What ConsultantPay is
ConsultantPay is a free browser-based payroll and take-home pay calculator for comparing modeled contractor and employee pay. It covers the UK, Switzerland and all 27 EU countries. It is not an official tax authority service, payroll provider, accountant or legal adviser.
How the calculation works
Contractor mode starts from assignment income, deducts the configured admin margin and solves for gross salary after modeled employer costs. Employee mode starts from gross salary and displays employer costs separately. Employee deductions, pension contributions and eligible modeled additions produce the take-home figure.
Monthly contractor calculations annualize the month's inputs to apply annual thresholds, then show the result at a monthly scale. This simplifies withholding and does not reproduce every provider's payroll rounding or year-to-date calculations. Country comparisons use approximate, fixed exchange-rate assumptions, not live FX quotes.
Tax years and model limitations
The supplied models identify UK 2026/27, Swiss 2026 and EU indicative 2025–26 parameters, with some simplified household, allowance and regional treatments. Model notes are displayed on each calculator. Adding SEO pages on 2026-10-30 did not independently verify or update those financial parameters.
For the UK, the model assumes a standard 1257L tax-code basis and category A National Insurance unless the tool specifies a modeled variation. It includes simplified umbrella, deemed-employment and limited-company routes. Swiss regional estimates and EU deductions are simplified country models, not full legal or filing engines.
Actual outcomes may differ because of your tax code, other income, residence, treaty position, bonus timing, benefit eligibility, contributions, payroll records or future rule changes. Do not rely on an example result as a quote, an entitlement decision or tax advice.
Official resources for independent checks
HMRC's current-year Income Tax and National Insurance estimator is an official UK resource. Your Europe: income taxes abroad explains national-rule and residence considerations. The Swiss Federal Tax Administration tax calculator is an official Swiss resource.
These links are references for checking your circumstances, not evidence that a tax authority has reviewed or endorsed this site's model.
Independent review and corrections
No professional reviewer credentials or independent tax audit are claimed for these models. Before making payroll, contracting or tax decisions, confirm the result with the relevant authority or a qualified local payroll specialist. If a model or explanation appears wrong, do not rely on it until it has been checked.
Website content and technical structure updated 2026-10-30. The original calculation models were supplied with the calculator; this date is not a claim that all national rates were reviewed.