Model your combined take-home pay, Income Tax and National Insurance when holding two jobs at once — including the primary/secondary treatment HMRC applies and the stacking effect on tax bands.
Updated for the 2026/27 tax year (rates from 6 April 2026).
Enter both salaries above to see your combined take-home. Figures use 2026/27 HMRC rates. Left card (PAYE per payslip): Job 1 uses the 1257L code and Job 2 the BR (basic-rate) code — the normal split HMRC applies across two concurrent jobs. Right card (one salary): both incomes stacked under a single 1257L code, i.e. your true annual liability. The middle figure is the gap between what PAYE pre-withholds and what you actually owe. Tax is always based on your total income, so at year end HMRC reconciles the difference through a P800 — you either pay a top-up or receive a refund. This does not mean two jobs are taxed more than one job of equal total pay.
Your first (primary) job normally uses the full personal allowance (e.g. 1257L). HMRC usually gives your second job a BR (basic-rate) tax code, taxing it at 20% with no personal allowance. National Insurance is applied to each job separately, with the second job's earnings above the NI threshold taxed at the main 8% rate.
Yes. Your income is stacked. If your combined earnings cross £50,270 you pay 40% on the slice above it, and above £100,000 your personal allowance is withdrawn even though the second job's BR code never used it — that is why holding two jobs can feel heavily taxed.
Often yes. Pension contributions reduce adjusted net income, which can pull you back under the £50,270 higher-rate threshold or the £100,000 personal-allowance taper and the £60,000 Child Benefit cliff.