Get a free umbrella take home pay calculation from a top 10 umbrella company
We’re delighted to offer this free and reliable service to our readers.
All you need to do is complete the short form below and we’ll pass your details on to a top 10 umbrella company. They’ll let get in contact with you at a convenient time to discuss their service, and to provide you with an accurate take home pay calculation.
There is absolutely no obligation to use their service!
Complete the short form below for a free calculation from a leading umbrella.
Beware of misleading calculations!
Unfortunately, there are plenty of umbrella companies out there that are deliberately misleading contractors. What they’re doing is manipulating the take home pay calculations they offer. Keep reading and we’ll explain how they do this. To put it simply – they’re using unrealistic information in their calculations to make them appear higher than they should – to entice you to use their service over their competitors. Remember – every compliant umbrella company has to make the same tax deductions, which are determined by your tax code.
The only thing that will vary between compliant providers is the fee they charge (also known as a margin) for the service. For example, if ‘Umbrella A and ‘Umbrella B’ both charge a weekly margin of £25, your net take home pay would be the same after all tax deductions. If ‘Umbrella A’ is offering you far more than ‘Umbrella B’ – something dodgy is probably going on!
So how do you know if an umbrella company is trying to mislead you? Below are a few of the tricks sneaky umbrella’s use to make your take home pay seem higher. If you come across any clearly unethical and deliberately misleading calculations from umbrella companies – let us know! Please email info@umbrellacompanies.org.uk.
Tax code with a more generous tax-free allowance
You must understand what tax code is used to calculate your illustration – as this will affect your projected take home pay. If your take home pay seems too good to be true, then it just may well be.
We have heard many stories from disgruntled contractors who have registered with an umbrella company because of the high take home pay projection they were given. Unfortunately, they found out when the umbrella paid them that the umbrella had used a tax code with a more generous tax-free allowance, and they received significantly less than expected.
Number of working weeks used in the calculation
Before registering with a company, always check the number of weeks your calculation is based on – as some may adjust the weeks to produce a higher take home. E.g. – the chances of you working every day, 52 weeks per year are pretty slim!
Expenses are included even though you cannot claim them
Unfortunately, it is no longer possible for the vast majority of umbrella workers to claim expenses because they are subject to Supervision, Direction or Control. However, some sneaky umbrellas include expenses as part of your illustration to increase your take home pay.
They do not include the £100,000 personal abatement
Once your taxable income exceeds £100,000, your allowance will be reduced by £1 for every £2 that your adjusted net income is above the threshold. If you think the abatement applies to you, always check with the provider that it has been included in your take home pay illustration. Otherwise, you may be in for a shock when you receive a lower take home than you were expecting.
Net margin, rather than gross margin
Umbrella companies will retain a margin to cover the administrative costs associated with running payroll, and it is taken before any tax deductions are made – making it more tax-efficient for you. The amount the umbrella will retain is known as the ‘gross margin’, and the ‘net margin’ is what is deducted from your pay.
Some umbrellas are not being entirely honest in their illustrations and are only quoting the net margin, rather than being honest about how much they will retain. Sure, it doesn’t affect you too much – but it’s sneaky of them because they’ll be retaining more than they let on. Do you want to use an umbrella that hides important information from you? Absolutely not!
Student loan deductions have been excluded
Student loan repayments are regrettably unavoidable. Don’t be fooled by umbrella take home pay illustrations that do not include these deductions – they will be applied to your pay.
Having read the above, you should now be clued-up on the dishonest tricks that some umbrella companies will play to try and entice you to use their service. For more information about what to look out for when choosing an umbrella, please take a look at our short guide on how to compare umbrella companies.
Understanding your take home pay illustration
Take home pay illustrations are a great way of finding out what you can expect to earn from an assignment after all the tax deductions have been made. Most umbrella companies will try and make illustrations as accurate as possible. However, please remember, they won’t be able to give you exact figures – as they do not know your tax code or information about previous earnings for the year.
