Contractor take-home pay calculator for 2026/27
At £500 a day for a year, you take home about £72,765 through a limited company, £68,706 through an umbrella company, £74,637 inside IR35 and £75,391 as a sole trader.
Worked out with the Modulas calculator, using HMRC rates for 2026/27. Rates checked against GOV.UK on 8 October 2026.
Take-home a year, by setup
| Day rate | Limited company | Umbrella company | Inside IR35 | Sole trader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £300 | £50,854 | £45,383 | £50,925 | £51,679 |
| £400 | £61,810 | £57,083 | £64,381 | £65,135 |
| £500 | £72,765 | £68,706 | £74,637 | £75,391 |
| £600 | £81,796 | £76,372 | £85,562 | £86,316 |
| £700 | £89,004 | £86,378 | £97,858 | £98,612 |
| £800 | £99,346 | £97,070 | £110,154 | £110,908 |
| £900 | £109,688 | £107,762 | £122,450 | £123,204 |
| £1,000 | £120,030 | £118,455 | £134,746 | £135,500 |
Tax at the rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each setup's page has the Scottish figures.
How it's worked out
Limited company
Your company pays you a director's salary, then corporation tax on the profit left. The rest comes to you as dividends, taxed at the dividend rates.
Umbrella company
The umbrella company employs you and runs payroll. From what the agency pays it for your days, it takes its fee and employer National Insurance, and pays you a salary with income tax and employee National Insurance taken off.
Inside IR35
The agency runs payroll on your day rate, as it would for an employee: income tax and employee National Insurance come off your pay. Employer National Insurance is paid on top of the rate, so it is not taken from it.
Sole trader
You pay income tax and Class 4 National Insurance on your profit, through Self Assessment. Here the profit is everything you invoice, with no business expenses taken off.
What it leaves out
- Pension payments, business costs and student loan, unless you add them in the calculator.
- Tax at the rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own income tax bands: choose Scotland in the calculator.
- Anything about your own situation, such as other income or savings.
Sources
Rates checked against GOV.UK on 8 October 2026.
- Income tax rates and bands
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
- National Insurance rates and category letters
- Tax on dividends
- Changes to tax rates for property, savings and dividend income
- Corporation tax rates and allowances
- Corporation tax marginal relief
- Scottish income tax
- National Insurance rates and allowances
To quote this page
Modulas, 'Contractor take-home pay calculator for 2026/27', https://modulas.io/contractor-calculator/. HMRC rates for 2026/27, checked against GOV.UK on 8 October 2026.