Contractor take-home calculator, 2026/27
Built for contractors and consultants working outside IR35. Enter your day rate and working pattern to see billings, company costs, tax and the cash you keep.
The contractor take-home calculator runs on the rates and thresholds HMRC has published for the 2026/27 tax year, so the figures you see reflect the position your company is actually filing on rather than a historic set of bands. Change any input and the result recalculates immediately, with no sign-up and nothing sent anywhere.
If you are a director of a UK limited company, use it as a first look before a decision rather than as the decision itself. Assumes the engagement is outside IR35 and VAT is neutral (charged to the client and paid over). Real company positions bring in other income, reliefs, group structures and prior year adjustments that a single page of inputs cannot see, which is why the workings are written out below under salary, dividends & director pay. Read those, then check the numbers against your own accounts, and speak to us if anything looks materially different from what you expected.
Last reviewed 12 September 2026 for the 2026/27 tax year. Reviewed by Waqas Sagar, Member of ICAEW, Fellow of ACCA, Fellow of AAT.
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Result, 2026/27
Annual take-home
Monthly take-home
Annual billings
Corporation tax
Personal tax and NI
Retention rate
Take-home as a share of billings.Illustration only, figures are based on the rates you have selected and the information entered. Please check your own position with us before acting.
Estimates for the 2026/27 tax year using published GOV.UK rates. Switch between 2026/27 and 2025/26 above.
What actually drives your retention
Three levers move the number: the salary/dividend split, genuine business expenses, and pension contributions. Everything else is arithmetic on your day rate.
Retention through a limited company outside IR35 is typically in the mid-70s as a percentage of billings once corporation tax and dividend tax are paid. Inside IR35 the engagement is taxed broadly like employment, and the company route no longer improves your position.
IR35 in one paragraph
For work with medium and large private-sector clients, and all public-sector clients, the client decides your IR35 status and issues a status determination statement. With a small client, your company decides. If the engagement is inside IR35, income is taxed as employment income and this calculator does not apply.
Expenses that usually qualify
Business travel to a temporary workplace, professional insurance, software and hardware used for work, training that maintains existing skills, accountancy fees and a proportionate home-office claim. Costs must be wholly and exclusively for the business.
What this means for your company
Treat the result as a planning figure for the 2026/27 tax year. If it changes what you were about to do, take a director's salary, a dividend, a large asset purchase or a filing decision, check it against your own accounts first. We can review the position with you and confirm the tax treatment before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
How much do contractors take home through a limited company?
Outside IR35, roughly 70 to 80% of billings depending on rate, expenses and how you pay yourself. Use the calculator with your own figures rather than a headline percentage.
Should I use the VAT Flat Rate Scheme?
It can help low-cost service businesses, but the 16.5% limited-cost trader rate removed most of the benefit for contractors with few goods purchases. Compare both before registering.
Do I need an accountant as a contractor?
There is no legal requirement, but accounts, a CT600, payroll, VAT and Self Assessment all have deadlines and penalties, and the fee is a deductible company cost.
Which costs can I put through the company?
Costs incurred wholly and exclusively for the trade: business travel, professional subscriptions, equipment, software, employer pension contributions and use of home on a reasonable basis. Anything with a private element needs apportioning or reporting as a benefit.
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