We’ve created a shortlist of the things you should expect your illustration to include.
Your contracted hours
Many umbrella companies will base their illustrations on a 37.5-hour working week. If your contracted hours are different, let them know. The umbrella will change the number of hours used in the illustration to give you a more accurate take home pay illustration.
English or Scottish tax rates
If you are a Scottish taxpayer, let the umbrella company know. Many umbrella calculators have a Scottish tax code option which takes into account the Scottish allowances – giving you a more accurate take home pay illustration.
Tax code
Most umbrella companies will use a 1250L Week 1/Month 1 tax code in their illustrations as the tax code includes the £12,500 tax-free Personal Allowance. They use this tax code to provide you with the most accurate figure possible, as they will not know your tax code until you register.
It’s essential to ask which tax code has been used in your illustration because some providers use a tax code with a greater tax-free allowance, making your take home pay appear unrealistically higher.
Your rate of pay
An umbrella company will ask if you have an agreed hourly rate or day rate for your upcoming assignment. They will use your agreed rate to calculate your weekly or monthly projected income for the illustration.
A weekly or monthly illustration
Umbrella take home pay illustrations are calculated on the assumption of working either 48 or 52 weeks per tax year. If you are paid weekly, your calculation will be calculated based on 48 working weeks in the year, as it takes into account Bank Holidays and time off work that you will naturally take over the course of a year (annual leave, etc.).
If you are paid monthly, the umbrella will base your illustration on 52 working weeks as it creates a calculation using the average number of working days in a month.
What special offers are available?
Umbrella companies will often run special promotions to entice new customers, and these can be a great way of saving money by benefitting from a discounted margin. What if you are already registered with an umbrella company? Don’t worry, most umbrella companies will have special referral rewards schemes which existing customers can use to access free umbrella payroll by referring a friend to the service.
We’ve compiled a shortlist of some of the promotion you can expect to see:
- 2 weeks free when you refer a friend
- Vouchers for referring a friend
- Win a gadget when you register
- A discounted margin for the first 10 weeks
- Your first 2 weeks free
Why not see what’s available for yourself? Check out our top 10 umbrella companies – some of them have some fantastic offers at the moment and we’re sure you won’t find more attractive deals elsewhere.
By requesting a quotation, hundreds of contractors have already secured incredible discounts with some of the best umbrella companies in the UK. But don’t just take our word for it, here’s what some of our readers are saying about the offers they have received.
”Nathan saved £13.50 a week for his first contract”
I decided to change my umbrella company at the start of the year and called a few to see what they had to offer. I was getting quotes of up to £30 a week from some umbrella companies, which is nearly double what I’m paying now. I’ve worked out that over the course of my 9 month contact, I’ll be saving nearly £350 in fees.
Nathan Hughes, Interim Project Manager. Brighton, UK
“Lucy saved over £40 a month”
I decided to use an umbrella company rather than set up my own limited company as I didn’t have the time or inclination to sort out all the paperwork. I was keen to take advantage of any promotional offers that were available to new customers but didn’t expect to pay £43 a month less than the fee quoted on my chosen umbrella’s website.
Lucy Chan, Marketing Consultant. Uxbridge, UK
“James will save £50.75 a week…for life”
My old umbrella company was taking 4% of my weekly invoice value in fees. That worked out at something like £70 a week when I put the hours in. I was amazed that other companies were charging much less for essentially the same service. Thanks to your site, I’ve switched to a new provider and saved an average of £50 a week.
James Todd, IT Contractor. Bristol, UK
Top 10 umbrella companies – get a quote you can trust!
Many of the providers listed in our top 10 umbrella companies are running special offers at the moment, and you won’t want to miss out! Speak to them today for a free and impartial take home pay illustration and find out what exclusive offers they could offer you.
Alternatively, you can complete the form below, and we will send your information to one of our top 10 umbrellas. They will then send you a personalised take home pay illustration based on the information you provide. And, our top 10 are all FCSA accredited umbrella companies!