Umbrella company calculator
Enter your assignment rate and the umbrella margin. The ledger shows what comes off before your gross pay and what comes off after it.
Rates for the 2026/27 tax year. Checked 7 November 2026.
| Assignment income | £110,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Umbrella margin | − £1,100.00 |
| Left to employ you | £108,900.00 |
| Employer National Insurance | − £13,318.71 |
| Employer pension | − £1,320.90 |
| Apprenticeship levy | − £468.96 |
| Gross pay | £93,791.43 |
| of which basic pay | £83,690.04 |
| of which holiday pay at 12.07% | £10,101.39 |
| Your pension | − £2,201.50 |
| Income tax (1257L) | − £24,067.97 |
| Employee National Insurance | − £3,886.43 |
| Take-home | £63,635.53 |
That is 57.9% of the assignment income. A further £3,522 goes into your pension pot. Annual thresholds are used, so a part-year contract or uneven pay will differ a little from your payslips. Scottish income tax is not supported yet.
Worked example: £500 a day, 5 days a week, 44 weeks
At £500 a day, 5 days a week for 44 weeks, you take home £63,635.53, which is £5,302.96 a month and 57.9% of the £110,000 the agency pays the umbrella. The umbrella keeps a £25 weekly margin, £1,100 in all, which leaves £108,900 to employ you. Out of that it pays employer NI of £13,318.71, an employer pension contribution of £1,320.90 and an apprenticeship levy of £468.96. Your gross pay is £93,791.43.
Holiday is rolled up, so £10,101.39 of that gross pay is holiday pay at 12.07% of the £83,690.04 basic pay. You pay £2,201.50 into your pension before tax, then income tax of £24,067.97 and employee NI of £3,886.43. Your pension pot gets £3,522.40 from both contributions.
What moves the result
- Rate: each extra pound costs the umbrella 15p in employer NI and half a penny in levy, so only about 87p of it becomes gross pay. Above £50,270 of gross pay that is taxed at 40% plus 2% NI.
- The £100k taper: between £100,000 and £125,140 your personal allowance is withdrawn, so take-home grows slowly there.
- Pension: opting out raises take-home, but you lose the 3% employer contribution.
- Student loan: 9% of gross pay above your plan threshold, and a postgraduate loan takes another 6% above £21,000.
- Margin: it comes off before employer NI, so each extra £1 of margin cuts gross pay by about 87p.
When this calculator is wrong for you
- You live in Scotland.
- Your contract runs for part of the tax year, or your weekly pay varies a lot.
- Your umbrella uses salary sacrifice for pension, which also saves NI.
- You have other income, such as a second job or rent, that uses your allowance.
- You are outside IR35 and could work through your own limited company.
Questions people ask
How much does an umbrella company charge?
A margin, usually a fixed amount for each week or month you work, which is its fee for running your payroll. It comes out of your assignment rate before anything else, so it also reduces the employer NI and pension the umbrella pays.
Why does employer National Insurance come off my rate?
Because the umbrella is your employer, and the agency pays it one rate that has to cover everything it spends on you. Employer NI at 15% above £5,000, employer pension and the 0.5% apprenticeship levy all come out of that rate. Your gross pay is what is left. A permanent employee never sees these costs because the employer pays them on top of salary.
What is rolled-up holiday pay?
Your gross pay includes holiday pay at 12.07% of your basic pay, paid each week instead of when you take leave. It is part of the same money, not extra. Your payslip must show it as a separate line. If your umbrella accrues holiday instead, the same amount is held back and paid when you take time off, so your annual total does not change.
Can I opt out of the workplace pension?
Yes, once you have been enrolled. You will then lose the 3% employer contribution, but your take-home rises because neither contribution comes off. Untick the pension box to see both versions. The employer contribution is paid from your rate, so opting out also raises your gross pay a little.
Which tax code should I use?
The one on your latest payslip. New starters are often put on an emergency or BR code until HMRC catches up, which takes too much or too little tax for a few months. Any overpayment comes back through payroll or after the year ends. This calculator treats the code as if it applied all year.
Is umbrella pay the same as PAYE?
Yes. Through an umbrella you are an employee, and income tax, employee NI and student loan come off through PAYE exactly as in a permanent job. The difference is the step before gross pay, where the margin and the employer costs come out of your rate.
Does this work for Scottish taxpayers?
Not yet. Scottish income tax bands differ. National Insurance, the employer costs and student loans are the same across the UK, so only the income tax line would change.
How this is worked out
Assignment income is the rate times the days (or hours) worked. The margin is the weekly margin times weeks worked. What is left must cover gross pay plus employer NI at 15% above £5,000, the employer pension on qualifying earnings between £6,240 and £50,270, and the 0.5% apprenticeship levy; the calculator solves for the gross pay that makes those add up exactly. When holiday is rolled up, holiday pay is shown as 12.07/112.07 of gross. Your pension contribution on the same qualifying earnings comes off before income tax, as a net pay arrangement. Income tax uses the allowance from your tax code (the number times ten), reduced by £1 for every £2 above £100,000, and bands of 20%, 40% and 45%; BR, D0 and D1 tax everything at one rate. Employee NI is 8% from £12,570 to £50,270 and 2% above. Student loans are 9% above the plan threshold and the postgraduate loan 6% above £21,000, rounded down to the pound. All thresholds are annual for 2026/27 and amounts are rounded to the penny at each step.
Full formulas, rounding rules and test cases are on the methodology page. Every rate update is listed in the changelog.