TaxBite shows you the bite. These guides explain why the bite exists — personal allowance taper above £100k, emergency tax code BR on a new job, Class 4 NI for sole traders, Plan 2 student loan repayments, and the gap between Scotland and England at the same gross salary.
UK tax is not one rate on one number. It is bands, thresholds, marginal rates, and rules that change by employment type. A £50,000 salary and £50,000 sole-trader profit do not produce the same payslip — National Insurance differs, expenses matter for contractors, and pension sacrifice can shrink tax without shrinking your long-term savings. The guides below walk through each scenario with 2025/26 figures (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026) so you can sanity-check headlines before signing a contract or bumping your pension contribution.
Every guide uses the same methodology as the TaxBite calculator: England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as the default, Scotland flagged where Income Tax bands diverge, employee NI at 8%/2%, Class 4 at 6%/2%, personal allowance £12,570 unless taper applies. You will find worked £ examples, marginal-rate explanations, calculator deep-links with sensible query parameters, and disclaimers that we are estimates-only — not tax, legal, or financial advice. The tone is plain English with the occasional sigh; the numbers are sourced from the same engine as the calculator.
Who these guides are for
Employees comparing job offers or negotiating a pay rise. Contractors weighing PAYE vs sole trader — or wondering why inside IR35 erased the NI advantage. Graduates on Plan 2 wondering why a £50k graduate scheme salary feels like £42k after tax and loan. Anyone who crossed £100,000 and discovered the personal allowance taper (effective 60%+ marginal rates on some slices). HR people who need a plain-English link to send new starters about emergency tax codes. If you already have an accountant, send them a link anyway — it saves explaining why your bonus felt small.
What is covered
- Foundations — how take-home works, reading payslips, tax year 2025/26, tax codes (1257L, BR, K, S)
- Employment vs self-employment — contractor vs PAYE, Class 4 NI, day-rate maths
- Salary changes — pay rises, bonuses, and marginal-rate traps
- Benefits and deductions — pension sacrifice, student loans, emergency tax
- Regional differences — Scotland vs England at the same gross
- High earners — the £100k personal allowance cliff
- Quick lookups — salary tables from £20k to £150k in £5k milestones
How to use these guides
Each guide is designed to pair with the calculator, not replace professional advice. A typical flow:
- Pick the guide closest to your situation — e.g. pension sacrifice before open-enrolment, or contractor vs PAYE before handing in notice.
- Read the worked £ example — we use round salaries (£45k, £50k, £70k, £100k) so you can map your own numbers mentally.
- Click the calculator buttons — guides link to TaxBite with pre-filled gross, pension %, region, or employment type. Adjust sliders (student loan, Scotland, self-employed expenses) to match your payslip.
- Cross-check on the salary tables — £5k milestones from £20k–£150k, or jump to popular landings like £50k take-home. Exact figures in between belong in the calculator.
- Verify on gov.uk before life decisions — thresholds change, tax codes vary, and benefits-in-kind are not modelled here.
Guides link to each other where topics overlap — pay rise ↔ bonus tax, contractor ↔ self-employed NI, £100k taper ↔ pension sacrifice. Follow the trail if your situation spans more than one guide.
New here? Read About TaxBite for how we calculate, or get in touch with corrections — we would rather fix a threshold than argue about it.
Estimates only — not tax advice. Rates and thresholds can change; always check official HMRC guidance for your circumstances.