How to Calculate Gross Pay from Net Pay (2026 Guide)

How do you calculate gross pay from net pay?

The calculation has four steps, and it works the same way in any country with progressive tax bands — only the numbers change:

1. Annualise your net figure first. Tax bands are annual, so multiply a monthly figure by 12 (or a weekly one by 52) before you do anything else. A £3,000-a-month net figure is £36,000 a year.
2. Work out which band the gross will fall in. In the UK, a net figure of £39,714 a year or less (£3,309.50 a month) means the gross sits in the lower band; above that, it sits in the upper band. £39,714 is the net figure at a gross of exactly £50,270, the top of the basic band.
3. Apply the exact formula for that band — or use the trial-and-correction approach. Within a single band the formula is exact, so one calculation gives the answer. The method below reaches the same answer by trial and correction, and it works even where no formula fits.
4. Divide by 12 for the monthly gross. That is the salary to ask for, or to compare against a job offer.

The two exact gross-up formulas for 2026/27, under HMRC's band structure, are:

• Basic-rate band (gross up to £50,270): gross = (annual net − £3,519.60) ÷ 0.72. The £3,519.60 is 28% of the £12,570 tax-free allowance — 20% income tax plus 8% on the second deduction for the tax-free slice — and 0.72 is what is left of each pound after those two deductions.
• Higher-rate band (gross £50,270 to £125,140): gross = (annual net − £10,557.40) ÷ 0.58. Here the combined marginal rate is 42% (40% tax plus 2% on the second deduction), so 0.58 of each pound survives, and the £10,557.40 constant keeps the formula continuous at the £50,270 boundary.

If your target net is below the £12,570 personal allowance, there is nothing to calculate: no tax and no second deduction are due, so gross equals net. And if your gross will be above £100,000, the personal allowance starts to taper away (£1 lost for every £2 above £100,000), which pushes the effective marginal rate to 62% between £100,000 and £125,140 — at that level, use the trial-and-correction approach or the UK Salary Calculator rather than these formulas.

Worked example: how much gross for £2,000 a month net?

Take a target net figure of £2,000 a month — £24,000 a year. That is below the £39,714 boundary, so the lower-band formula applies:

1. Yearly net: £2,000 × 12 = £24,000.
2. Apply the formula: (£24,000 − £3,519.60) ÷ 0.72 = £20,480.40 ÷ 0.72 = £28,445.00 a year, or £2,370.42 a month.
3. Check it forwards: taxable income is £28,445.00 − £12,570 = £15,875. Income tax is £15,875 × 20% = £3,175.00. National Insurance is £15,875 × 8% = £1,270.00.
4. Net check: £28,445.00 − £3,175.00 − £1,270.00 = £24,000.00 a year — exactly the target.

The gap between the two figures is £4,445 a year, or about £370 a month — that is the tax and second deduction on a £28,445 salary. That budget therefore needs a salary offer of roughly £28,500, not £24,000.

Worked example: the iterative method on £3,000 a month net

The iterative method is the fallback that works at any salary: guess a gross, run it forwards, compare with the target, and correct the guess. Because the correction inside one band is exact, it converges in two steps. Target: £3,000 a month net, or £36,000 a year.

1. First estimate: divide the net figure by 0.72 (a rough guess that about 28% is deducted). £36,000 ÷ 0.72 = £50,000 gross.
2. Run it forwards: taxable income is £50,000 − £12,570 = £37,430. Income tax is £37,430 × 20% = £7,486.00. National Insurance is £37,430 × 8% = £2,994.40. Net is £50,000 − £7,486.00 − £2,994.40 = £39,519.60 — that is £3,519.60 too high.
3. Correct the guess: the overshoot is £3,519.60 of net, and each pound of gross only adds £0.72 of net, so reduce the gross by £3,519.60 ÷ 0.72 = £4,888.33. New estimate: £50,000 − £4,888.33 = £45,111.67 a year, or £3,759.31 a month.
4. Check it forwards: taxable income is £45,111.67 − £12,570 = £32,541.67. Income tax is £32,541.67 × 20% = £6,508.33. National Insurance is £32,541.67 × 8% = £2,603.33. Together they are £9,111.67, so net is £45,111.67 − £9,111.67 = £36,000.00 a year — the target, reached in two steps.

The same two-step correction works in the higher-rate band — only the divisor changes to 0.58. Whenever a formula does not fit (loan repayments, a non-standard tax code, pay above £100,000), this is the method to use: estimate, run forwards, correct by the overshoot divided by the share of each pound you keep. Our PAYE guide explains the bands and tax codes this method relies on.

Worked example: how much gross for £4,000 a month net?

A target net figure of £4,000 a month is £48,000 a year — above the £39,714 boundary, so the gross sits in the upper band and the second formula applies:

1. Yearly net: £4,000 × 12 = £48,000.
2. Apply the formula: (£48,000 − £10,557.40) ÷ 0.58 = £37,442.60 ÷ 0.58 = £64,556.21 a year, or £5,379.68 a month.
3. Check it forwards: the basic-rate slice is £37,700 (£50,270 − £12,570) × 20% = £7,540.00. The higher-rate slice is £14,286.21 (£64,556.21 − £50,270) × 40% = £5,714.48. Income tax is £13,254.48 in total. National Insurance is £3,016.00 on the basic slice plus £285.72 on the higher slice = £3,301.72. Together they are £16,556.21.
4. Net check: £64,556.21 − £16,556.21 = £48,000.00 a year — exactly the target.

