UK CONTRACTOR & SALARY CALCULATOR

Contractor Pension Calculator

Compare no pension, company contributions, personal pension and workplace pensions, separating cash, retirement value and tax effects.

No sign-up. Clear deductions. Cash and pension shown separately.

Tax year 2026/27 · Last verified · Methodology · Official sources

Compare pension routes

2026/27

Your estimate

Company Corporation Tax reduction
£2,650
Gross pension modelled
£10,000

Outside: no pension

£78,666 annual cash

£0 pension

£78,666 cash + pension

Show calculation

Company revenue: £132,000
Contract revenue + other company revenue; excludes VAT.

Allowable expenses: -£3,000
Assumes all entered costs qualify for Corporation Tax deduction.

Director salary: -£12,570
Evaluated salary; paid from company funds.

Employer NI: -£1,136
15% above £5,000 less eligible Employment Allowance.

Company pension: £0
Assumed qualifying employer contribution deductible before Corporation Tax.

Taxable company profit: £115,295
Revenue less expenses, salary, employer NI and pension.

Corporation Tax: -£26,803
19% / 25% with marginal relief; thresholds divided by 1 + associated companies. Assumes 12-month period and no exempt distributions.

Post-tax distributable profit: £88,491
No brought-forward losses or reserves assumed.

Dividends withdrawn: £88,491
Limited to current distributable profit.

Retained company profit: £0
Company reserves, not personal take-home.

Personal allowance: £12,039
£12,570 reduced £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000.

Income tax at 20 %: £106
£530.73 × 20 %

Dividend tax at 10.75 %: £3,942
£36,669.27 taxable dividends × 10.75 %

Dividend tax at 35.75 %: £18,348
£51,322.19 taxable dividends × 35.75 %

Incremental income tax: -£106
Includes any allowance taper affecting other income.

Incremental dividend tax: -£22,290
Total dividend tax less baseline tax on other dividends.

Employee NI: £0
Annual director category A NI.

Student loan: £0
Self Assessment estimate including unearned income above £2,000.

Take-home cash: £78,666
Salary + dividends − incremental personal tax − employee NI − student loan.

Outside: company employer pension

£74,182 annual cash

£10,000 pension

£84,182 cash + pension

Show calculation

Company revenue: £132,000
Contract revenue + other company revenue; excludes VAT.

Allowable expenses: -£3,000
Assumes all entered costs qualify for Corporation Tax deduction.

Director salary: -£12,570
Evaluated salary; paid from company funds.

Employer NI: -£1,136
15% above £5,000 less eligible Employment Allowance.

Company pension: -£10,000
Assumed qualifying employer contribution deductible before Corporation Tax.

Taxable company profit: £105,295
Revenue less expenses, salary, employer NI and pension.

Corporation Tax: -£24,153
19% / 25% with marginal relief; thresholds divided by 1 + associated companies. Assumes 12-month period and no exempt distributions.

Post-tax distributable profit: £81,141
No brought-forward losses or reserves assumed.

Dividends withdrawn: £81,141
Limited to current distributable profit.

Retained company profit: £0
Company reserves, not personal take-home.

Personal allowance: £12,570
£12,570 reduced £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000.

Dividend tax at 10.75 %: £3,999
£37,200.00 taxable dividends × 10.75 %

Dividend tax at 35.75 %: £15,530
£43,441.46 taxable dividends × 35.75 %

Incremental income tax: £0
Includes any allowance taper affecting other income.

Incremental dividend tax: -£19,529
Total dividend tax less baseline tax on other dividends.

Employee NI: £0
Annual director category A NI.

Student loan: £0
Self Assessment estimate including unearned income above £2,000.

Take-home cash: £74,182
Salary + dividends − incremental personal tax − employee NI − student loan.

Outside: personal relief-at-source

£73,405 annual cash

£10,000 pension

£83,405 cash + pension

Show calculation

Company revenue: £132,000
Contract revenue + other company revenue; excludes VAT.

Allowable expenses: -£3,000
Assumes all entered costs qualify for Corporation Tax deduction.

Director salary: -£12,570
Evaluated salary; paid from company funds.

Employer NI: -£1,136
15% above £5,000 less eligible Employment Allowance.

Company pension: £0
Assumed qualifying employer contribution deductible before Corporation Tax.

Taxable company profit: £115,295
Revenue less expenses, salary, employer NI and pension.

Corporation Tax: -£26,803
19% / 25% with marginal relief; thresholds divided by 1 + associated companies. Assumes 12-month period and no exempt distributions.

Post-tax distributable profit: £88,491
No brought-forward losses or reserves assumed.

Dividends withdrawn: £88,491
Limited to current distributable profit.

Retained company profit: £0
Company reserves, not personal take-home.

Personal allowance: £12,039
£12,570 reduced £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000.

Income tax at 20 %: £106
£530.73 × 20 %

Dividend tax at 10.75 %: £3,942
£36,669.27 taxable dividends × 10.75 %

Dividend tax at 35.75 %: £18,348
£51,322.19 taxable dividends × 35.75 %

Incremental income tax: -£106
Includes any allowance taper affecting other income.

Incremental dividend tax: -£22,290
Total dividend tax less baseline tax on other dividends.

Employee NI: £0
Annual director category A NI.

Student loan: £0
Self Assessment estimate including unearned income above £2,000.

Take-home cash: £78,666
Salary + dividends − incremental personal tax − employee NI − student loan.

Net personal pension payment: -£8,000
Relief at source: the provider claims 20% of the gross contribution.

