The Salary Calculator

General Election Salary Calculator

by Admin

As you may have noticed, there’s a General Election next month and the parties are all out campaigning. Since a major campaign point this time is personal taxation, I thought it would be interesting to compare how the main parties’ policies would affect take-home pay. You can try out the Election Salary Calculator here. This is a simplified version of the normal Salary Calculator, but if you enter your salary and a few other optional extras, it will estimate the differences in deductions for the 5 main national parties.

This is just an estimate, and not all of the details are available yet – I will update the calculator with more information as the parties provide it. I hope you find it interesting! Details of the changes are described below the results table. The BBC has a very good article explaining the parties’ positions on taxation and other policy areas.

Tags: 2015, election, income tax, national insurance, Pay As You Earn, personal allowance, tax rates, The Salary Calculator

Budget 2015

by Admin

The Chancellor gave his pre-election budget earlier today – announcing his plans for forthcoming years. With an election just around the corner, this budget is even more of a sales pitch than usual – most of the changes he announced would only come to pass if the Conservatives were to be in government for the next term.

From a personal taxation point of view, the most significant announcement was arguably the plan for the first £1,000 of interest earned on savings to be tax free, effective April 2016. This will allow almost everyone to pay no taxes on their savings interest (those with high incomes from elsewhere will have this £1,000 limit reduced, possibly to zero), but the amount saved each year for most people is likely to be only a few pounds – and at most £200. There is also a plan to raise the threshold for the higher rate tax (the point at which income tax increases from 20% to 40%) ahead of inflation – an effective tax break for those on good middle-class incomes.

The Salary Calculator has already been updated with the tax rates which take effect from April 2015 so you can see how your pay packet will change next month. You can also compare 2014 and 2015 tax rates side-by-side to see where the differences come in.

Tags: 2015, April 2015, budget, Economy, income tax, national insurance, Pay As You Earn, tax rates, The Salary Calculator

A new beginning for 2015

by Admin

As 2015 opens, it seems everyone I know is starting a new job! A common theme of conversations I’ve had is either promotions or moving jobs to a new company and new horizons. January is a popular time for people to make a fresh start, and what better way to do that than with a new job?

If you’re considering a move then The Salary Calculator is here to help – find out how much that new salary would bring home for you with the take home pay calculator, or even compare it side-by-side with your current salary with the salary comparison calculator. Maybe you’re thinking of improving your home life with a move to part-time work? The pro-rata salary calculator can help you see what would happen to your take-home if you reduced your hours in your current job.

Maybe 2015 for you is the year you go to university, or one in which you consider it. If this applies to you then I highly recommend Money Saving Expert’s page about the cost of university, and what those fees and loans mean – don’t make a decision about the cost of studying until you’ve read this guide, or at least watched the short video summary which appears just above point number 5.

Tags: 2015, income tax, Jobs, new job, Pay As You Earn, promotion, student loan, The Salary Calculator