Simple Salary / Umbrella company calculator
Umbrella company take-home calculator
What a contractor on an umbrella company takes home from an assignment rate, after the umbrella's margin, employer National Insurance, the Apprenticeship Levy, income tax and your own NI.
Why is my umbrella take-home so much lower than my day rate?
Because the assignment rate is not your salary. The umbrella company is your employer, so employer National Insurance (15% above £5,000) and the Apprenticeship Levy (0.5%) come out of the assignment rate first, along with the umbrella's weekly margin. What is left is your gross pay, which is then taxed like any salary.
Is it legal for an umbrella to deduct employer NI from my rate?
Yes, provided the assignment rate was agreed as the amount paid to the umbrella, which is normal. What is not allowed is deducting employer NI from a rate that was agreed as your gross salary. Your Key Information Document from the agency should show both figures.
What is a reasonable umbrella margin?
Typically £15 to £30 a week. Be wary of umbrellas promising much higher take-home than this calculator shows; schemes that pay part of your income as loans or similar are tax avoidance and HMRC pursues the contractor, not the umbrella.
How does umbrella compare with my own limited company?
If your contract is inside IR35, an umbrella and a limited company give a similar result. Outside IR35, a limited company paying a small salary and dividends usually leaves more: see the dividend vs salary calculator .
Rates last checked against gov.uk on 11 October 2026.
Sources
Please note
Estimates only. Umbrellas work out employer NI weekly rather than yearly, pension auto-enrolment may apply, and expenses are rarely allowed under umbrella.