Free calculator · UK 2026/27 rates
Associate Take-Home Calculator
Enter your gross fees, split percentage, lab fee deduction, expenses and NHS Pension contribution. The calculator applies 2026/27 income tax and NI to give your estimated net take-home as a sole-trader associate.
Associate Take-Home Calculator
Enter your gross fees, split percentage, lab fee deduction, expenses and NHS Pension contribution. The calculator applies 2026/27 income tax and NI to give your estimated net take-home as a sole-trader associate.
Estimate uses UK 2026/27 income tax and NI rates for sole-trader associates. Excludes student loan repayments, Marriage Allowance, and other personal reliefs.
Sense-check your figure with a specialist dental accountant
Calculators give you a solid starting point, but the final number depends on your NHS Pension status, prior-year reliefs, and how different taxes interact in your specific structure. A short conversation with a dental-specialist accountant puts a firm figure on it, with no obligation.
Get the full Associate and locum dentist tax model and guide
Get the associate take-home model
What you keep from your fees after income tax and Class 4 NIC, with live formulas. A locum structure sheet: sole trader vs limited company vs umbrella side by side.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your figures (edit the blue cells) | ||||||||||
| 2 | Gross fees you generate a year | £120,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | Your fee split | 50% | |||||||||
| 4 | Lab fees (% of gross) | 8% | |||||||||
| 5 | Your take-home | ||||||||||
| 6 | Taxable profit | £52,200 | |||||||||
| 7 | Income tax | £8,312 | |||||||||
| 8 | Class 4 NIC | £2,301 | |||||||||
| 9 | Estimated take-home: £41,587 (effective rate 20.3%) | ||||||||||
| 10 | |||||||||||
| 11 | |||||||||||
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How this works
The calculator starts with your gross fees and applies your split percentage to get your associate share. Lab fees (as a percentage of your gross, pro-rated to your split) are then deducted, followed by your other deductible expenses and NHS Pension contribution.
The resulting taxable profit is run through 2026/27 income tax (20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140, 45% above; personal allowance £12,570 tapering above £100,000), and Class 4 NI (6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above). Class 2 NI is not payable: the liability was removed from 6 April 2024, and profits at or above the small profits threshold are treated as having paid it.
NHS Pension contributions are treated as deductible from taxable profit. This is the practitioner pensions arrangement available to NHS-contract associates.
Worked example: Sarah generates £120,000 in gross fees on a 50% associate split, with a 5% lab fee deduction, £8,000 in other deductible expenses (indemnity, GDC, CPD, motor), and a £6,500 NHS Pension contribution. Her associate share is £60,000; lab fees deducted are £3,000 (5% of gross pro-rated to her split); after expenses her taxable profit is £42,500. Income tax at 2026/27 rates on £42,500 is £5,986 and Class 4 NI is £1,796. Class 2 NI is nil. Total tax and NI of £7,782 leaves an estimated annual take-home of approximately £34,718, an effective rate of around 15.9% on trading profit.
Frequently asked
- What expenses can an associate dentist deduct?
- For a sole-trader associate: GDC retention, indemnity premiums, CPD, professional subscriptions, lab fees attributable to your work, motor expenses between practices (not home to first practice), instruments and loupes, accountancy fees, and professional clothing. Personal elements need to be apportioned.
- Is my NHS Pension contribution deductible?
- Yes, for sole-trader associates contributing via the practitioner pensions arrangement, the contribution is deductible from taxable profit. It is taken from NHS earnings at source via the GDS contract mechanism.
- Does this cover student loan repayments?
- No. The model excludes student loan repayments for clarity. If you are on Plan 2 or Plan 5, you will repay 9% of earnings above the relevant threshold via your self-assessment return. This reduces your net take-home from the figure shown.
- Does this work for a limited company associate?
- No. This model covers sole-trader associates only. For a Ltd-co associate, IR35 status and the salary/dividend split affect the calculation materially. Book a call for accurate modelling of your specific structure.
Get the full picture
Every figure here is modelled on standard 2026/27 thresholds. Your actual position depends on your NHS Pension status, prior-year usage, other income, and how decisions interact. Take the free practice health check to get a personalised view.
Before you act on this
Check this against your real position
A calculator works from the figures you type into it. Your actual position also depends on your NHS Pension record, how the practice is set up, and what you are planning next. Tell us where you are and we will put you in front of a specialist dental accountant from our partner network. No obligation, and if what you are doing already suits you they will say so.
- Built around dental incomeNHS pension, UDAs and the private mix read together
- Your figures, not a templateThe work starts from your accounts and your pension record
- The reasoning, not just the numberYou see how the answer was reached