Household take-home calculator 2026/27
Two incomes side by side and together, each taxed on its own, plus the things that only make sense for the household: the Child Benefit charge on the higher earner, childcare support that needs both of you under the line, and Marriage Allowance.
| You | Your partner | Together | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £4,333 | £2,500 | £6,833 |
| Income tax | £614 | £265 | £879 |
| National Insurance | £245 | £106 | £352 |
| Into pensions (incl. employer) | £347 | £200 | £547 |
| Take-home | £3,258 | £2,004 | £5,261 |
| Adjusted net income | £4,117 | £2,375 | £6,492 |
Each of you is taxed on your own. Allowances and bands are never pooled: you keep 68p of each extra £1, your partner keeps 68p. Effective deductions across the household: 23% of gross.
Assuming tax codes 1257L and 1257L, both under State Pension age. Benefits, bonuses, other sacrifice and other income for each of you are entered on the take-home calculator and carry here.
Methodology and assumptions
Each person is run through the take-home calculation on their own: their own personal allowance, bands, National Insurance and student loan, so nothing is pooled that HMRC does not pool. Three things are household-level. The High Income Child Benefit Charge is worked out on whichever adjusted net income is higher. Tax-Free Childcare and England's funded hours need each parent's adjusted net income at or under £100,000. Marriage Allowance is shown when one of you has income under the personal allowance and the other pays no more than the basic rate, and neither already has it in their tax code.
What this cannot know
Whether both of you meet the childcare minimum earnings test. Unmarried couples' Child Benefit arrangements beyond who earns more. Partners over State Pension age. Each person's bonus month, benefits and other income unless entered on the take-home calculator and carried here.
Questions people ask
Can we share our personal allowances?
Only through Marriage Allowance, which moves £1,260 from a partner who cannot use it to one who pays basic rate, worth up to £252 a year. Otherwise each of you is taxed alone.
Who pays the Child Benefit charge?
Whichever of you has the higher adjusted net income, whoever actually receives the Child Benefit. It is collected through that person's tax code or tax return.
One of us is going part-time. What changes?
Lower that person's salary here. Their take-home falls by less than their pay, because tax and NI come off the top slice, and if it takes the higher earner's adjusted net income under £60,000 or £100,000, the household-level support changes too.