CalcOrchard

UK Salary Comparison

Weighing up a promotion, job move, or counter-offer? See exactly how much more you'd take home after Income Tax and National Insurance — and where the £100k pension trap eats the raise. All 2024/25 (rest of UK).

38 comparisons across common UK salary bands. Each page shows a full side-by-side breakdown, marginal keep-rate, salary-sacrifice alternative, and (where relevant) the £100k pension trap analysis.

Crossing the £100k trap (highest-impact decisions)

When a raise crosses from below £100k into the taper zone, keep-rate collapses. These are the comparisons where sacrifice strategy matters most.

Comparison Gross raise Take-home raise Keep-rate
£90,000 vs £105,000 +£15,000 +£8,200 / yr 55p / £1
£90,000 vs £110,000 +£20,000 +£10,600 / yr 53p / £1
£90,000 vs £120,000 +£30,000 +£15,400 / yr 51p / £1
£95,000 vs £105,000 +£10,000 +£5,300 / yr 53p / £1
£95,000 vs £110,000 +£15,000 +£7,700 / yr 51p / £1
£95,000 vs £115,000 +£20,000 +£10,100 / yr 51p / £1
£95,000 vs £120,000 +£25,000 +£12,500 / yr 50p / £1
£95,000 vs £125,000 +£30,000 +£14,900 / yr 50p / £1
£100,000 vs £110,000 +£10,000 +£4,800 / yr 48p / £1
£100,000 vs £115,000 +£15,000 +£7,200 / yr 48p / £1
£100,000 vs £120,000 +£20,000 +£9,600 / yr 48p / £1
£100,000 vs £125,000 +£25,000 +£12,000 / yr 48p / £1
£100,000 vs £130,000 +£30,000 +£14,643 / yr 49p / £1
£100,000 vs £150,000 +£50,000 +£25,243 / yr 50p / £1

Both salaries inside the £100k trap

Both figures sit in the 62% marginal band. Every extra £1 keeps just 38p unless routed into pension.

Comparison Gross raise Take-home raise Keep-rate
£105,000 vs £115,000 +£10,000 +£4,800 / yr 48p / £1
£105,000 vs £125,000 +£20,000 +£9,600 / yr 48p / £1
£110,000 vs £120,000 +£10,000 +£4,800 / yr 48p / £1
£110,000 vs £125,000 +£15,000 +£7,200 / yr 48p / £1
£115,000 vs £125,000 +£10,000 +£4,800 / yr 48p / £1

Into the additional-rate band (£125,140+)

Above £125,140 the Personal Allowance is fully lost, but marginal keep-rate steadies at ~53p per £1 (45% Income Tax + 2% NI).

Comparison Gross raise Take-home raise Keep-rate
£120,000 vs £150,000 +£30,000 +£15,643 / yr 52p / £1
£125,000 vs £150,000 +£25,000 +£13,243 / yr 53p / £1

Higher-rate raises (£50k–£100k)

40% Income Tax + 2% NI = ~58p keep-rate per extra £1. Cleanest comparison band.

Comparison Gross raise Take-home raise Keep-rate
£55,000 vs £65,000 +£10,000 +£5,800 / yr 58p / £1
£60,000 vs £70,000 +£10,000 +£5,800 / yr 58p / £1
£60,000 vs £80,000 +£20,000 +£11,600 / yr 58p / £1
£70,000 vs £80,000 +£10,000 +£5,800 / yr 58p / £1
£75,000 vs £85,000 +£10,000 +£5,800 / yr 58p / £1
£80,000 vs £90,000 +£10,000 +£5,800 / yr 58p / £1
£80,000 vs £100,000 +£20,000 +£11,600 / yr 58p / £1
£55,000 vs £75,000 +£20,000 +£11,600 / yr 58p / £1
£65,000 vs £85,000 +£20,000 +£11,600 / yr 58p / £1
£75,000 vs £100,000 +£25,000 +£14,500 / yr 58p / £1

Basic → higher-rate transitions

Raises that cross £50,270. Below the threshold you keep 72p per £1; above it, 58p.

Comparison Gross raise Take-home raise Keep-rate
£40,000 vs £50,000 +£10,000 +£7,200 / yr 72p / £1
£45,000 vs £55,000 +£10,000 +£6,538 / yr 65p / £1
£50,000 vs £60,000 +£10,000 +£5,838 / yr 58p / £1
£50,000 vs £70,000 +£20,000 +£11,638 / yr 58p / £1
£30,000 vs £40,000 +£10,000 +£7,200 / yr 72p / £1
£35,000 vs £45,000 +£10,000 +£7,200 / yr 72p / £1
£45,000 vs £60,000 +£15,000 +£9,438 / yr 63p / £1

Why compare salaries side-by-side?

UK income tax has three "cliffs" that can turn a nominal raise into almost nothing:

  • £12,570 — Personal Allowance starts. Below this you pay no Income Tax.
  • £50,270 — Higher-rate band begins. NI also drops from 8% to 2% here.
  • £100,000 – £125,140 — the notorious "£100k tax trap": your Personal Allowance is tapered away, creating a 62% effective marginal rate.
  • £125,140+ — additional rate. PA fully lost, everything above at 45% + 2% NI.

A "£20,000 raise" from £95k to £115k feels big, but you'll only keep about £8,400 of it after tax + NI + Personal Allowance loss. That's the kind of number these comparisons make concrete.

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