Umbrella calculator: your take-home, step by step.
Enter your day rate and umbrella margin — the calculator walks through every deduction (employer NI, apprenticeship levy, PAYE, employee NI) to show your real net pay for 2026/27.
§ How it works
How this calculation works
An umbrella company runs PAYE on your behalf. You invoice your day rate to the agency; the agency pays the umbrella; the umbrella runs payroll and pays you a net salary. The calculation works in four steps:
1. Umbrella margin. The umbrella keeps its fee first — typically £15–£30 per week. What remains is the assignment rate.
2. Employer costs. Out of the assignment rate, the umbrella covers employer National Insurance (15% above the £5,000 secondary threshold) and the Apprenticeship Levy (0.5%). What remains is your gross taxable salary — this is the figure that goes on your payslip.
3. PAYE income tax. Your gross taxable salary attracts income tax at the standard UK rates (20% basic to £50,270, 40% higher to £125,140, 45% additional above). The personal allowance is normally applied automatically via your tax code.
4. Employee NI. 8% Class 1 NI on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. Deducted at source like income tax.
The calculator above runs this end-to-end and shows every step. Note that "holiday pay" handling varies between umbrellas — some include it in the assignment rate (rolled-up), others accrue it separately. The calculator assumes rolled-up unless you specify otherwise.
§ Frequently asked