UK Tax Calculator 2026/27
Free calculator for UK income tax, National Insurance, student loans, and employer NI. See the real cost of your bills after tax - covering England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Your Details
Results
Your Details
Results
The 60% Tax Trap
Cross £100,000 and HMRC quietly starts withdrawing your Personal Allowance - £1 for every £2 earned. By £125,140 it is gone entirely. Drag the slider to see what actually happens to your money.
Add Kids, Pay More
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) claws back Child Benefit through your tax return for anyone earning between £60,000 and £80,000. It doesn't appear on your payslip. Many families don't know it exists until they get a bill.
| Income | No Children | 1 Child | 2 Children | 3 Children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £55,000 | 42% | 42% | 42% | 42% |
| £60,000 | 42% | 48.7% | 53.1% | 57.5% |
| £70,000 | 42% | 48.7% | 53.1% | 57.5% |
| £80,000 | 42% | 48.7% | 53.1% | 57.5% |
| £85,000 | 42% | 42% | 42% | 42% |
Marginal rate on each extra pound earned (income tax + NI + HICBC). Child Benefit from April 2026: £27.05/wk first child, £17.90/wk each after. HICBC tapers from £60,000 to £80,000 - full clawback at £80k.
How the Rich Pay Nothing
While PAYE workers pay at source with no room to manoeuvre, profitable companies can arrange their affairs so that UK taxable profit approaches zero. This is not fraud. It is standard practice.
These are not hypothetical structures. The following companies have all faced public scrutiny, parliamentary hearings, or formal EU/HMRC investigations over variants of this approach:
| Company | UK Revenue | UK Corp Tax Paid | % of Revenue | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | £29bn+ | £18.7m | 0.06% | Luxembourg holdco collects fulfilment fees, reducing UK taxable profit to near zero. Claims £1bn+ in "direct taxes" but bundles business rates and DST into that figure (FY2024). |
| Uber | £5.3bn | £4.5m | 0.08% | IP held via Netherlands and Bermuda. Now claiming £1.45bn VAT refund from HMRC; lost Supreme Court appeal (Jul 2025). Restructured UK contracts to sidestep new 2026 VAT rules. |
| £2.89bn | £59.1m | 2.0% | UK ad contracts signed with Google Ireland. Profits shifted via Dublin. 2016 HMRC settlement of £130m for 10 years criticised as "sweetheart deal". FY2024 revenue up, cut ~400 UK jobs. | |
| Starbucks | £526m | £1m | 0.19% | Pays ~£40m/yr in royalties to Dutch parent - 40x its tax bill. UK arm reported a £35m pre-tax loss in FY2024; tax dropped from £7.2m to just £1m. |
| Meta | £3.1bn | £29.8m | 1.0% | UK entity provides "sales support" only. Ad revenue contracts legally sit with Facebook Ireland. FY2024 accounts filed but tax charge not yet publicly reported. |
| Apple | £4.7bn | £303.7m | 6.5% | IP licensing fees paid to Cupertino erode UK profit. EU ruled €13bn in illegal Irish state aid (2016). Rate has risen since OECD Pillar Two rules (2024). |
| Microsoft | est. £10bn+ | est. £56m | <1% | Global IP held via Irish entity, tax-resident in Bermuda. UK-declared profit margins ~3-4% vs global margins of 30%+. IRS sought $29bn in US back taxes (2023). |
| IKEA | est. £3bn+ | not disclosed | - | Every store pays 3% franchise fee to Inter IKEA (Netherlands). EU Parliament estimated €1bn+ avoided across Europe 2009-2014. EU state aid probe ongoing. |
| Nike | est. £2bn+ | not disclosed | - | IP in Dutch CV structure, offshore earnings taxed at <2%. EU Commission state aid investigation opened 2019, still unresolved as of 2026. |
| Vodafone | est. £7bn+ | £61m | ~0.9% | Landmark 2010 HMRC settlement £1.25bn - pursuing £6bn unpaid for years. 2013 settlement over Irish royalty entity employing zero staff. FY2024 figure. |
Sources: Companies House filings, TaxWatch UK, EU Commission decisions, HMRC annual reports. Revenue figures are most recent publicly filed UK accounts (2024-2025). Estimates marked where UK-specific data is not separately disclosed.
Ask your MP why the tax code treats a salary differently from a licensing fee.