Which tax year do these tools use?
The retained calculators are positioned around the current 2026-27 tax year and link back to the Compliance page for source dates and rate verification notes.
Free Tax Tools
Free UK Tax Tools
Quick calculators and explainers built on current HMRC rates. No signup.
Director Intelligence
Salary vs dividends optimizer for UK limited company directors.
Tax Code Decoder
Decode HMRC tax codes (1257L, BR, D0, K codes, etc.).
Scottish Tax Calculator
Calculate take-home using Scotland’s income tax bands.
National Insurance Calculator
Employee and employer NI breakdown by tax year.
Marriage Allowance Calculator
Check eligibility and estimate the savings.
Tool chooser
Which PayeTax tool should I use?
Use the main PAYE calculator when you want a fast take-home estimate from salary. Use the specialist tools when a single part of the calculation needs more context: director extraction, Scottish bands, National Insurance, Marriage Allowance, or an HMRC tax code.
| Use case | Tool | Includes | Does not cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate PAYE take-home pay | UK PAYE calculator | Income tax, employee National Insurance, student loans, pension inputs, tax codes, and pay-period breakdowns. | Benefits in kind, irregular payroll corrections, and employer-specific deductions that do not appear in HMRC tables. |
| Compare salary and dividends | Director Intelligence | Salary, dividends, Corporation Tax, Employer NI, pension extraction, Employment Allowance, and student-loan set-aside estimates. | Accountant-only judgements such as IR35 status, dividend paperwork, pension carry-forward, and company-specific timing constraints. |
| Understand a tax code | Tax Code Decoder | Common HMRC code patterns including 1257L, BR, D0, D1, K codes, emergency suffixes, and Scottish or Welsh prefixes. | HMRC account access, employer payroll corrections, and personal allowance adjustments that need your tax-code notice. |
| Check Scotland-specific income tax | Scottish Tax Calculator | Scottish starter, basic, intermediate, higher, advanced, and top-rate bands compared with England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. | Scottish non-income taxes and residency disputes where HMRC has not confirmed your tax status. |
| Inspect National Insurance only | National Insurance Calculator | Employee and employer Class 1 thresholds, primary rates, upper rates, and yearly/monthly breakdowns. | Self-employed Class 2/Class 4 planning and specialist category-letter cases outside the calculator scope. |
| Check Marriage Allowance | Marriage Allowance Calculator | Basic eligibility checks and the estimated saving from transferring part of a Personal Allowance. | Backdated HMRC claims, complex partner-income changes, and advice on whether a transfer is right for your household. |
Coverage
Current coverage and limits
PayeTax keeps the public toolset intentionally narrow. It covers common PAYE-style salary calculations and focused UK tax questions, with source and limitation notes linked from the Compliance page.
- Tax year: 2026-27 rates and thresholds for the retained calculators.
- Regions: England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland where the tool supports regional income tax.
- Privacy: salary exploration runs in-browser; emailed results are optional.
- Limits: illustrative only, not payroll, tax, legal, or financial advice.
Are the tools a replacement for payroll software?
No. PayeTax is an illustrative calculator for understanding PAYE-style outcomes. Payroll software, payslips, HMRC records, and accountant advice still win for real submissions and personal edge cases.
Do I need an account?
No account is needed. The interactive calculators run in the browser, and result emails are opt-in.
Why are there separate tools instead of one huge calculator?
Separate tools keep each calculation focused: PAYE salary estimates, tax-code interpretation, Scotland-specific bands, NI inspection, Marriage Allowance, and director extraction all have different assumptions.