Rank among 10 metros
#8
← Metro paycheck examples (UK)
England · pop #1 · 2026
🏴London paycheck example
£100,000 single PAYE → about £68,557 take-home (rank #8). COL index 166.6.
🏴
London take-home at £100,000
At £100,000 single PAYE (2026/27), London take-home is about £68,557 (31.4% effective) under HMRC rUK bands — income tax ≈ £27,432, NI ≈ £4,011, COL index 166.6. UK cities do not add a municipal wage tax.
Scoreboard
Population rank
#1
Annual take-home
£68,557
Effective levy
31.4%
Income tax
£27,432
National Insurance
£4,011
Band group
HMRC rUK bands
COL index
166.6
COL-adj. proxy £41,151
No municipal wage income tax — London uses HMRC rUK income-tax bands (20% / 40% / 45%) + Class 1 NI. Same modeled take-home as other England/Wales/NI metros at this gross.
Income ladder (HMRC rUK bands)
| Gross | Take-home | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| £50,000 | £39,520 | 21.0% |
| £75,000 | £54,057 | 27.9% |
| £100,000 | £68,557 | 31.4% |
| £150,000 | £91,286 | 39.1% |
| £200,000 | £117,786 | 41.1% |
Bands: £50,000 · £75,000 · £100,000 · £150,000 · £200,000
London paycheck snapshot
At £100,000 single PAYE (2026/27), London take-home is about £68,557 (31.4% effective) under HMRC rUK bands — income tax ≈ £27,432, NI ≈ £4,011, COL index 166.6. UK cities do not add a municipal wage tax.
On £100,000 single PAYE (2026/27), modeled take-home is £68,557 — income tax £27,432, Class 1 NI £4,011, effective 31.4%.
No municipal wage income tax — London uses HMRC rUK income-tax bands (20% / 40% / 45%) + Class 1 NI. Same modeled take-home as other England/Wales/NI metros at this gross.
How the London PAYE stack works
London uses HMRC rUK bands (20% / 40% / 45% above the Personal Allowance) plus UK-wide Class 1 NI — the same stack as London, Manchester, Cardiff, and Belfast on this hub.
Ladder check: £50k → £39,520; £100k → £68,557; £200k → £117,786.
Band-group peers and COL
Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds, Cardiff, Manchester, Bristol share HMRC rUK bands take-home on this vignette. COL: London 166.6; Liverpool 65.2; Birmingham 78.5; Belfast 81; Leeds 81.8; Cardiff 84.1; Manchester 98.1; Bristol 134.5.
COL-adjusted proxy for London: £41,151 (take-home × 100 ÷ 166.6) — purchasing-power hint only.
London vs Scotland
Vs Edinburgh: £68,557 vs £65,257 at £100k — gap £3,300.
Attribute that gap to income-tax bands (rUK vs Scottish), not a municipal wage tax and not a different NI schedule on this model.
Worked HMRC rUK bands examples
£100k England/Wales/NI (rUK) — London vignette
- Personal Allowance £12,570 (no taper yet at exactly £100k).
- Taxable £87,430: basic-rate slice to £50,270 + higher-rate remainder at 40%.
- Income tax ≈ £27,432; Class 1 NI ≈ £4,011.
- Take-home ≈ £68,557.
£68,557 take-home
Matches calcInsightsForUk(100000, 'RUK') and GOV.UK 2026/27 rUK bands.
£40k rUK hand-check
- Taxable £27,430 all in the basic rate → income tax ≈ £5,486.
- NI 8% on (£40,000 − £12,570) ≈ £2,194.
- Take-home ≈ £32,320.
£32,320 take-home
Basic-rate only vignette — validates PA + 20% + main NI rate.
National Insurance context
Same NI everywhere on this hub
At £100k, Class 1 NI ≈ £4,011 in London and £4,011 in Edinburgh — identical.
Main rate 8%, then 2%
Category A employee: 8% between the Primary Threshold (£12,570) and Upper Earnings Limit (£50,270), then 2% above (2026/27).
Scotland gap is income tax
Edinburgh pays about £3,300 more income tax at £100k — that is the entire modeled take-home gap.
Validation notes
- rUK £100k take-home locks to £68,557 (income tax £27,432 + NI £4,011).
- Scotland £100k take-home locks to £65,257 — gap vs London £3,300.
- All eight England/Wales/NI metros share identical take-home, income tax, and NI on every ladder rung.
- Edinburgh and Glasgow share identical Scottish PAYE on every ladder rung.
- COL indexes from ONS PIPR average private rents: London 166.6, Manchester 98.1, Belfast 81, Edinburgh 101.1, Glasgow 90.4 (UK average rent = 100).
- Official bands copied from GOV.UK Income Tax rates and Income Tax in Scotland (2026 to 2027).
- Vignette excludes student loan, pension, Marriage Allowance, Blind Person’s Allowance, and benefits in kind.
- Not tax advice — confirm Scottish taxpayer status and tax code with HMRC / your employer.
What this vignette excludes
- Student loan repayment (Plan 1 / 2 / 4 / Postgraduate)
- Pension contributions (auto-enrollment / salary sacrifice)
- Marriage Allowance / Blind Person’s Allowance
- Council tax band differentials by local authority
- Benefits in kind / company car / equity
- Non-PAYE income (dividends, savings, self-employment)
Same band group · different COL
Nearby take-home peers
Who this helps
Job offers & relocators
Compare London take-home and COL before accepting a UK offer — income-tax bands matter more than the skyline.
Same-band-group movers
Moving within HMRC rUK bands group rarely changes income tax — focus on rent and commute.
England ↔ Scotland corridors
London ↔ Edinburgh and Manchester ↔ Glasgow gaps are income-tax bands, not municipal wage tax.
Planning tips
Model pension separately
Pension contributions lower taxable income — not in this fixed vignette.
Check student loan
Student loan repayment (Plan 1/2/4/Postgraduate) is a separate PAYE deduction — not in this hub.
Personalize brackets
Open /calculator/uk for filing status, pension, and custom gross.
FAQs
About £68,557 (31.4% effective) — rank #8 of 10. Income tax ≈ £27,432; NI ≈ £4,011.
No municipal wage income tax — London uses HMRC rUK income-tax bands (20% / 40% / 45%) + Class 1 NI. Same modeled take-home as other England/Wales/NI metros at this gross.
Same take-home as Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds, Cardiff, Manchester, Bristol — COL indexes London 166.6; Liverpool 65.2; Birmingham 78.5; Belfast 81; Leeds 81.8; Cardiff 84.1; Manchester 98.1; Bristol 134.5.
£50k take-home ≈ £39,520; £200k ≈ £117,786.
London ≈ £68,557 vs Edinburgh £65,257 at £100k.
Use the calculator at /calculator/uk. COL index for London is 166.6.