2026/27 tax year
What do your locum shifts pay after tax?
On £45 an hour, 40 hours a week for 44 weeks, a locum grosses £79,200 a year. Through an umbrella inside IR35 that pays about £50,153 after all deductions, 63.3% of the gross; the same work outside IR35 through a limited company keeps roughly £55,387. Enter your rate, hourly or daily, to see your own breakdown.
How this is worked out
- PAYE / bank: the full rate is treated as gross salary from a single engagement across the year, taxed with a standard 1257L code. Agency PAYE and NHS bank shifts work this way; multiple concurrent engagements can put part of your pay on an emergency or BR code until HMRC reconciles it.
- Umbrella (inside IR35): the assignment rate first funds a £25/week umbrella margin, then employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000/year and the 0.5% apprenticeship levy, leaving your gross pay (gov.uk: working through an umbrella company). Holiday pay is assumed rolled up into that gross, not paid on top.
- PAYE for 2026/27: personal allowance £12,570 (tapered £1 per £2 above £100,000), then 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140, 45% above; employee NI at 8% between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above (gov.uk: income tax rates). England/Wales/NI bands; Scottish rates differ.
- Limited company (outside IR35): £12,570 director salary (with £1,135.50 employer NI), corporation tax at 19% to £50,000, an effective 26.5% marginal rate to £250,000, 25% above (gov.uk), all remaining profit paid as dividends in the same year, taxed at the 2026/27 rates of 10.75% / 35.75% / 39.35% after the £500 allowance (gov.uk: tax on dividends). The personal allowance taper is not modelled on dividend income, so results above roughly £100,000 of total income are slightly optimistic.
- NHS pension is excluded. No pension contributions of any kind are modelled. Pensionable bank or direct-engagement shifts will show a lower net but buy NHS pension accrual, often the single most valuable part of the package (NHSBSA: NHS Pensions).
- Not modelled: student loans, the tapered pension annual allowance, VAT, and expense claims inside IR35 or under an umbrella (generally not allowed). Treat every figure as an estimate; a full payroll or accountant's calculation should land within a few hundred pounds.
Locum Tax Calculator is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with HMRC, the NHS, NHSBSA or any professional body, and nothing here is tax, accounting or financial advice. Figures are estimates built on stated assumptions; confirm your own position with an accountant before making decisions.
Locum take-home by hourly rate: PAYE vs umbrella vs limited company, 2026/27
Last updated
Annual take-home at common locum rates over a 40-hour, 44-week year, computed with the calculator's exact formulas: full rate as salary under PAYE; umbrella margin, employer NI and levy funded from the rate inside IR35; £12,570 salary plus dividends through a limited company outside.
Computed from published HMRC 2026/27 rates: PAYE with £12,570 tapered allowance, 20/40/45% bands and 8%/2% employee NI; umbrella mode deducts a £25/week margin, 15% employer NI above £5,000 and the 0.5% levy before PAYE; limited company mode uses £12,570 salary plus £1,135.50 employer NI, corporation tax at 19%/26.5% marginal/25%, and full distribution taxed at 10.75%/35.75%/39.35% after the £500 dividend allowance. No pension contributions.
| Hourly rate | Annual gross (40 h, 44 wks) | PAYE / bank | Umbrella (inside IR35) | Ltd co (outside IR35) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £30 | £52,800 | £41,181 | £36,216 | £40,886 |
| £40 | £70,400 | £51,389 | £45,734 | £51,231 |
| £45 | £79,200 | £56,493 | £50,153 | £55,387 |
| £50 | £88,000 | £61,597 | £54,572 | £59,543 |
| £60 | £105,600 | £70,685 | £63,410 | £67,854 |
| £80 | £140,800 | £85,782 | £76,403 | £84,477 |
- A locum on £45/hour working 40-hour weeks for 44 weeks takes home about £50,153 through an umbrella inside IR35 in 2026/27, 63.3% of the £79,200 gross.
- At the same £45/hour rate, direct PAYE or bank engagement pays about £56,493, roughly £6,340 more than the umbrella route, because no employer NI is funded from the rate.
- Inside IR35 through an umbrella, about 15% employer NI plus the 0.5% apprenticeship levy come out of a locum's assignment rate before income tax is even calculated.
Cite this page
“Locum take-home by hourly rate: PAYE vs umbrella vs limited company, 2026/27”, Locum Tax Calculator, https://locumtaxcalculator.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). Computed from published HMRC 2026/27 rates: PAYE with £12,570 tapered allowance, 20/40/45% bands and 8%/2% employee NI; umbrella mode deducts a £25/week margin, 15% employer NI above £5,000 and the 0.5% levy before PAYE; limited company mode uses £12,570 salary plus £1,135.50 employer NI, corporation tax at 19%/26.5% marginal/25%, and full distribution taxed at 10.75%/35.75%/39.35% after the £500 dividend allowance. No pension contributions.
Get your locum numbers verified by a specialist accountant
IR35 status, umbrella versus bank, pension treatment, expenses: a specialist locum accountant will confirm your real position.
We introduce; we don't advise. Any engagement and its terms are between you and the accountant.
The detail
Each one cites where its numbers come from.
- IR35 for NHS locums: why trust shifts are taxed inside
Almost all NHS trust locum work is inside IR35: the trust determines status and PAYE applies. What that means for a £45/hour locum, with 2026/27 figures.
- Locum doctor tax: PAYE, umbrella and limited company compared
How locum doctors are taxed in 2026/27: agency PAYE, umbrella inside IR35 or a limited company outside. At £45/hour the gap is about £5,234 a year, worked examples.
- Locum pharmacist tax: employment status and take-home explained
HMRC treats most community pharmacy locums as employees for tax. What locum pharmacists can and cannot do on status, expenses and take-home in 2026/27.
- Locum tax deductions: what you can claim in each structure
GMC and GPhC fees, indemnity, subscriptions, travel and training: which locum expenses are deductible under PAYE, umbrella and limited company rules in 2026/27.
Straight answers
How much do you take home on £45 an hour as a locum?
Over a 40-hour, 44-week year (£79,200 gross) in 2026/27: about £56,493 under direct PAYE or bank engagement, £50,153 through an umbrella inside IR35, or £55,387 through a limited company outside IR35, before any pension contributions.
Why is umbrella take-home so much lower than PAYE at the same rate?
Because inside IR35 the assignment rate is the employer's budget: a £25/week umbrella margin, employer NI at 15% above £5,000 and the 0.5% apprenticeship levy are funded from it before your gross pay exists. At £45/hour that is about £10,932 a year of employer costs.
Are locum shifts taxed inside IR35?
NHS trust shifts almost always are: the trust determines status and standard ward or dispensary work has the shape of employment. Genuinely outside-IR35 determinations exist for some multi-site, insourcing or private work, and IR35 does not apply at all to locums engaged directly as self-employed individuals.
Is a limited company still worth it for locums?
Only for work genuinely determined outside IR35. At £60/hour outside IR35 a company keeps roughly £4,400 a year more than an umbrella; on inside-IR35 trust shifts the company route is taxed like employment anyway, so it adds cost without benefit.
Does this calculator include the NHS pension?
No, deliberately. Pension rules differ completely by route: bank and direct-engagement shifts are usually pensionable, umbrella and company work generally is not, and locum GPs have their own scheme forms. The calculator states this as an assumption so the three routes compare on tax alone.
Why does the calculator assume 44 working weeks?
It allows roughly 8 unbilled weeks for annual leave, study, sickness and gaps between placements, a realistic default for a full-time locum. Change it to match your pattern: every week off costs a £45/hour locum about £1,800 of gross.
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