Contractor take-home pay calculator
Your IR35 status changes everything. Inside IR35 you're taxed like an employee — this calculator shows exactly that. Outside IR35 works through a limited company with its own rules.
Inside IR35, your contract income is taxed through PAYE like a salary — income tax and National Insurance on the full amount, with no limited-company tax advantages. Outside IR35, you're typically paid via your own limited company as a salary-plus-dividends mix, which has separate rules (corporation tax, dividend rates). Use the toggle to see the inside-IR35 PAYE figure; for outside IR35, our self-employed calculator is closer.
- Personal allowance
- £12,570
- Applies in
- England, Scotland & Wales supported
- Calculation
- Inside IR35: taxed as employee (PAYE)
Day rates assume roughly 220 billable days a year — adjust the slider to your real annualised figure. Inside IR35, this is taxed as PAYE employment income. See gov.uk on IR35.
Parsed as: 1257L (£12,570 allowance, England & NI)
Inside vs outside IR35
IR35 decides whether HMRC treats your contract as disguised employment. Inside IR35, your fee is taxed as employment income through PAYE — income tax and National Insurance on the lot, exactly as this calculator shows. Outside IR35, you’re genuinely in business on your own account, usually paid through a limited company as a salary-plus-dividends mix — which brings corporation tax and dividend tax into play and can leave more in your pocket, but with more admin and risk. For the outside-IR35 picture, our self-employed calculator is the nearer fit.
Questions people ask
For others like you
Sources: Off-payroll working (IR35) — gov.uk · Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) — gov.uk · Income tax rates — gov.uk