UK Contractors · 2026/27 Tax Year · Updated June 2026
IR35 Calculator — Inside vs Outside IR35
Enter your day rate into this contractor calculator and see your real take-home under both IR35 scenarios — including the rate uplift you need to negotiate, and a step-by-step deemed salary breakdown.
Built & maintained by Marcus, freelancer·Figures from HMRC·Last updated June 2026
Updated for 2026/27: Dividend tax rates rose to 10.75% (ordinary) and 35.75% (upper) from 6 April 2026, reducing outside-IR35 take-home. Employer NI on inside-IR35 contracts stays at 15% above a £5,000 threshold; income-tax bands are frozen until April 2031.
15%
Employer NI rate from April 2025
£12,570
Tax-free director salary (outside IR35)
20–45%
Income tax bands inside IR35
19%
Corp tax on profits under £50k (outside)
£/ day
days
£/ mo
£/ yr
✓ Outside IR35 · Ltd Company
Annual take-home
£—
— / month · — / day
Gross contract income—
Director salary (tax-free)£12,570
Employer NI on salary—
Corporation tax—
Dividends (post corp tax)—
Dividend tax—
Inside IR35 · PAYE / Umbrella
Annual take-home
£—
— / month · — / day
Gross contract income—
Employer NI (15% above £5k)—
Deemed salary (after employer NI)—
Income tax (PAYE)—
Employee NI—
—more per year outside IR35
—
per month
—
% difference
—
inside rate to match
Where your contract income goes
Outside — take-home
—
Outside — tax & NI
—
Inside — take-home
—
Inside — tax & NI
—
Estimate only. Outside IR35 model assumes: director salary £12,570, all remaining post-tax profit taken as dividends, no Employment Allowance (sole director). Inside IR35: employer NI deducted from contract rate before PAYE. Personal allowance tapering above £100k not modelled. Consult a qualified accountant (CA or CTA) for your specific circumstances. 2026/27 tax year rates.
If a client is putting you inside IR35, you'll need a higher day rate to take home the same amount. Enter your current outside IR35 rate and see what you need to charge inside IR35 to break even.
£/ day
days
Outside IR35 take-home
£—
— / month
Inside IR35 rate needed
£—
— % uplift required
Uplift in £/day
£—
extra per day to break even
Tip: Add 10–15% on top of the break-even rate when negotiating inside IR35 — you also lose access to limited company expenses, pension flexibility, and bear additional admin cost.
Rate uplift reference table (220 days/year)
Outside IR35
Outside take-home
Inside rate needed
% uplift
Rate uplift is calculated to achieve equivalent cash take-home. Does not account for umbrella company margins (typically £20–30/week), loss of Ltd company expenses, or benefits-in-kind differences.
The deemed salary calculation shows how HMRC determines how much tax you owe when a contract is inside IR35 and your own PSC is responsible for making the deemed payment (typically when your end client is a small company).
When does this apply? Only when your end client is a small company (turnover ≤ £15m, balance sheet ≤ £7.5m, ≤ 50 employees) or is based overseas. For medium/large clients, the fee-payer (agency/client) handles PAYE directly — the deemed salary calculation is done by them, not your PSC.
£/ yr
£/ yr
£/ yr
£/ yr
Apply 5% flat-rate expenses allowanceOnly available if end client is a small company (turnover ≤ £15m) or overseas
Step-by-step calculation
1
Contract income
Total received by your PSC from IR35-caught contracts
—
2
Less: 5% flat-rate allowance
Admin expenses — no receipts required, if eligible
—
2
Less: pension contributions
Employer pension contributions are deductible before deemed payment
—
3
Less: employer NI already paid
Employer NI your PSC has already paid on salary/benefits this year
—
4
Less: salary already drawn (PAYE)
Salary you've already paid yourself and taxed via PAYE
—
5
Deemed Payment
This amount must be subject to PAYE and NI before 5 April
—
6
Income tax on deemed payment
Taxed as employment income at 20% / 40% / 45%
—
7
Employee NI on deemed payment
8% up to UEL (£50,270), 2% above
—
Deemed Payment
£—
Total tax on deemed payment
£—
Net from deemed payment
£—
This models the HMRC deemed salary calculation for PSC-assessed IR35 (small/overseas clients only). For off-payroll working (medium/large clients post-April 2021), the fee-payer handles PAYE and the deemed salary formula differs. Always verify with a qualified tax adviser (CA, CTA, or IR35 specialist).