Additional personal tax relief: £2,739
Adjusted net income and extended tax bands; assumes relief claimed and settled.

Cash after personal pension: £73,405
After net contribution and additional tax relief, which may be received later.

Inside: workplace net-pay pension

£70,423 annual cash

£10,000 pension

£80,423 cash + pension

Show calculation

Assignment / PAYE rate revenue: £132,000
Day rate × billable days; rate type determines whether employer costs are included.

Umbrella margin: £0
Explicit annual fee. No silent default.

Other employer costs: £0
Deducted before solving worker gross pay.

Employer NI: -£16,565
Assignment rate includes this cost; gross PAYE rate excludes it.

Employer pension: £0
Percentage of gross pay, deducted from assignment budget.

Apprenticeship levy: £0
0.5% of pay when umbrella levy applies.

Gross employment cash: £115,435
Salary + bonus + cash car allowance.

Salary sacrifice: £0
Reduces taxable pay and NI pay; added to employer pension.

Employee pension: -£10,000
Net-pay arrangement: reduces income tax, not NI. Percentage of base salary.

Personal allowance: £9,853
£12,570 reduced £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000.

Income tax at 20 %: £7,540
£37,700.00 × 20 %

Income tax at 40 %: £23,153
£57,882.17 × 40 %

Incremental personal tax: -£30,693
Total personal tax with this job less tax on other income alone.

Employee NI: -£4,319
Annual category A estimate: 8% between £12,570 and £50,270; 2% above.

Student loan: £0
Annualised repayments attributable to this job.

Net cash: £70,423
Annual spendable cash from this scenario; excludes other income.

Employer pension: £0
Employer contribution plus salary sacrifice.

Employer NI including Class 1A: £16,565
Employer cost, not deducted from your salary.

Benefits value: £0
Gross non-cash value, separately labelled.

Other deductions: £0
After-tax deductions.

Gross holiday pay accrued: £0
12.07% of base pay, included in total annual gross earnings. Net payment timing depends on payroll; annual cash assumes all accrual is eventually paid.

Permanent: employer + net-pay pension

£56,757 annual cash

£14,500 pension

£71,257 cash + pension

Show calculation

Gross employment cash: £90,000
Salary + bonus + cash car allowance.

Salary sacrifice: £0
Reduces taxable pay and NI pay; added to employer pension.

Employee pension: -£10,000
Net-pay arrangement: reduces income tax, not NI. Percentage of base salary.

Personal allowance: £12,570
£12,570 reduced £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000.

Income tax at 20 %: £7,540
£37,700.00 × 20 %

Income tax at 40 %: £11,892
£29,730.00 × 40 %

Incremental personal tax: -£19,432
Total personal tax with this job less tax on other income alone.

Employee NI: -£3,811
Annual category A estimate: 8% between £12,570 and £50,270; 2% above.

Student loan: £0
Annualised repayments attributable to this job.

Net cash: £56,757
Annual spendable cash from this scenario; excludes other income.

Employer pension: £4,500
Employer contribution plus salary sacrifice.

Employer NI including Class 1A: £12,750
Employer cost, not deducted from your salary.

Benefits value: £0
Gross non-cash value, separately labelled.

Planning estimate, not advice. Monetary examples use England, no other income or loans. No automatic levy, umbrella fee or pension charge is assumed. Outside IR35 uses £3,000 annual expenses; company tax assumes a full accounting year.

Worked example: £600/day

220 billable days give £132,000 revenue. These figures use the same engine as your comparison.

Inside IR35

£74,423 annual cash

£121,848 cash-equivalent salary

Outside IR35

£78,666 annual cash

£133,093 cash-equivalent salary

Make it yours

England, no loans or other income. Inside: assignment rate, no margin, levy or pension. Outside: £3,000 expenses, Personal Allowance salary, no pension or retained profit. Salary comparison: 5% employee and employer pension.

Compare with your salary

How this calculation works

Company contributions reduce profit before Corporation Tax when qualifying. Personal relief-at-source examples use gross contributions and adjusted net income, with relief settled through tax. Workplace examples use net pay.

Important assumptions

Annual allowance, taper, MPAA, carry-forward, investment returns and eligibility checks are excluded. Personal gross contributions require relevant earnings; dividends do not count. This is not investment advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is revenue the same as take-home?

No. Employment costs, expenses and taxes can apply before money reaches you. Pension and retained profit are separate.

Can this decide IR35 status?

ContractorMoney.co.uk does not determine IR35 employment status. We model financial consequences after you select a status.

Sources and review

Tax year 2026/27 · Last verified · Methodology · Official sources

ContractorMoney.co.uk does not determine IR35 employment status. Use HMRC's official status guidance. Estimates only, not tax, financial, legal, accounting or investment advice. Read the limitations.

Related calculators and guides

01 / PERMANENT

More than a salary

Paid leave, employer pension and benefits are part of the comparison. Cash take-home is shown separately from gross benefit values.

02 / INSIDE IR35

Know which rate you have

An assignment rate funds employer NI and umbrella costs before your gross PAYE pay. A gross PAYE rate already excludes these costs.

03 / OUTSIDE IR35

Turnover isn't take-home

Your company pays expenses and Corporation Tax. Salary and dividends then face personal tax. Pension and retained reserves aren't spendable cash.

A financial comparison, not a status decision

Inside or outside IR35 is an employment-status determination and cannot be determined from your day rate. Read HMRC's CEST guidance.

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