CalcKit — Free UK Calculators
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Salary Sacrifice Calculator

See exactly how much you save through salary sacrifice. Covers pension, cycle to work, electric car, and childcare schemes. Shows income tax saving, NI saving, effective cost, and your employer's NI saving too.

·CalcKit·Updated
Salary Sacrifice CalculatorFree · No signup

£60,000 annual allowance

£
£

How does salary sacrifice affect your take-home pay and pension?

Salary Sacrifice Calculator is designed specifically for UK businesses and individuals. All calculations use current 2025/26 rates and follow HMRC guidelines.

Completely free with no signup required. Results are instant and calculated in your browser — no data is sent to our servers. For significant financial decisions, consult a qualified UK accountant or financial adviser.

How do you use the Salary Sacrifice?

  1. 1Select the type of salary sacrifice scheme — pension, cycle to work, electric car, or childcare.
  2. 2Enter your gross annual salary and the amount you want to sacrifice (or monthly lease cost for electric car).
  3. 3The calculator shows your income tax saving, National Insurance saving, effective cost after tax relief, and your new take-home pay. For electric cars, enter the P11D value to see the Benefit in Kind tax offset against your savings.

Use alongside

Pair this tool with our other free calculators: Profit Margin Calculator, UK VAT Calculator — Add or Remove VAT, Income Tax Calculator UK 2026/27 — Take Home Pay, Freelancer Day Rate Calculator.

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Rates and thresholds sourced from HMRC and GOV.UK. Updated for the 2025/26 tax year.

Also known as

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Frequently Asked Questions

Savings depend on your tax band and scheme type. A basic rate taxpayer (20% tax, 8% NI) saves 28p for every £1 sacrificed into a pension. A higher rate taxpayer (40% tax, 2% NI) saves 42p per £1. On a £5,000 pension sacrifice, that's £1,400 for a basic rate taxpayer or £2,100 for a higher rate taxpayer per year.

With pension salary sacrifice, your employer pays the contribution directly to your pension as an employer contribution. Your gross salary is reduced, which means your pensionable pay (for defined benefit schemes) may be affected. Always check with your pension provider — most modern schemes treat salary sacrifice contributions the same as standard contributions for benefit calculation purposes.

No. Your employer is legally required to refuse a salary sacrifice arrangement if it would bring your pay below the National Minimum Wage — currently £12.21 per hour (2025/26), which equates to approximately £23,809 per year for a full-time worker. The calculator warns you if your sacrifice amount would breach this limit.

It can. Mortgage lenders assess affordability based on your declared gross salary. If your salary sacrifice reduces your gross salary on paper, some lenders may offer a smaller mortgage. It's worth checking with your lender or broker before significantly increasing your salary sacrifice amount if you are planning to apply for a mortgage.

From 6 April 2029, the National Insurance exemption on pension salary sacrifice will be capped at £2,000 per year. Any pension sacrifice above £2,000 annually will become subject to employee NI at your marginal rate. For 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29, the full NI saving is still available — so it is worth maximising your pension salary sacrifice before the cap comes into effect.

The Benefit in Kind rate for fully electric cars is 3% of the P11D value in 2025/26, rising to 4% in 2026/27 and 5% in 2027/28. Despite this BiK charge, electric cars remain by far the most tax-efficient company car option — petrol and diesel cars attract BiK rates of 26–37%. The CalcKit calculator shows your gross saving minus BiK tax so you can see the true net benefit.

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Last updated: 13 May 2026 · Rates for 2025/26 tax year