£20,000 vs £30,000 — How Much of the Raise Do You Keep?

2025/26 · UK · After Income Tax and National Insurance

+£7,200 net / year
You keep 72% of the £10,000 gross raise  ·  +£600/month
+£10,000
Gross raise
+£7,200
Net raise
72%
Of raise kept
28.0%
Marginal rate

Is a raise from £20,000 to £30,000 worth it? On paper it is £10,000 more, but the number that matters is the £7,200 of net pay you keep after Income Tax and National Insurance — that is 72% of the gross raise landing in your pocket in the 2025/26 tax year.

Below is a side-by-side comparison of your take-home pay on £20,000 versus £30,000 in the UK, using the same 2025/26 tax year logic as our UK Salary Calculator. Every figure is calculated for a standard employee with the full personal allowance.

£20,000 vs £30,000 — Side by Side

 £20,000£30,000Change
Gross salary£20,000£30,000+£10,000
Net (take-home) pay£17,920£25,120+£7,200
Monthly take-home£1,493£2,093+£600
Effective tax rate10.4%16.3%+5.9%
💡 Marginal rate on this raise: about 28.0%. Good news: this raise stays inside a single tax band, so the whole £10,000 is taxed at the same marginal rate of about 28.0%. No new higher band is crossed between £20,000 and £30,000.

See the full breakdown for each salary

Want every line of tax and deductions? View the dedicated take-home pages:

£20,000 after tax £30,000 after tax All UK salaries All raise comparisons

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£30,000 vs £40,000 →

Frequently asked questions

How much of a raise from £20,000 to £30,000 do I actually keep in the UK?

A £10,000 gross raise from £20,000 to £30,000 adds about £7,200 to your annual take-home pay in the UK for the 2025/26 tax year — roughly 72% of the raise, after Income Tax and National Insurance.

What is the marginal tax rate on this raise?

Across the £20,000 to £30,000 slice, the effective marginal deduction rate is about 28.0%. That means for every extra £100 of gross pay in this band you keep roughly £72 after Income Tax and National Insurance.

How much more will I take home each month?

Your monthly take-home pay rises from about £1,493 at £20,000 to £2,093 at £30,000 — an extra £600 a month in the UK for the 2025/26 tax year.

About this comparison

Figures use the 2025/26 tax year and the same logic as our UK Salary Calculator: the £12,570 personal allowance (tapered above £100,000), Income Tax at 20% / 40% / 45% and Class 1 National Insurance at 8% then 2%. The "net raise" is simply the take-home pay at £30,000 minus the take-home pay at £20,000. These are estimates for the 2025/26 tax year and are not personal tax advice. Compare take-home pay across countries on our take-home pay by country page.