£400/day contractor take-home, four engagement types
Same £400 / day. Different tax structures. See what you'd actually keep under UK PAYE, an umbrella (Inside IR35), a limited company inside IR35, and a limited company outside IR35 — all four figures computed live for 2026/27.
See the difference
Same £400.00/day contractor. Four engagement types.
Assumes 5 days a week × 46 billable weeks, tax code 1257L, no student loans, UK 2026/27 tax year — all figures are live from the same engines that power the calculators.
- Highest net
Standard PAYE employment
PAYEAnnual take-home
£63,917.40
£5,326.45 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 30.5%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- Baseline
As if you were on payroll with the same annualised salary.
- Lowest net
Umbrella company
Inside IR35Annual take-home
£56,555.67
£4,712.97 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 38.5%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- −£7,361.73 vs PAYE
Includes £25/week margin, employer NI, apprenticeship levy — modelled like a real payslip.
Limited (Inside IR35)
Inside IR35Annual take-home
£63,917.40
£5,326.45 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 30.5%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- Baseline
PAYE-style deemed employment via the fee-payer.
Limited (Outside IR35)
Outside IR35Annual take-home
£62,063.33
£5,171.94 / month
- Effective tax rate
- 32.5%
- vs. Standard PAYE
- −£1,854.07 vs PAYE
NI-optimal salary + dividends, with corporation-tax marginal relief.
Gap between the best and worst option: £7,361.73 / year on the same working assumptions.
Model your own rate →What the numbers say for a £400/day contractor
Assuming 5 days per week × 46 billable weeks per year, a 1257L tax code, no student loans and no personal pension, the £400/day contractor scenarios above break down like this for 2026/27:
- Standard PAYE: £63,917.40 net per year (effective tax rate 30.5%).
- Umbrella (Inside IR35): £56,555.67 net per year — that's -£7,361.73 vs. PAYE, mostly because employer NI, apprenticeship levy and the umbrella's margin come off the assignment rate before you see it.
- Limited (Inside IR35): £63,917.40 net per year — the fee-payer applies PAYE-style treatment, so the maths lands very close to standard PAYE.
- Limited (Outside IR35): £62,063.33 net per year via an NI-optimal director's salary plus dividends, after corporation tax with marginal relief. That's -£1,854.07 vs. PAYE.
Gap between the best and worst option: £7,361.73 per year. Model your own tax code, student loans, weeks worked and pension contributions in the full calculator to get a personalised number.