What is IR35?
IR35 is a UK tax legislation designed to prevent "disguised employment" — where workers operate through a limited company (Personal Service Company, or PSC) but work in a way that is effectively equivalent to being an employee. Named after the HMRC press release that introduced it in 2000, IR35 determines whether your contract income should be taxed as employment income or as genuine self-employment income. This IR35 take home pay calculator shows your net income under both scenarios so you can compare them side by side.
If your contract is outside IR35, HMRC accepts you as genuinely self-employed. You keep the tax advantages of operating through a limited company: corporation tax on profits (19–25%), lower dividend tax rates (8.75–39.35%), and no employer National Insurance on the bulk of your income — so the outside-IR35 result above also works as an Ltd company tax calculator, estimating your corporation tax and dividend tax. If your contract is inside IR35, your entire contract income is treated as deemed employment income — subject to income tax, employee NI, and employer NI as if you were on a payroll.
Since April 2021, medium and large private sector organisations are responsible for determining a contractor's IR35 status. Small companies (and overseas clients) still leave this responsibility with the contractor's own PSC.
Inside vs Outside IR35: Key Differences
Outside IR35 (Ltd)
Inside IR35 (PAYE)
Tax treatment
Corp tax (19–25%) + dividend tax (8.75–39.35%)
Income tax (20–45%) as employment income
National Insurance
Employer NI only on director salary (£1,136/yr on £12,570)
Employer NI 15% + employee NI 8–2% on full contract value
Who assesses status
Your PSC (if client is small/overseas)
End client / fee-payer (medium & large organisations)
Business expenses
Deductible against corporation tax
5% allowance only (if PSC-assessed, small/overseas client)
Pension flexibility
Employer contributions via company, reduces corp tax
Employee contributions only through umbrella payroll
Employment rights
None — genuinely self-employed
Tax as employee, but typically no employment rights
Who Assesses Your IR35 Status?
The rules changed in April 2021 for private sector contracts. Whether your PSC or the end client assesses your IR35 status depends on the client's company size:
Client type
Who assesses?
From
Small private company
Your PSC assesses its own status
Always
Medium / large private company
End client assesses; fee-payer deducts PAYE at source
April 2021
Public sector body
End client assesses; fee-payer deducts PAYE at source
April 2017
Overseas client
Your PSC assesses its own status
Always
Small company definition (from April 2026)
A company qualifies as "small" if it meets 2 of these 3 criteria in the previous financial year:
Turnover
≤ £15m
was £10.2m before Apr 2026
Balance Sheet
≤ £7.5m
was £5.1m before Apr 2026
Employees
≤ 50
unchanged
The 3 IR35 Status Tests
HMRC and the courts use three key factors to determine IR35 status. No single factor is conclusive — each engagement is assessed on the overall picture.
1. Control
Who controls how, when, and where the work is done?
If the client dictates your working hours, location, and methods in detail, this points towards employment (inside IR35). Genuine contractors typically control how they deliver results, even if the client specifies what outcome they need.
2. Substitution
Can you send a substitute to do the work instead of you?
A genuine right of substitution — where the client cannot insist on your personal service — strongly supports outside IR35. This right must be real, not just a contractual clause; the client must actually be willing to accept someone else qualified to do the work.
3. Mutuality of Obligation
Is the client obliged to offer work, and are you obliged to accept it?
In a genuine contract arrangement, there is no ongoing obligation — the engagement ends when the project ends, with no expectation of further work. If the client continuously offers work and you are expected to accept it, this resembles employment. Note: HMRC's CEST tool does not currently assess mutuality of obligation — this is a known limitation.
