What does a tax adviser at the 60th percentile take home?

On £57,948, the 60th percentile of the group, with an 8% salary-sacrifice workplace pension and no student loan, take-home is about £41,478 a year after Income Tax, National Insurance and the pension. The pension brings taxable pay down to £53,312, so only £3,042 of it is taxed at 40%.

ATT vs CTA - which qualifications matter?

ATT is awarded by the Association of Taxation Technicians and CTA by the Chartered Institute of Taxation. ONS does not split taxation experts by qualification, so no official figure measures the pay difference between them; employer requirements vary by role.

How does CTA pay compare to ACA (Chartered Accountant)?

On ONS figures the two groups are close at the middle. Taxation experts (SOC 2423) had a full-time median of £49,850 in ASHE 2025, and chartered and certified accountants (SOC 2421) £50,062. ONS does not publish either by qualification, so neither figure isolates CTA or ACA holders.

Chartered Tax Adviser Salary 2026/27: Career Take-Home

The CTA is the senior tax qualification, administered by the Chartered Institute of Taxation. ONS classifies the work as taxation experts (SOC 2020 2423), whose full-time median was £49,850 in ASHE 2025. ONS suppressed the 75th percentile and above for this group as not statistically robust, but the mean of £63,605 sits £13,755 above the median, which is the signature of a long upper tail.

Typical pay & take-home

Median gross: £49,850
ASHE 2025, 10th percentile to group mean: £30,317–£63,605
Take-home at median: £39,412 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 £49,850 →

What influences chartered tax adviser (cta) pay

This is a small unit group, around 26,000 full-time jobs. ONS published its percentiles up to the 70th, £65,628, and withheld the 75th and above, so the top of the range here is the published mean, £63,605, rather than a quartile.

The gap between mean and median is the useful signal. A mean that sits well above the median means a minority of the group earns a great deal more than the middle, which is what you would expect where partner and director roles sit in the same occupation as newly qualified advisers.

The median is just below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, so an adviser on the median pays 20% across the whole salary. Above the threshold the marginal rate is 42%, and from £100,000 the personal allowance taper takes the effective rate to 62% up to £125,140.

Career progression

Bottom decile of the group: £30,317.
Lower quartile: £37,368.
Median: £49,850.
60th percentile: £57,948.
70th percentile: £65,628 - ONS suppressed the 75th and above as not robust.
Mean: £63,605, pulled above the median by the upper tail.

Frequently asked questions

What does a tax adviser at the 60th percentile take home?: On £57,948, the 60th percentile of the group, with an 8% salary-sacrifice workplace pension and no student loan, take-home is about £41,478 a year after Income Tax, National Insurance and the pension. The pension brings taxable pay down to £53,312, so only £3,042 of it is taxed at 40%.
ATT vs CTA - which qualifications matter?: ATT is awarded by the Association of Taxation Technicians and CTA by the Chartered Institute of Taxation. ONS does not split taxation experts by qualification, so no official figure measures the pay difference between them; employer requirements vary by role.
How does CTA pay compare to ACA (Chartered Accountant)?: On ONS figures the two groups are close at the middle. Taxation experts (SOC 2423) had a full-time median of £49,850 in ASHE 2025, and chartered and certified accountants (SOC 2421) £50,062. ONS does not publish either by qualification, so neither figure isolates CTA or ACA holders.

All UK professions →

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 →