£600 Per Day: Take-Home Pay Breakdown (2026/27)

Q: How much do I take home on £600 per day as a limited company?

At £600 per day (£132,000 pa, 220 days), a limited company director outside IR35 takes home approximately £81,872 in 2026/27 — an effective tax rate of 38.0%. This assumes a £12,570 salary with remaining profits paid as dividends.

Q: What is the difference between PAYE and a limited company at £600 per day?

On £600 per day, PAYE takes home £81,118 versus £80,321 for a limited company (outside IR35) — a difference of £797 per year. At this income level, the combined burden of Corporation Tax and dividend tax exceeds PAYE income tax and NI, making PAYE more efficient. The April 2026 dividend tax increase contributed to this crossover.

Contracting at £600 per day generates £132,000 per year (220 days). Here's how much you take home in 2026/27 under each working arrangement.

Structure	Gross	Income Tax	NI	Corp Tax	Take-Home	Eff. Rate
Limited Company Outside IR35	£132,000	£22,945	£0	£27,598	£80,321	38.3%
PAYE Employee / Umbrella	£132,000	£46,232	£4,651	—	£81,118	38.5%
Limited Company Inside IR35	£132,000	£33,249	£4,205	—	£72,242	40.3%
Sole Trader Most efficient	£132,000	£46,232	£3,897	—	£81,872	38.0%

Based on 220 working days (£132,000 annual gross). Ltd company uses £12,570 salary. 2026/27 HMRC rates. Rest-of-UK (non-Scottish) taxpayer. No pension contributions.

Want to adjust the numbers?

Change working days, add pension contributions, or toggle Scotland rates.

Open interactive calculator →

Who earns £600 per day?

Is £600 per day a good rate?

£600 a day is a strong senior-plus rate. Cloud engineers, technical leads, and programme managers on large transformation projects commonly bill here. Multi-cloud and platform-engineering experience in particular has pushed more contractors into this band in 2026 as organisations invest in cloud-native infrastructure.

Worked example

A cloud engineer on £600 a day grosses around £132,000 over a 220-day year — enough that the loss of the personal allowance above £100,000 comes into play. The figures below reflect that taper; the interactive calculator shows how pension contributions can claw the allowance back.

Over 220 working days, £600 per day comes to £132,000 in gross fees. As a limited company outside IR35 that leaves roughly £80,321 in your pocket after Corporation Tax, dividend tax and National Insurance — an effective tax rate of around 38.3%. The same fees taken through an umbrella under PAYE would return about £81,118, while inside IR35 the figure falls to approximately £72,242. Your own result depends on your IR35 status, pension contributions and how many days you actually bill.

Limited Company (Outside IR35) — Detailed Breakdown

Annual fees (gross)

£132,000

£600/day × 220 days

Salary drawn

£12,570

At personal allowance

Dividends

£90,696

After corporation tax

Corporation tax

£27,598

On £118,295 profit

Dividend tax

£22,945

Personal tax on dividends

Take-home pay

£80,321

Per year after all taxes

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do I take home on £600 per day as a limited company?

At £600 per day (£132,000 annual gross over 220 working days), a limited company director outside IR35 takes home approximately £81,872 in 2026/27. This assumes a £12,570 salary with remaining profits extracted as dividends, giving an effective tax rate of around 38.0%.

What is the difference between PAYE and a limited company at £600 per day?

On £600/day, PAYE takes home £81,118 versus £80,321 for a limited company (outside IR35) — a difference of £797 per year. At this income level, the combined burden of Corporation Tax and dividend tax exceeds PAYE income tax and NI, making PAYE the more tax-efficient structure. The April 2026 dividend tax increase contributed to this crossover.

Does IR35 affect my take-home pay at £600 per day?

Yes, significantly. Inside IR35 at £600/day, you take home approximately £72,242 — around £8,079 less than outside IR35. Inside IR35, your income is treated as deemed employment: employer NI is deducted first, then you pay income tax and employee NI on the remainder, with only a 5% flat expense allowance.

How many working days are used in this calculation?

This breakdown uses 220 working days per year, which is a common assumption for UK contractors (approximately 260 weekdays minus bank holidays and leave). Your actual earnings will vary based on how many days you work. You can adjust the figure using the interactive calculator.

Who typically charges £600 per day?

£600 a day is typically commanded by technical leads, senior consultants, and cloud specialists, such as technical lead, cloud engineer (AWS / Azure / GCP), senior data scientist and programme manager. It is most common in cloud migration, financial services, energy and utilities and large-scale digital programmes. £600 a day is a strong senior-plus rate. Cloud engineers, technical leads, and programme managers on large transformation projects commonly bill here. Multi-cloud and platform-engineering experience in particular has pushed more contractors into this band in 2026 as organisations invest in cloud-native infrastructure.