5% Pay Rise on a £120,000 Salary: How Much Extra Will You Take Home?

A 5% pay rise increases a £120,000 salary to £126,000. Under the default 2026/27 assumptions, estimated take-home increases by £2,409.00 per year, or £200.75 per month.

2026/27 · England / Wales / NI · 1257L · monthly payroll · no pension, salary sacrifice, loans, benefits or bonus. Full-year salary comparison. Change the assumptions below.

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Your pay rise

PensionNone
Future pension salary-sacrifice NI changes

Not applied to this selected tax year. From 6 April 2029, pension salary sacrifice above £2,000 per tax year is due to attract employee and employer Class 1 NI on the excess. Income Tax relief and the reduction in adjusted net income are unchanged by this reform. This is not a pension contribution cap and does not apply to car salary sacrifice. Detailed payroll operation must be verified before implementation. HMRC reform details.

Student loansNone
Benefits & other deductionsNone
Benefit reporting and future changes

Use the reporting method for your selected tax year. Mandatory payrolling is announced for cars, fuel, vans and medical benefits from 6 April 2027, then most other benefits from 6 April 2028. HMRC benefit reporting dates.

Add the full employer-reported taxable value for Income Tax unless it is already represented in the tax code you entered. The reporting change is not a new tax exemption. If your code still contains an old benefit adjustment, check it with HMRC rather than changing the benefit value to compensate.

Tax & payroll settings1257L · monthly
Inflation comparisonOff

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Extra take-home from your pay rise · 2026/27

£200.75extra take-home per month from a 5.0% pay rise

Current annual salary
£120,000.00
New annual salary
£126,000.00
Gross annual increase
£6,000.00
Gross monthly increase
£500.00
Net annual increase
£2,409.00
Net monthly increase
£200.75
Gross increase retained
40.2%
Headline gross pay rise
5.0%
Annual take-home increase
3.2%

For every additional £1 of gross salary, you keep approximately £0.40.

Where the pay rise goes · annual differences
BreakdownAmount
Gross annual pay rise£6,000.00
Additional Income Tax−£3,471.00
Additional employee NI−£120.00
Additional annual take-home£2,409.00

Your pay rise affects your Personal Allowance

Adjusted net income before
£120,000.00
Adjusted net income after
£126,000.00
Statutory allowance before
£2,570.00
Statutory allowance after
£0.00
Allowance lost due to rise
£2,570.00
Total incremental Income Tax
£3,471.00

The Income Tax difference covers the complete rise, not just the allowance loss.

Explore this in the Salary Sacrifice Calculator

Adjusted net income moves through the 2026/27 Personal Allowance taper above £100,000. The rise reduces the statutory allowance by £2,570.

The new-salary calculation includes income in additional rate (45%) bands not used at the current salary.

2026/27 · England / Wales / NI · annual unless stated
CalculationCurrent salaryNew salaryDifference
Gross annual pay£120,000.00£126,000.00+£6,000.00
Gross monthly pay£10,000.00£10,500.00+£500.00
Income Tax£39,432.00£42,903.00+£3,471.00
Employee National Insurance£4,410.00£4,530.00+£120.00
Annual take-home£76,158.00£78,567.00+£2,409.00
Monthly take-home£6,346.50£6,547.25+£200.75
Weekly take-home£1,464.58£1,510.90+£46.33

Full-year comparison at each salary, not the exact first payslip or a mid-year forecast. Payroll timing and rounding can differ. Monthly and weekly take-home are annual equivalents. Benefits and fixed contributions remain unchanged; percentage pensions scale with salary.

Educational estimates, not financial advice. Read the assumptions and limitations.

Default calculation: £120,000 + 5%

These are the pre-calculated reference figures. Your customised result above may differ.

2026/27 · annual and monthly pay-rise differences
CalculationAmount
Current annual salary£120,000.00
New annual salary£126,000.00
Gross annual increase£6,000.00
Gross monthly increase£500.00
Additional annual take-home£2,409.00
Additional monthly take-home£200.75
Additional Income Tax£3,471.00
Additional employee NI£120.00
Gross increase retained40.2%
Headline pay rise5.0%
Annual take-home increase3.2%

Adjusted net income moves through the 2026/27 Personal Allowance taper above £100,000. The rise reduces the statutory allowance by £2,570.

The new-salary calculation includes income in additional rate (45%) bands not used at the current salary.

Adjusted net income changes from £120,000.00 to £126,000.00. Statutory Personal Allowance changes from £2,570.00 to £0.00. Explore salary sacrifice and adjusted net income.

With Scottish Income Tax and the same other defaults, this rise adds £166.48 monthly take-home. With Plan 2 instead of no loan under England / Wales / NI defaults, it adds £155.75 a month, including £540.00 additional annual student-loan repayment. Select your own settings above; repayments are not Income Tax.

Understand your pay rise

Why gross and net growth differ

Both salaries go through the same tax engine. The difference in take-home is the pay rise’s cash value. Income Tax, employee NI, pension and loan changes are shown separately. A higher band applies to income in that band, not automatically to the whole salary. GOV.UK Income Tax guidance.

Pensions and loans

Percentage contributions scale with each salary; fixed annual gross contributions stay fixed. Salary sacrifice, net pay and relief at source are distinct methods. Pension growth is not cash take-home. Loan repayments may rise or start as earnings increase. Select the method and plan that apply to you. Pension tax relief · Loan repayments.

Optional inflation comparison

Use your own inflation rate for the same period as the salary change. Real gross-pay growth is calculated as (new salary ÷ current salary) ÷ (1 + inflation rate) − 1. It is a simplified purchasing-power comparison, not a household budget, inflation forecast or net-pay real-terms calculation.

Assumptions and limitations

This compares a full year at each salary, excluding bonuses and extra-hours changes; it does not forecast a mid-year rise, cumulative PAYE or the first new payslip. Fixed benefits/deductions are held unchanged. Monthly and weekly figures are annual equivalents. Historical blended-NI years are estimates. Pension allowances, minimum wage, employer NI sharing, loan balances/refunds and other Self Assessment income are not assessed. Extra relief-at-source claims may arrive later. Non-standard codes are PAYE estimates, separate from statutory allowance information. Educational estimates, not personalised financial advice.

Calculation methodology · One-off bonus calculator · Salary sacrifice calculator · Monthly and annual take-home targets

Common pay-rise percentages

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