How to Check Your Status: HMRC CEST Tool
HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool is the official way to determine whether IR35 applies to a contract. HMRC will stand behind the result, provided the information you enter is accurate and complete.
SSelf-employed — outside IR35. Keep your Ltd company tax advantages.
EEmployed — inside IR35. The fee-payer must operate PAYE.
?Undetermined — roughly 20% of cases. Get an independent IR35 review from a specialist.
CEST limitations: The tool does not assess mutuality of obligation — a key status factor. For complex or finely-balanced cases, consider an independent review from IR35 Shield, Qdos, or a specialist CTA alongside the CEST result.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between inside and outside IR35?
Outside IR35 means HMRC accepts you as genuinely self-employed — you operate through your limited company and benefit from corporation tax (19–25%) and lower dividend tax rates (8.75–39.35%). Inside IR35 means your contract income is treated as employment income, fully subject to income tax (20–45%), employee NI (8–2%), and employer NI (15%), with no access to limited company efficiencies. The label refers to whether you fall "inside" or "outside" the original Inland Revenue press release IR35 from 2000.
How much less do I take home inside IR35?
It depends on your day rate, but as a guide: at £500/day for 220 days (£110k gross), outside IR35 through a limited company typically yields around £70,000 take-home versus around £66,400 inside IR35 — a gap of roughly £3,500–£4,000 per year. The main reason is that employer NI (15%) is deducted from your contract rate before you receive anything, and you lose the corporation tax + dividend tax advantage over income tax. Use the IR35 tax calculator above to see your specific figures.
What is a deemed salary / deemed payment?
A deemed payment is the amount your PSC must put through PAYE when a contract is inside IR35 and your company is responsible for assessing its own status (i.e., your client is a small company or overseas). The formula: start with contract income, deduct any 5% allowance (if eligible), pension contributions, employer NI already paid, and salary already drawn. Any remainder is the deemed payment — taxed as employment income before 5 April. For medium/large clients under off-payroll rules, the fee-payer handles PAYE directly and this calculation is done by them.
Can I still claim the 5% expenses allowance?
Only if your end client is a small company (2 of: turnover ≤ £15m, balance sheet ≤ £7.5m, ≤ 50 employees — from April 2026) or is based wholly overseas. The 5% allowance is not available when the off-payroll working rules apply — which covers most medium and large private sector clients since April 2021, and all public sector bodies since April 2017. If in doubt, use the Deemed Salary tab above and toggle the 5% option to see the difference.
How do I check my IR35 status?
Use HMRC's free CEST tool at gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-for-tax — updated in April 2025 to include a new "business on your own account" section. HMRC will stand behind the result if the information you provide is accurate. Around 20% of CEST uses return "undetermined" — in those cases, get an independent review from an IR35 specialist (IR35 Shield, Qdos, or a specialist CTA). The three key factors assessed are: control (how you work), substitution (can you send someone else), and mutuality of obligation.
Has IR35 changed in 2025 or 2026?
Yes — two significant changes took effect in April 2025: (1) Employer NI rate increased from 13.8% to 15%, and (2) the secondary threshold dropped from £9,100 to £5,000 per year. Both directly reduce inside IR35 take-home pay. HMRC also updated the CEST tool in April 2025. From April 2026, the "small company" thresholds increase (turnover to £15m, balance sheet to £7.5m), meaning more clients will qualify as small companies — potentially shifting IR35 assessment responsibility back to contractors' own PSCs.
Sources & how we calculate
This tool models both IR35 outcomes from your day rate: outside IR35 (paid through your limited company) versus inside IR35 (deemed employment), applying employer's National Insurance, the deemed salary calculation, income-tax bands and employee NI, plus the day-rate uplift needed to match your take-home. All figures use 2026/27 thresholds and run in your browser.
Estimate only, not tax advice. Your IR35 status depends on your specific contract and working practices. Use HMRC's CEST tool and consult a qualified accountant before deciding.
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