UK Salary Sacrifice Calculator 2026/27

See what salary sacrifice into a pension saves in 2026/27: income tax and National Insurance, the employer's 15% NI, and the cost against relief at source.

Where you pay tax

Salary before the sacrifice (per year)

Salary sacrificed into the pension per year

Your employer adds its National Insurance saving to the pension

Take-home pay falls by (per year)

—Income tax saved

—National Insurance saved

—Fall per month

—Employer NI saved

—Same pension by relief at source costs

—Salary sacrifice saves you more

2026/27: employee NI 8% up to £50,270 and 2% above; employer NI 15% above £5,000. Your pay after the sacrifice cannot go below the National Minimum Wage, and a lower salary can reduce pay-based benefits such as statutory maternity pay or what a lender will offer.

What it does

With salary sacrifice you give up part of your salary and your employer pays it into your pension. Because the salary is lower you pay less income tax and less National Insurance, and your employer pays less NI too; some employers add that saving to your pension. A personal contribution only gets the income tax relief.

How to use it

Choose where you pay income tax and type your salary before the sacrifice.
Type how much salary you sacrifice per year and tick the box if your employer passes on its NI saving.
See how much your take-home pay falls, what goes into the pension and the comparison with relief at source.

The arithmetic runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere and nothing is stored, so you can use these with real numbers.

Frequently asked questions

How much does salary sacrifice save?
On £40,000, sacrificing £3,000 into the pension lowers take-home pay by only £2,160: you save £600 of income tax and £240 of National Insurance. Your employer saves £450 more.

Is salary sacrifice better than a personal pension contribution?
Yes, by the National Insurance: with relief at source the same £3,000 would cost £2,400, so salary sacrifice saves £240 more. On £60,000, sacrificing £10,000 costs £5,837.80 against £6,054.

Will salary sacrifice be capped?
From April 2029 the National Insurance saving is due to apply only to the first £2,000 a year sacrificed; the income tax relief stays. In 2026/27 there is no cap.

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