Salary Sacrifice
Salary sacrifice pension calculator — what it costs your take-home pay.
Into your pension
£3,000
Costs you £1,849 in take-home pay — £1,151 less than the amount sacrificed.
- Take-home before
- £35,524
- Take-home after
- £33,675
- Pension per £1 given up
- £1.62
- Employer NI saved £450
Where the pension contribution comes from
Rates and rules from Tax on your private pension: pension tax relief (HM Revenue & Customs) and Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (HM Revenue & Customs).
Related calculators
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Pension
Pension Tax Relief Calculator
Basic/higher/additional rate relief, annual allowance, carry-forward note. Scottish rates supported.
Take-Home
Salary Take-Home Calculator
Net pay after tax, NI, pension, student loan, bonus and salary sacrifice. Tax codes and Scottish rates supported.
£100k Tax Trap
£100k Tax Trap Calculator
The 60% / 69.5% band between £100k and £125,140, and the pension fix.
Child Benefit Charge
Child Benefit Tax Charge Calculator
The £60k–£80k Child Benefit clawback, and the pension contribution that clears it.
Expert help
Turn your estimate into the right tax decision.
A calculator can model the numbers. Our accountants can check the assumptions, explain the options and handle the return or payroll work for you.
Ask an accountantQuestions
Frequently asked
questions.
Is salary sacrifice worth it?
For most employees it is the cheapest way to pay into a pension, because the contribution escapes National Insurance as well as Income Tax. It is especially valuable inside the £100,000 taper or the Child Benefit charge band.
Is anything changing with salary sacrifice?
The Autumn Budget 2025 announced that from April 2029 the National Insurance saving on pension salary sacrifice will be capped at £2,000 of sacrificed pay a year. Income Tax relief is unaffected.
Can salary sacrifice affect other things?
A lower contractual salary can reduce statutory maternity pay, mortgage affordability and some life cover multiples, and pay after sacrifice must stay above the National Minimum Wage.
What happens to my employer's NI saving?
Your employer saves 15% NI on the sacrificed amount. Some pass all or part of it into your pension; others keep it. Ask HR which applies.
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