Notice the top rate here is 40% income tax plus 2% on the second deduction — but only on the slice above £50,270. The average deduction rate is much lower, about 26%, because the first £12,570 is tax-free and the basic-rate slice is only taxed at 20% plus 8%. That is why a flat multiplier can never give the right answer: the share deducted depends on where the salary sits in the bands.

Net-to-gross table: what gross do common take-home figures need?

The table below grosses up common yearly net targets using the 2026/27 UK bands, the standard 1257L code, and no pension payments or loan repayments. Every row has been checked forwards — the gross shown produces exactly the net figure in the first column.

Two rows are worth a second look. The £40,000 row crosses into the upper band — its gross of £50,763.10 sits just above £50,270, which is why the gap between net and gross jumps. And the £60,000 row answers a common search directly: a £60,000 net figure needs a gross figure of £85,245.86 a year, or £7,103.82 a month. For any figure not in the table, run it through the free salary calculator — or apply the formula for your band.

How do you work it out from your payslip?

If you already have a payslip, you do not need any formula at all — the statement lists every deduction, and gross is simply net plus those deductions added back:

1. Find the net figure on the payslip — usually labelled "Net Pay".
2. Add back the income tax line (labelled "PAYE" or "Income Tax").
3. Add back the National Insurance line (labelled "NI").
4. Add back any pension payments, loan repayments and other deductions shown on the same statement.
5. The total is your gross for that period. Multiply a monthly total by 12 for the annual gross.

A cross-check from our PAYE guide: a £35,000 salary produces a net figure of £2,393.30 a month, with £373.83 of income tax and £149.53 of National Insurance on the same payslip. Add them back — £2,393.30 + £373.83 + £149.53 = £2,916.66 a month — and you land on £35,000 a year (within rounding). If the payslip shows year-to-date figures instead, use those: the same addition works, and it smooths out any one-off bonus month.

What changes the answer?

The formulas and the table assume the standard case: the 1257L code, no pension payments and no loan repayments. Four things move the answer:

• Pension contributions — contributions taken from pay before tax reduce the figure the bands are applied to, so the gross you need for a given take-home figure is lower than the table shows. Salary-sacrifice pension also reduces the second deduction. If you contribute, use the trial-and-correction approach with the contribution subtracted before the tax calculation.
• Student loan — a student loan is deducted after tax, at 9% of pay above the repayment threshold (£29,385 for Plan 2), so it does not reduce your tax bill. Add it on top: work out the tax and the second deduction first, then add the loan repayment to the gross you need.
• Tax code — a code other than 1257L means a different personal allowance. Replace £12,570 with your code number times ten (for example, 1100L means an £11,000 allowance) and re-run the formula — or just use trial and correction with your own allowance.
• Pay above £100,000 — the personal allowance tapers away above £100,000, so the formulas above no longer hold. The effective marginal rate reaches 62% between £100,000 and £125,140. Use trial and correction or a calculator there, and check the result against your code in your personal tax account on GOV.UK.

Scotland sets its own six-band income tax system with a 19% starter rate, so taxpayers there should use the Scottish bands with the same method — the formulas change, the four steps do not. The full forward calculation, including Scotland, is in our Payroll Calculator Guide.

How does it work in South Africa?

The same idea works under the South African Revenue Service (SARS) rules — only the numbers change. It applies its brackets to the annual figure, subtracts a primary tax rebate of R17,820, and charges 1% UIF (capped at R177.12 a month). Because the rebate wipes out the tax on the first R99,000 of pay, the gross-up is gentler at lower salaries. Worked example: a target net figure of R15,000 a month, or R180,000 a year.

1. Start with the rebate: the first R99,000 a year is effectively tax-free (18% of R99,000 is exactly the R17,820 rebate), so a R180,000 net figure sits in the 18% bracket.
2. Gross up: net = 0.81 × gross + R17,820, so gross = (R180,000 − R17,820) ÷ 0.81 = R200,222.22 a year, or R16,685.19 a month.
3. Check it forwards: income tax is 18% × R200,222.22 = R36,040.00, less the R17,820 tax rebate = R18,220.00. UIF is 1% × R200,222.22 = R2,002.22. Net is R200,222.22 − R18,220.00 − R2,002.22 = R180,000.00 a year — exactly the target.

At higher South African salaries the 26% and 31% brackets apply, so the same iterative method takes over: estimate, run forwards through the SARS brackets, correct by the overshoot. Our South Africa Salary Guide works through the full SARS brackets, and the South Africa Salary Calculator runs the same maths for any salary.

Five common mistakes when you gross up a net figure

• Dividing the net figure by 0.8. That assumes a flat 20% on everything and ignores both the tax-free allowance and the second deduction. In the lower band the true figure is (net − £3,519.60) ÷ 0.72 — dividing by 0.8 gives a gross that is too low, and the error grows at higher salaries.
• Working monthly instead of annual. The bands and the allowance are annual figures. Always annualise the net figure first, gross it up, then divide back by 12 — doing the maths on one month's pay misplaces the band boundaries.
• Forgetting the second deduction. It is 8% of pay between £12,570 and £50,270 — nearly a third of the total deduction at a £36,000 salary. Any calculation that only accounts for income tax will come out hundreds of pounds a month short.
• Using the wrong band's formula. A £40,000 net figure needs a £50,763.10 gross, which sits just inside the upper band. The lower-band formula would give £50,667.22 — close, but wrong, because part of that gross is taxed at 40%. Check the £39,714 boundary before choosing a formula.
• Ignoring pension payments and loan repayments. Pension payments taken before tax lower the gross you need; loan repayments deducted after tax raise it. Either one can move the answer by hundreds of pounds a month, so factor them in before you quote a salary.