Optimisation curve
Monthly take-home and monthly pension value across the tested salary-sacrifice range.
Take-homePension valueCombined value
Take Home Pay Optimiser
Find salary-sacrifice options that balance UK take-home pay, pension value, employer NI passback, and key tax thresholds.
Suggested sacrifice£10,000£833 per month
Monthly take-home change-£127Against current sacrifice
Pension value change£4,300Includes employer NI passback
Suggested change
Recommended action£333 per month sacrifice changeIncrease salary sacrifice by £4,000 a year
Current annual sacrifice£500 per month£6,000
Suggested annual sacrifice£833 per month£10,000
Monthly take-home after change£5,713
Adjusted income after changePersonal allowance taper threshold: £100,000 adjusted income£100,000
Current versus suggested
Annual take-home, deductions, and pension value for the current and suggested sacrifice levels.
Take-homeTax, NI and loanPension value
Compared with current setup
Annual take-home change-£127 per month-£1,520
Tax, NI and loan changeNegative means less deducted-£2,480
Income tax change-£2,400
Employee NI change-£80
No student loan change£0
Employer NI passback change£300
Rules and assumptions
Rules year6 April 2026 to 5 April 20272026/27
Tax regionEngland, Wales or Northern Ireland
Taxable cash pay before sacrificeSalary £110,000 plus allowances £0£110,000
Annual taxable benefitsIncluded for adjusted-income and income-tax modelling£0
Personal allowance after change£12,570
Minimum monthly take-home floorNo floor set
Assumptions
Calculation notes
- Uses simplified 2026/27 income tax, employee NI, employer NI, and student-loan assumptions.
- Adjusted income is approximated as taxable cash pay plus taxable benefits, less salary sacrifice.
- The optimiser does not model minimum wage restrictions, employer scheme limits, tapered pension annual allowance, annual allowance carry-forward, bonus timing, childcare interactions, tax-code changes, or payroll rounding.
- Salary-sacrifice and pension decisions can affect benefits, borrowing, insurance, statutory payments, and access to cash. Check payroll, scheme rules, or regulated advice before acting.
Optimisation
How the optimiser ranks sacrifice options
The optimiser tests several pension-sacrifice levels and keeps cash-flow constraints visible instead of only chasing the largest pension number.
Search strategy
The optimiser tests salary sacrifice levels across the selected range and scores them against take-home pay, pension value, employer NI passback and the user's minimum monthly cash-flow floor.
Threshold options are highlighted where a sacrifice level changes how much income falls into a higher tax or allowance-taper band.
Ranking pathcandidate sacrifice levels -> take-home pay + pension value + employer NI passback -> ranked options subject to minimum monthly take-home
Threshold scenario
Example: threshold-aware pension planning
- Cash income: GBP 75,000
- Current sacrifice: 5%
- Minimum monthly take-home: chosen by user
- Employer NI passback: optional
Result: The output compares current sacrifice with alternatives and shows which option best fits the selected objective.
The best option is only useful if the reduced cash pay still fits the household budget.
Choosing a sensible shortlist
- Use the optimiser as a shortlist for payroll or adviser questions, not as an instruction to change pension contributions.
- If taxable benefits are included, the result can differ from a cash-only salary-sacrifice comparison.
Content reviewed: 7 September 2026.
Guide
Take Home Pay Optimiser notes
Model UK take-home pay across salary-sacrifice levels and compare threshold targets, monthly cash floor, employer NI passback, taxable allowances, benefits, and student-loan assumptions.
Choose the rules year that matches the scenario you are checking.
Review the calculation notes where rules, tax years, thresholds, or eligibility affect the result.
FAQs
Take Home Pay Optimiser FAQs
What is the Take Home Pay Optimiser for?
Model UK take-home pay across salary-sacrifice levels and compare threshold targets, monthly cash floor, employer NI passback, taxable allowances, benefits, and student-loan assumptions.