What is take-home for a chartered accountant on the median in 2026/27?

On the £50,062 ASHE 2025 median, with no pension contribution, take-home in England is about £39,564 a year or £3,297 a month, after £7,498 Income Tax and £2,999 National Insurance. At the £68,056 upper quartile it is about £50,030 a year. A workplace pension contribution changes both figures.

Does a chartered accountant on the median pay 40% tax?

Not at the median. The ASHE 2025 median of £50,062 is below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, so outside Scotland an accountant on it pays 20% Income Tax on all taxable pay. It is the upper part of the group, towards the £68,056 upper quartile, that crosses into the 40% band.

Is salary sacrifice worth it for a higher-paid accountant?

For pay above the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, salary sacrifice saves 40% Income Tax plus 2% National Insurance, because the NI upper earnings limit is also £50,270. At the £68,056 ASHE upper quartile, sacrificing £17,786 brings pay down to the threshold: in England in 2026/27 it reduces take-home by about £10,316 while putting the full £17,786 into the pension. Whether your employer offers salary sacrifice, and adds any employer contribution, depends on the scheme.

Chartered Accountant Salary UK 2026/27

ONS classifies chartered and certified accountants as SOC 2020 unit group 2421. Their full-time median was £50,062 in ASHE 2025, with a quarter of the group below £38,696 and a quarter above £68,056. ONS does not split the group by employer, qualification body or years since qualifying.

Typical pay & take-home

Median gross: £50,062
ASHE 2025, 25th to 75th percentile: £38,696–£68,056
Take-home at median: £39,564 England, no pension applied — use the salary calculator for your scheme.

At the median for this profession, you earn about 28% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you between the 50th percentile (£39,039) and the 75th percentile (£54,009) of UK full-time earnings.

See exact take-home for £50,062 →

What influences chartered accountant (aca/acca qualified) pay

Accountancy has no national pay scale, so this page anchors on the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. For chartered and certified accountants (SOC 2020 2421) the full-time median in April 2025 was £50,062. A tenth of the group earned under £29,557, a quarter under £38,696 and a quarter over £68,056. ONS did not publish a reliable 90th percentile, so this page quotes no figure for the top of the profession.

The unit group mixes accountants in practice and in industry, at every stage from newly qualified to finance director, across all regions. ASHE covers employee jobs only, so self-employed practitioners and partners taxed as self-employed are outside it. This page does not quote firm-by-firm or grade-by-grade salary bands: we could not find a retrievable published source for them.

Tax: outside Scotland, pay up to the £50,270 higher-rate threshold is taxed at 20% after the £12,570 personal allowance, with 8% Class 1 NI up to the upper earnings limit. On the median, with no pension contribution, take-home in England is about £39,564 a year.

Career progression

ASHE does not publish accountancy pay by career stage. These are points in the April 2025 full-time pay distribution for SOC 2020 2421.
10th percentile: £29,557.
Lower quartile: £38,696.
Median: £50,062.
Upper quartile: £68,056. ONS did not publish a reliable 90th percentile for the group.

Frequently asked questions

What is take-home for a chartered accountant on the median in 2026/27?: On the £50,062 ASHE 2025 median, with no pension contribution, take-home in England is about £39,564 a year or £3,297 a month, after £7,498 Income Tax and £2,999 National Insurance. At the £68,056 upper quartile it is about £50,030 a year. A workplace pension contribution changes both figures.
Does a chartered accountant on the median pay 40% tax?: Not at the median. The ASHE 2025 median of £50,062 is below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, so outside Scotland an accountant on it pays 20% Income Tax on all taxable pay. It is the upper part of the group, towards the £68,056 upper quartile, that crosses into the 40% band.
Is salary sacrifice worth it for a higher-paid accountant?: For pay above the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, salary sacrifice saves 40% Income Tax plus 2% National Insurance, because the NI upper earnings limit is also £50,270. At the £68,056 ASHE upper quartile, sacrificing £17,786 brings pay down to the threshold: in England in 2026/27 it reduces take-home by about £10,316 while putting the full £17,786 into the pension. Whether your employer offers salary sacrifice, and adds any employer contribution, depends on the scheme.

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Sources

ONS - ASHE 2025 Table 14.7a, annual pay by SOC 2020 occupation (occupational pay)
ONS — Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (UK full-time median and percentiles)
HMRC — Rates and thresholds 2026/27
Our full methodology & calculation sources →