Salary sacrifice: the free money lever

Give up £100 of salary and it costs you far less than £100 — because tax and NI never touch it. See the exact numbers for your pay.

Tax year 2026 / 27

Your details

Your salary

Amount to sacrifice per month

Employer passes on their NI saving (% — many pass 0, some the full 15%)

Resident in Scotland

Real monthly cost to you

£—

for £—/month into your pension

Take-home without sacrifice

£—

Take-home with sacrifice

£—

Why sacrifice beats paying in after tax

Sacrificed salary never exists for tax purposes: you save Income Tax and employee NI on every pound, and your employer saves 15% employer NI — which generous employers add to your pot. A basic-rate taxpayer gets £100 into their pension for a real cost of about £72; a higher-rate taxpayer for about £58. Earning just over £100k? Sacrificing below the threshold also restores your personal allowance — an effective relief of ~60%.

Two caveats: your contractual salary drops (which can affect mortgage applications and statutory pay), and it can't take you below minimum wage.