Compare · US vs UK
US vs UK take-home pay
Scenario: Single filer, full-year resident of the
modeled jurisdiction, standard deduction / Personal Allowance (with
the £100k–£125,140 taper applied for the UK), employee income only.
Important scope limit: the US figures are federal only — no state or local income tax is included. Most US workers live in a state with its own income tax; for them, this comparison overstates US take-home pay. The UK figures use England / Wales / Northern Ireland bands (Scottish rates differ).
Exchange rate: 1 USD ≈ 0.7900 GBP, 1 GBP ≈ 1.2658 USD. Snapshot date 2026-09-16. Source: Reference snapshot — not a live feed. Update per release.
Important scope limit: the US figures are federal only — no state or local income tax is included. Most US workers live in a state with its own income tax; for them, this comparison overstates US take-home pay. The UK figures use England / Wales / Northern Ireland bands (Scottish rates differ).
Exchange rate: 1 USD ≈ 0.7900 GBP, 1 GBP ≈ 1.2658 USD. Snapshot date 2026-09-16. Source: Reference snapshot — not a live feed. Update per release.
Normalized table
| Scenario | United States (USD) | United Kingdom (GBP) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross | Net | Gross | Net | |
| Example salary: $35,000 | $35,000 | $30,302.5 | £27,650 | £23,427.6 |
| Example salary: $75,000 | $75,000 | $61,592.5 | £59,250 | £44,922.4 |
| Example salary: $150,000 | $150,000 | $113,791 | £118,500 | £75,587.4 |
| Above the UK £100k PA taper: ~£103,000 | $130,000 | $100,121 | £102,700 | £69,583.4 |
Detailed breakdown
| Scenario | Country | Gross | Income tax | Employee contributions | Net | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example salary: $35,000 | 🇺🇸 US (federal) | $35,000 | $2,020 | $2,677.5 | $30,302.5 | 13.42% |
| Example salary: $35,000 | 🇬🇧 UK (E/W/NI) | £27,650 | £3,016 | £1,206.4 | £23,427.6 | 15.27% |
| Example salary: $75,000 | 🇺🇸 US (federal) | $75,000 | $7,670 | $5,737.5 | $61,592.5 | 17.88% |
| Example salary: $75,000 | 🇬🇧 UK (E/W/NI) | £59,250 | £11,132 | £3,195.6 | £44,922.4 | 24.18% |
| Example salary: $150,000 | 🇺🇸 US (federal) | $150,000 | $24,734 | $11,475 | $113,791 | 24.14% |
| Example salary: $150,000 | 🇬🇧 UK (E/W/NI) | £118,500 | £38,532 | £4,380.6 | £75,587.4 | 36.21% |
| Above the UK £100k PA taper: ~£103,000 | 🇺🇸 US (federal) | $130,000 | $19,934 | $9,945 | $100,121 | 22.98% |
| Above the UK £100k PA taper: ~£103,000 | 🇬🇧 UK (E/W/NI) | £102,700 | £29,052 | £4,064.6 | £69,583.4 | 32.25% |
Why the two systems produce different net numbers
At the gross-income levels above, the difference is structural, not accidental:
- The UK's Personal Allowance (£12,570) is fully tax-free. Above that, the basic rate of 20% applies up to £50,270. The US instead uses a $16,100 standard deduction that also exempts income from tax — at lower gross levels the Personal Allowance is effectively more generous because it operates as a flat zero-rate band rather than a deduction from a lower tax base.
- Employee contributions differ in structure. UK Class 1 NI is a flat-rate 8% on the main band (£12,570–£50,270) plus 2% above that, with no per-year cap. US Social Security is 6.2% with a wage base cap at $184,500; Medicare is 1.45% on every dollar; and Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% applies above $200,000.
- Bracket top rates are similar in headline but differ in bracket shape. The US has 7 brackets; the UK has 3 (plus Scotland's 6). At the top, both reach an effective rate in the low 30s for median-plus incomes; the divergence is in the middle.
- No universal winner. Each system makes different trade-offs between revenue, progressivity, and simplicity. Tax outcomes also depend heavily on state income tax in the US and on Scottish rates in the UK — neither modeled here.
What this comparison explicitly does not include
- Healthcare — UK NHS is funded out of general taxation and effectively included in the same revenue pool; US healthcare insurance premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs vary enormously and are post-tax for most employees.
- Pensions / retirement — UK auto-enrolment and State Pension provisions differ substantially from US Social Security + 401(k) patterns. Their replacement rates at retirement are not the same.
- Cost of living — rent, groceries, transport, childcare, and education costs vary by city and are unrelated to tax.
- State or local income tax in the US (a UK resident has no equivalent, since council tax is a separate property-based levy).
- Capital-gains treatment for any investments.
- Currency movement — the exchange rate is a snapshot, not a forecast. A 5% currency move changes a £60,000 UK salary's USD equivalent by about $3,800/year.
Exchange rate and conversion
1 USD = 0.7900 GBP ·
1 GBP = 1.2658 USD
Snapshot date: 2026-09-16. Reference snapshot — not a live feed. Update per release. We do not run a
live FX feed. Refresh the page after material market moves to
recompare.
Sources
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — US Federal 2026 brackets
- IRS Topic 751 — Social Security and Medicare
- GOV.UK — Income Tax rates
- HMRC — National Insurance rates and allowances
See something wrong? Report a possible error.
This comparison was assembled from verified data releases
us-fed-2026.1 and gb-2026-27.1.