Know the take-home you need but not the salary to ask for? Enter your target net pay — yearly or monthly — and we'll work backwards through Income Tax and National Insurance to the gross salary required.
Target take-home → required salary
Most salary calculators go one way — gross in, net out. But often you start from the other end: you know the take-home you need to cover your outgoings, and want to know the gross salary to negotiate or quote. Because Income Tax and National Insurance rise in steps, there's no simple multiplier — this tool solves it by searching for the gross figure that produces your exact target net pay.
| Take-home you want | Approx. gross needed |
|---|---|
| £20,000 | £24,000 |
| £30,000 | £39,000 |
| £40,000 | £56,000 |
| £50,000 | £74,000 |
Net-to-gross is handy when negotiating a salary to hit a budget, quoting a day rate that nets a target, or checking whether a job offer leaves you better off after a higher cost of living. Once you have the gross, confirm the full breakdown on the salary calculator or the gross to net calculator, and check your marginal rate on the income tax calculator.
Because Income Tax and National Insurance apply in bands, there's no single multiplier. This calculator searches for the gross salary that produces your exact target take-home after 2026/27 tax and NI, so you can negotiate or quote the right figure.
To take home around £30,000 a year you need a gross salary of roughly £39,000 in 2026/27, after Income Tax and National Insurance, assuming no student loan or pension deductions. The exact figure depends on your tax code and any deductions.
Once your income crosses into the 40% higher-rate band, each extra pound of take-home requires more gross because it's taxed at a higher marginal rate plus National Insurance. So the gross needed for £50,000 net (around £74,000) is far more than double that for £25,000 net.
You can add a student loan plan, which the calculator factors into the required gross. It excludes pension contributions and other voluntary deductions — if you sacrifice salary into a pension, you'd need a higher gross than shown.
