United Kingdom Tax year 2026/27
Rules checked against GOV.UK · updated 18 September 2026MethodologyReport a mistake

Job offer comparison 2026/27

Weigh up two job offers: the take-home pay each one leaves, the pension each employer adds, and the real monthly gap once tax and National Insurance come off.

Offer A 8% employer pension
Offer B 3% employer pension
Where do you live?
Add a bonus, a commute cost or a third offer
Offer B pays more each month
+£228.00
take-home a month, but Offer A puts £1,780 more a year into your pension, so Offer B is £956.04 ahead overall
MeasureOffer AOffer BAhead
Take-home a month£2,687.34£2,915.34B
Employer pays in a year£3,360£1,380A
Into your pension a year£5,460£3,680A
Take-home + pension£37,708.08£38,664.12B
Marginal rate26.6%26.6%—
Side by side

Where each offer’s money goes

Offer A · £42,000 · £455.00 a month into the pension
Take-home76.8%Pension5.0%Income tax13.0%National Insurance5.2%
Offer B · £46,000 · £306.67 a month into the pension
Take-home76.1%Pension5.0%Income tax13.5%National Insurance5.4%
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Rules v2026.10 · checked against GOV.UK on 18 September 2026Two independent checks on every rate · 83 hand-verified cases, all passing, beside 19,925 generated · How we calculate · Changelog
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Questions

Common questions

How do I compare two job offers properly?

Compare what each one leaves you, not the salary on the letter. Take Offer A at £42,000, where the employer pays in 8% and you pay in 5%, against Offer B at £46,000 on 3% and 5%: Offer B pays £228.00 more a month, but Offer A puts £1,780 more a year into a pension, so Offer B is ahead by £956.04 once pay and pension are added together.

Is an employer pension contribution worth as much as salary?

It is worth more per pound while it stays in the pension, because it is not taxed as pay when it goes in, and less in the short term, because you cannot spend it yet. On Offer A at £42,000 with 8% from the employer, against Offer B at £46,000 with 3%, Offer A adds £3,360 a year from the employer.

What else should I put in the comparison?

Anything that changes what the job costs or pays you: the commute, the hours, any bonus you can rely on, and the notice period. MyNetIncome’s job offer comparison prices salary and pension, which are the parts we can work out exactly from the rules.

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