How big is the take-home difference between inside and outside IR35?

It varies by rate and personal circumstances, but the structural drivers are consistent: outside IR35 avoids employer and employee National Insurance on the dividend portion of income and benefits from corporation tax rates (19% to an effective 26.5% for 2026/27) being generally lower than combined income tax and NI, while inside IR35 carries PAYE income tax plus employee NI at 8%/2% and employer NI at 15% above £5,000 that's typically reflected in the rate on offer.

Is this comparison up to date for 2026/27?

Yes — both sides of the comparison use the 2026/27 income tax bands, Class 1 National Insurance rates, and the dividend rates that took effect from 6 April 2026 (10.75%/35.75%/39.35% after the £500 allowance).

How is this different from an umbrella vs limited company comparison?

Umbrella and inside-IR35 agency PAYE both tax you broadly the same way under PAYE, but an umbrella deducts its own margin, employer National Insurance and any apprenticeship levy contribution from the assignment rate before running payroll, whereas agency PAYE applies those deductions directly to the invoice value. This calculator lets you choose either inside-IR35 route to compare against the outside-IR35 limited company figure.

How much more should I charge if a contract moves inside IR35?

The calculator's break-even solver gives you the exact inside-IR35 day rate that matches your current outside-IR35 take-home, rather than relying on a generic rule of thumb — the uplift needed depends heavily on your rate level, since National Insurance and dividend tax bands don't move in step with each other.

Is outside IR35 worth the extra admin and risk?

That depends on more than take-home pay: outside IR35 brings accountancy costs, no statutory holiday or sick pay, and exposure if HMRC later reclassifies the engagement and pursues years of back tax, interest and penalties. Pair this calculator with our IR35 back tax exposure tool to weigh the day-to-day take-home gain against that retrospective risk.

Inside vs Outside IR35 Calculator 2026/27 – Compare Take-Home Pay

Inside vs outside IR35, side by side — and the break-even rate between them

Comparing inside and outside IR35 properly means more than putting two take-home figures next to each other. The routes are taxed under entirely different systems — PAYE and employee National Insurance on one side, corporation tax and dividend tax on the other — so a fair comparison has to run both calculations in full for 2026/27 and then work out what rate change, if any, would make them equal.

This calculator does exactly that: it shows your inside-IR35 take-home from agency PAYE or an umbrella company against your outside-IR35 limited company take-home, using the same day rate, pension contributions and student loan settings on both sides — then solves for the day rate you'd need inside IR35 to match a given outside-IR35 take-home, so you know exactly what to ask for if a contract's status changes.

How the break-even rate is worked out

Enter your day rate, billable days and any pension or student loan settings that apply to you
The calculator computes inside-IR35 take-home (agency PAYE or umbrella) using 2026/27 income tax and Class 1 National Insurance rates
It separately computes outside-IR35 take-home through a limited company, including corporation tax and the 2026/27 dividend rates after the £500 allowance
It then solves for the inside-IR35 day rate that would produce the same take-home as your outside-IR35 figure, so you can see exactly how much more you'd need to charge to stay whole

Inside vs Outside IR35 Comparison Calculator (2026/27)

Inside vs outside IR35, side by side — and the break-even rate between them

How the break-even rate is worked out

Frequently asked questions