After Tax Calculator
Where Your Money Goes
Full Breakdown: £18,000 Salary
| Deduction | Annual | Monthly | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Salary | £18,000.00 | £1,500.00 | £346.15 |
| Income Tax | £1,086.00 | £90.50 | £20.88 |
| National Insurance | £434.40 | £36.20 | £8.35 |
| Take-Home Pay | £16,479.60 | £1,373.30 | £316.92 |
Understanding Your £18,000 Salary After Tax
If you earn £18,000 per year in the UK, your employer will deduct £1,086.00 in income tax and £434.40 in National Insurance contributions during the 2025/26 tax year. This leaves you with a net take-home pay of £16,479.60 annually. Use our after tax calculator to adjust for pension and student loan deductions.
Mortgage Affordability on £18,000
UK mortgage lenders typically offer 4.5 times your gross salary as a maximum loan. On £18,000, that gives you borrowing power of approximately £81,000. With a 10% deposit of £8,100, you could purchase a property worth up to £89,100. At current interest rates (around 5.5%), monthly repayments on this mortgage would be roughly £371 — representing 27% of your £1,373 monthly take-home pay. Financial advisers generally recommend keeping mortgage payments below 28-33% of net income.
How Your £18,000 Is Taxed Band-by-Band
After your £12,570 Personal Allowance, the remaining £5,430 falls within the Basic Rate band at 20%. This means you pay £1,086 in income tax — one of the most straightforward tax positions in the UK system. In total, your combined income tax of £1,086 and National Insurance of £434 produce an effective deduction rate of 8.45%.
Rent Affordability Across the UK
Financial guidelines suggest spending no more than 30% of your take-home pay on rent. On £1,373 per month, your recommended maximum rent is £412. This may be challenging in most UK cities. However, average rents in London (£1,750) and South East (£1,200) and Manchester (£950) exceed this threshold. Shared accommodation, commuting from suburbs, or employer housing support can bridge the gap in high-cost areas.
Household Income Perspective
If both partners earn £18,000, the combined household take-home would be £32,959/year (£2,747/month). In a typical dual-income household where one partner earns 70% of the other, combined net income would be approximately £28,015/year. This household income significantly changes your financial profile — mortgage lenders assess joint applications using combined salaries (potentially £137,700 borrowing capacity), and many means-tested benefits have household income thresholds rather than individual ones.
Inflation and Your Real Earnings
With UK inflation running at approximately 4%, the real purchasing power of your £16,480 take-home is closer to £15,846 in last year's prices. Over 5 years of 4% inflation without a pay rise, your salary effectively loses £2,935 in real terms. This is why annual pay reviews matter — a "modest" 2% raise during 4% inflation is actually a £330 real-terms pay cut. When negotiating salary, always benchmark against inflation-adjusted figures rather than nominal numbers.
For comparison: someone earning £50,000 per year takes home £39,520.
Monthly & Weekly Take-Home
Your £18,000 salary breaks down to £1,373.30 per month, £316.92 per week, or £63.38 per working day. If you work a standard 37.5-hour week, that's approximately £7.92 per hour after tax.
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