Compare Job Offers After Tax, Pension and Hours

Compare what each offer puts into your monthly budget, the pension value it provides and the time it requires. A higher headline salary can be useful without giving you the same percentage increase in spendable pay. Write down the assumptions before running the numbers.

Start with a like-for-like salary comparison

For 2026/27 England/Wales/NI, with a standard allowance, no loan and no pension, £35,000 gives £2,393.30 average monthly net. £40,000 gives £2,693.30. The £5,000 gross increase becomes £300 a month of additional estimated take-home pay in this example.

Use Compare two salaries for a quick comparison. That tool compares Income Tax and NI only, excluding pension and student loan deductions. Where the offers have different pension arrangements, run each offer separately in the main calculator.

Ask how the pension percentage is calculated

A 5% employee contribution on a £40,000 full-salary basis is £2,000 a year. On the calculator’s 2026/27 qualifying-earnings basis, it is 5% of £40,000 minus £6,240, or £1,688. Some employers use other definitions of pensionable pay; confirm the actual scheme rules.

Ask for the employer contribution too. The calculator shows employee take-home effects and does not add employer pension contributions to the result. Extra employer pension value is part of the offer even though it does not arrive in your bank account.

Match the method for each offer

Salary sacrifice, net pay and relief at source affect deductions differently. Select the method payroll actually uses. Relief-at-source estimates include claimable extra Income Tax relief; the cash benefit may arrive later through a refund or code adjustment rather than in each payslip.

Compare paid hours and working costs

At £35,000 and 37.5 paid hours a week over 52 weeks, gross pay is about £17.95 an hour. At £40,000 and 45 paid hours it is about £17.09. These are arithmetic comparisons; unpaid breaks, overtime and unpaid weeks require different inputs. Use the hourly calculator or pro-rata calculator for the contract you have.

• Put expected travel, parking and childcare costs alongside monthly net pay.
• Separate guaranteed salary from discretionary bonus or uncertain overtime.
• Compare holiday, paid leave, pension and other benefits alongside spendable pay.

Save a comparison you can reproduce

Open offer A at £35,000 and offer B at £40,000. Set each pension independently and record the assumptions. Shared calculator links contain those settings, so avoid sharing a private salary comparison publicly.

The examples assume a full year of regular pay. Custom tax codes, taxable benefits, Child Benefit charges, other income and benefit entitlement are outside this calculator. Check those separately before treating the difference as your final household gain.

Sources and corrections

• Income Tax rates and Personal Allowance
• Employee National Insurance rates
• Tax relief on pension contributions
• Workplace pension contribution bases

These sources were checked for this guide on 8 October 2026. If you spot an error, send a correction with the page address and the official source.