levy: check your umbrella company's payslip illustration.
- Holiday pay is part of your gross pay here, as umbrella companies often roll it up into each payslip.
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland Income Tax rates, a standard Personal Allowance and National Insurance category A.
- Tax-free pay follows the tax code, as payroll and HMRC's own take-home pay estimator do: code 1257L gives £12,579 a year, not £12,570, which is up to a few pounds less tax.
- Worked out over the whole tax year. Payroll works out each payday on its own, so a monthly or weekly payslip can differ by a few pence, or by more in a month with a bonus.
- Relief at source: your provider adds basic-rate tax relief. Higher-rate relief is claimed separately and is not included.
Where the figures come from
- Employer National Insurance secondary threshold: £5,000 a year. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Employer National Insurance above the secondary threshold (category A): 15%. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Employment Allowance: £10,500 a year. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Lower limit of qualifying earnings for automatic enrolment pensions: £6,240 a year. Source: GOV.UK: Workplace pensions, what you, your employer and the government pay. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Upper limit of qualifying earnings for automatic enrolment pensions: £50,270 a year. Source: GOV.UK: Workplace pensions, what you, your employer and the government pay. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Personal Allowance, 2026 to 2027: £12,570 a year. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Range of allowances each tax code number covers: £10. Source: HMRC PAYE Manual PAYE11065: suffix codes, calculating the number. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Basic rate of Income Tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland): 20%. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Basic rate band: taxable income it covers (England, Wales and Northern Ireland): £37,700 a year. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Higher rate of Income Tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland): 40%. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Taxable income above which the additional rate applies (England, Wales and Northern Ireland): £125,140 a year. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Additional rate of Income Tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland): 45%. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- National Insurance primary threshold: £12,570 a year. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- National Insurance upper earnings limit: £50,270 a year. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Employee National Insurance between the primary threshold and upper earnings limit (category A): 8%. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Employee National Insurance above the upper earnings limit (category A): 2%. Source: HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
How umbrella company pay works
When you work through an umbrella company, the agency pays it for your work. The umbrella company employs you, so it takes off its own fee and then pays the employer's costs out of what is left: employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year, employer pension, and sometimes the Apprenticeship Levy at 0.5%. What remains is your gross pay, and Income Tax, National Insurance and pension come off it through PAYE like any job.
That is why take-home pay is a smaller share of a day rate than of a salary: the employer's costs come out of the same money. The calculator finds the largest gross pay that leaves those costs covered, to the penny.
Before you sign up
Ask the umbrella company for a payslip illustration showing its fee, whether it takes the Apprenticeship Levy, and how it pays holiday. GOV.UK's guide working through an umbrella company explains your rights. This gives information, not advice.