Calculator

What would changing your hours mean for your household?

Compare take-home pay, the costs you include and the time committed to work.

Compare regular contracted hours for one or two adults. Each adult is taxed separately. The comparison uses the same tax year, with that adult’s own pension and loan settings in both arrangements.

Adult 1

Full-time annual salary (£)

Salary for the full-time hours and 52 paid weeks. Exclude overtime and bonuses.

Full-time hours per week

Current arrangement

Contracted hours per week

Paid weeks, working weeks and travel time

Paid weeks per year

Include paid holiday. Use 52 if the annual salary is already annualised.

Weeks actually worked per year

Exclude leave. Used for work and travel time, not to deduct salary again.

Total commute hours per working week

Include all return journeys. Enter 0 for no commute.

Proposed arrangement

Contracted hours per week

Paid weeks, working weeks and travel time

Paid weeks per year

Include paid holiday. Use 52 if the annual salary is already annualised.

Weeks actually worked per year

Exclude leave. Used for work and travel time, not to deduct salary again.

Total commute hours per working week

Include all return journeys. Enter 0 for no commute.

Tax, pension and loans for adult 1

Adult 1: tax and pension settings for both arrangements

Tax year

Where you live for tax

Pension method

Student loan

Include a loan only if repayments apply to these scenarios.

Postgraduate loan

Childcare costs

Enter a representative three-month cost for each arrangement. The annual comparison repeats it four times. Use the actual quote after funded hours; funded hours are not calculated here.

Where the childcare is provided

How to include childcare

Current household costs and support

Household travel cost per year (£)

Combined cost for all adults. Include each cost once.

Other work costs per year (£)

Exclude travel, childcare and pension deductions already included.

Parent childcare cost for 3 months (£)

Your own cost after funded hours and any childcare support. Enter 0 if none.

Other childcare costs for 3 months (£)

Costs excluded from the bill above. In top-up mode, these receive no top-up.

Other confirmed support per year (£)

Use the amount checked for this arrangement. Exclude childcare support already reflected in the bill; enter 0 if none.

Proposed household costs and support

Household travel cost per year (£)

Combined cost for all adults. Include each cost once.

Other work costs per year (£)

Exclude travel, childcare and pension deductions already included.

Parent childcare cost for 3 months (£)

Your own cost after funded hours and any childcare support. Enter 0 if none.

Other childcare costs for 3 months (£)

Costs excluded from the bill above. In top-up mode, these receive no top-up.

Other confirmed support per year (£)

Use the amount checked for this arrangement. Exclude childcare support already reflected in the bill; enter 0 if none.

Salary is full-time annual pay × your hours ÷ full-time hours × paid weeks ÷ 52. Paid holiday stays in paid weeks. Working weeks only measure time. Check the contract for term-time or annualised-hours pay. Pension percentages use full salary; higher-rate relief at source is not automatically added to take-home pay.

For overtime, commission or a bonus, use the extra-pay explorer. For an actual deduction query, use the payslip checker.

Sources and assumptions

Uses employment income, standard employee National Insurance and the standard Personal Allowance, tapered where applicable. Tax residency affects the income-tax bands. Annual estimates do not reproduce every pay period or cumulative PAYE history.

Sources and this comparison checked 24 October 2026. For historical rates and calculation limits, see the methodology.