UK Umbrella Company Calculator (2026/27, Inside IR35)
The only UK umbrella calculator that models a real payslip end-to-end — from company income received, through employer's NI, apprenticeship levy and the umbrella's margin, to your net take-home.
Umbrella company calculator
Inside IR35Umbrella engagements are always treated as inside IR35 — you're taxed as a PAYE employee of the umbrella. We model the full reconciliation: from company income received down through apprenticeship levy, employer's NI, employer's pension and the umbrella's margin, and then the standard PAYE / NI / student loan deductions on your wages.
Configuration
You can enter a day rate, hourly rate or monthly rate. If you enter more than one, we'll prioritise monthly, then day rate, then hourly.
Default: 7.5
Typical: 5
Typical: 46 (≈ 6 weeks unpaid time off)
Contract days won't be the same every month — use whichever cadence you naturally think in to account for holidays, sick leave and gaps between contracts. That works out to 230 billable days per year.
The margin your umbrella deducts from the assignment rate before your PAYE is calculated. Typical UK umbrellas charge £15–£30/week. Annualised at your working pattern this is currently £1,150.00.
Employer pension contribution paid by the umbrella (out of the assignment rate, before your PAYE). Leave at 0 if you've opted out of the umbrella's auto-enrolment scheme; statutory AE minimum is 3%.
Standard code (L): personal allowance £12,570.
You can have both an undergraduate plan and a postgraduate loan at the same time. Both will be deducted from your take-home pay.
Umbrella take-home pay
Assignment income reconciled through employer costs and PAYE deductions, matching a real umbrella payslip.
Net take-home (monthly)
£5,435.67
Based on 5 days per week × 46 weeks worked (≈ 230 billable days per year).
- Assignment income (annual)
- £115,000.00
- Apprenticeship levy(0.5% of wages)
- −£496.10
- Employer's NI(15% on wages above £5,000)
- −£14,133.12
- Company margin(£25.00/week × 46)
- −£1,150.00
- Gross taxable pay (annual)
- £99,220.78
- PAYE income tax
- £25,135.90
- National Insurance
- £3,895.79
- Workplace pension (employee)
- £4,961.04
- Net take-home (annual)
- £65,228.05
These figures mirror the reconciliation shown on a real umbrella payslip (company income → apprenticeship levy → employer's NI → employer's pension → margin → PAYE gross → tax, NIC, employee pension and student loans). Estimates for guidance only, not an official HMRC calculation.
Compare with other engagement types
Your assignment rate under all four engagement types.
Based on your current inputs above (5 days per week × 46 weeks, £25.00/week umbrella fee), UK 2026/27 tax year. The umbrella figure matches your take-home above; the others show what the same assignment income would yield under Standard PAYE, Limited Inside IR35 and Limited Outside IR35.
- Highest net
Standard PAYE employment
PAYEAnnual take-home
£74,257.40
£6,188.12 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 35.4%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- Baseline
As if you were on payroll with the same annualised salary.
- Lowest net
Umbrella company
Inside IR35Annual take-home
£68,105.45
£5,675.45 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 40.8%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- −£6,151.95 vs PAYE
Includes £25/week margin, employer NI, apprenticeship levy — modelled like a real payslip.
Limited (Inside IR35)
Inside IR35Annual take-home
£74,257.40
£6,188.12 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 35.4%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- Baseline
PAYE-style deemed employment via the fee-payer.
Limited (Outside IR35)
Outside IR35Annual take-home
£73,262.89
£6,105.24 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 36.3%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- −£994.51 vs PAYE
NI-optimal salary + dividends, with corporation-tax marginal relief.
Gap between the best and worst option: £6,151.95 / year on the same working assumptions.
How this calculator models Inside IR35 income
Umbrella engagements are always inside IR35 — the umbrella acts as your PAYE employer. Your assignment rate has to cover employer's NI, apprenticeship levy, the umbrella's margin and (optionally) employer's pension contributions before the remainder becomes the wages figure on your payslip. Only then is standard PAYE, employee NIC, employee pension and student loans deducted. This calculator solves that whole flow analytically and reconciles to the penny against a real umbrella payslip.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my umbrella take-home lower than the calculator suggests?
The most common reason is that umbrellas deduct four employer-side costs from your assignment rate before PAYE: employer's NI (15% on wages above £5,000 in 2026/27), apprenticeship levy (0.5% of wages), employer's pension (usually 0% if you've opted out of auto-enrolment) and the umbrella's own margin (typically £15–£30/week). This calculator lets you tune each of those inputs to match your own umbrella's rate card.
Is umbrella always inside IR35?
Yes. Umbrella companies act as your PAYE employer, so all income is taxed as employment income. If your engagement is outside IR35, you'd typically use a personal service company (limited company) instead — see the Limited Company (Outside IR35) calculator for that case.
How is the umbrella fee typically charged?
Most umbrellas charge a fixed weekly margin (commonly £15–£30/week), while some charge a monthly fee (typically £60–£120/month). The margin is a pre-tax deduction from the assignment rate, not from your net pay, so it reduces both the wages on which PAYE is calculated and your take-home.
Compare other engagement types
Free UK PAYE calculator for the 2026/27 tax year. See your salary after income tax, National Insurance, pension, SIPP and student loan repayments. Supports multiple jobs and every UK student loan plan.
Take-home calculator for UK contractors caught by IR35 through a personal service company. The fee-payer applies PAYE-style treatment. Updated for the 2026/27 tax year.
Outside IR35 take-home calculator for the UK 2026/27 tax year. Models the full personal service company flow: director's salary, employer's NI, corporation tax (with marginal relief between £50k and £250k), dividends, and personal PAYE + dividend tax.