Some information about the figures used to generate the answers displayed in The Salary Calculator:
Income Tax
| Under 65 Allowance | £5,435 |
| 65 to 75 Allowance | £9,030 |
| Over 75 Allowance | £9,180 |
| Blindness Allowance | £1,800 |
| Married Rebate | £653.50 |
| £0 - £36,000 | 20% |
| over £36,001 | 40% |
The Salary Calculator uses Income tax information from April 2008 to calculate the deductions made on a salary. Taxable income is salary over and above the tax allowance for your circumstances.
If you are under 65 years old, this tax allowance is £5,435. If you are between 65 and 75, the allowance is £9,030. If you are over 75, the allowance is £9,180.
Blind people get an extra £1,800 on their tax allowance. Married people over the age of 65 receive a tax rebate, after other deductions have been made, of £653.50. If you are married and over 75, the rebate is £662.50.
Any taxable income up to £36,000 is taxed at 20%, and anything over £36,001 is taxed at 40%. The 10% "Starting Rate" of income tax was removed in the April 2008 budget.
On 13th May 2008, the Chancellor of the Exchequer made some changes to income tax thresholds to compensate for the lack of 10p tax rate. These changes will come into effect in September 2008, but will be backdated to April (so those affected will have a tax refund in September). The change is to raise the tax allowance by £600 to £6035 but lower the higher tax threshold from £36,000 to £34,800. This means that most people with salaries below the higher tax threshold will be £10/month better off, while those with salaries over the threshold will be unaffected. The Salary Calculator currently displays both the April and September values.
National Insurance
| Below £105/week | 0% |
| £105 - £770/week | 11% |
| Above £770/week | 1% |
If your gross income (ie before tax) is less than £105 per week, you will make no National Insurance contributions. Gross earnings between £105 and £770 per week are charged at 11%. Any earnings over £770 per week are charged at 1%.
If you are receiving the State Pension, you do not have to pay National Insurance. For the purposes of The Salary Calculator, we have simplified this so that if you are 65 or over, National Insurance contributions are zero.
Student Loan
| Below £15,000 | 0% |
| Above £15,000 | 9% |
The Student Loan is repayed at a rate of 9% on any gross earnings over £15,000 per annum. This took effect from April 2005 - previously the threshold was £10,000. There is no change to this from April 2008.
Mortgage Calculations
The Mortgage Repayment Calculator uses an iterative process to home in a repayment amount that completes the mortgage after the entered time period has passed. It also does not include any information about building society fees, or variable rates.
For these reasons, The Mortgage Repayment Calculator is intended just to provide a ballpark figure to allow you to get an idea of the costs of different interest rates etc. Care has been taken to try to make these values accurate, but figures from mortgage lendors are likely to differ.