Outside IR35 Calculator
See what an Outside IR35 contract is really worth. Enter your contract rate and this calculator estimates your limited company's take-home pay, tax breakdown, and what stays in the business — using current HMRC rates for the 2026/27 tax year.
Enter your contract rate
Figures are annual estimates. Adjust the inputs below for a more precise picture.
Detailed inputs
Timing & working pattern
Used to annualise a day or hour rate, and to break results down by hour, day, week or month further below.
Tax year & tax code
Calculations assume the standard 1257L code and personal allowance. Emergency, K, or Scottish codes aren't modelled here — check your payslip or gov.uk/tax-codes if yours differs.
Other income
E.g. rental income, a second job, or savings interest. This uses up part of your personal allowance and tax bands first.
Student loan
Thresholds are approximate for 2026/27. Confirm your exact plan and threshold at gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan.
Pension
Paid by your limited company before Corporation Tax, so it doesn't count as personal income for Income Tax or National Insurance.
Salary & retained earnings
Retained profit is shown as a %. It stays in the company as capital rather than being paid out as a dividend this year.
Business expenses
Accountancy, insurance, equipment, travel and other costs wholly and exclusively for the business. These reduce profit before Corporation Tax.
Take home and taxes
Limited company
| Revenue | £0 |
| Director's salary | £0 |
| Employer's National Insurance | £0 |
| Employer pension | £0 |
| Business expenses | £0 |
| Profit before tax | £0 |
| Corporation Tax | £0 |
| Retained in company | £0 |
| Dividends available | £0 |
Take home
| Salary | £0 |
| Dividends | £0 |
| Other income | £0 |
| Total earnings | £0 |
| Income Tax | £0 |
| Dividend Tax | £0 |
| Employee National Insurance | £0 |
| Student loan | £0 |
| Take home | £0 |
Outside IR35 calculator: how it works
This IR35 calculator gives contractors, freelancers and personal service company (PSC) directors a fast, private estimate of take-home pay when a contract sits outside IR35. Enter a day rate, hourly rate, or annual rate and it models your limited company's revenue, allowable expenses, Corporation Tax, and the split between salary, dividends and profit retained in the business — then works out your Income Tax, Dividend Tax, employee National Insurance, and student loan repayments.
What does "Outside IR35" mean?
A contract is outside IR35 (outside the off-payroll working rules) when HMRC would consider you genuinely self-employed for that engagement — running your own business rather than working as a disguised employee. Outside IR35, your limited company is paid gross, and you decide how to extract income through salary, dividends, pension contributions and retained profit. Inside IR35, the fee-payer deducts Income Tax and employee National Insurance before you're paid, closer to how an employee is taxed.
How is take-home pay calculated?
Your company receives the contract revenue, pays allowable business expenses, an employer pension contribution, the director's salary and employer National Insurance, then pays Corporation Tax on what's left. The remaining profit can be retained in the company or paid out as dividends. Personally, salary is taxed through Income Tax and employee National Insurance, and dividends are taxed through the separate dividend tax bands, after the tax-free dividend allowance.
Who does IR35 apply to?
IR35 applies to anyone providing services through an intermediary — typically a limited company — who would otherwise look like an employee of the end client. Since April 2021, medium and large private-sector clients (and all public-sector clients) are responsible for deciding a contract's status, usually with a Status Determination Statement. Contractors working for genuinely small clients still determine their own status.
Limited company vs sole trader vs umbrella
Operating through a limited company outside IR35 usually gives contractors more control over how and when income is drawn, and access to dividend tax rates and retained profit. A sole trader pays Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance directly on profits with less flexibility to defer income. Working through an umbrella company means you're taxed like an employee regardless of IR35 status, in exchange for less administration.
Pension contributions through your limited company
Employer pension contributions paid directly by your limited company are usually an allowable business expense, reducing Corporation Tax, and they don't count as personal income for Income Tax or National Insurance — often the most tax-efficient way to extract value from a contract, subject to your annual allowance.
Official sources
This calculator uses publicly published HMRC and gov.uk rates for the 2026/27 tax year. For your own situation, always check the primary sources:
- Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) — HMRC guidance on the off-payroll working rules and who they apply to.
- Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) — HMRC's own tool for determining a contract's IR35 status.
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances — current bands, thresholds and the personal allowance taper.
- Tax on dividends — dividend allowance and dividend tax rates.
- National Insurance rates and categories — employee and employer NI thresholds and rates.
- Corporation Tax — small profits rate, main rate and marginal relief.
- Repaying your student loan — plan types and current repayment thresholds.
This tool provides estimates only and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. It's a simplified model based on published 2026/27 rates and common assumptions — it doesn't account for every allowance, tax code, associated company, or individual circumstance, and IR35 status itself is a legal determination, not a calculation.
Always confirm your contract's IR35 status and your personal tax position with HMRC or a qualified accountant before making financial decisions. Figures shown here should not be relied on for filing a tax return or for a Status Determination Statement.
Outside IR35 calculator · IR35 calculator UK · limited company take-home pay calculator · contractor tax calculator · personal service company calculator · off-payroll working calculator