Day Rate Calculator: Day Rate to Salary and Salary to Day Rate
This day rate calculator turns a day rate into gross weekly, monthly and annual income, works back from a target income to the day rate you need, and compares a permanent salary with a contractor day rate. Every assumption is on the page and you can change it.
Gross figures only. This calculator does not work out Income Tax, National Insurance you pay, VAT, expenses or take-home pay, and it does not give tax advice.
How the day rate calculator works
Many day rate tools multiply by a fixed number of days and go straight to a take-home estimate. This one stays with gross figures and shows how the number of billable days is built, because that number changes the answer more than anything else.
Billable days
The calculator starts with 52 weeks of working days, which is 260 days for a five-day week. It then takes off holiday, bank holidays, sick days and any weeks between contracts. The defaults are 20 days of holiday and 8 bank holidays, which gives 232 billable days. Together those 28 days match the statutory minimum paid holiday for an employee who works five days a week. Sick days and gaps between contracts start at zero because no official figure exists for them. Enter your own estimate.
Day rate to salary equivalent
Annual gross income is the day rate multiplied by billable days. The monthly figure is the annual figure divided by 12, and the weekly average is the annual figure divided by 52. For salary to day rate, the sum runs the other way: target income divided by billable days.
Worked example: £400 a day
- 260 working days − 20 holiday − 8 bank holidays = 232 billable days.
- £400 × 232 days = £92,800.00 a year.
- £92,800.00 ÷ 12 = £7,733.33 a month on average.
- £92,800.00 ÷ 52 = £1,784.62 a week on average. A full five-day week bills £2,000.00.
Enter 400 as the day rate with the default settings and the calculator shows the same figures.
Using it as a contractor day rate calculator against a permanent salary
A permanent salary and a day rate are not like for like. An employee is paid for holiday, bank holidays and sick leave. The employer also pays National Insurance and a pension contribution on top of the salary. A contractor usually has to cover all of these out of the day rate. The comparison mode adds the employer costs to the salary, then divides the total by the contractor’s billable days.
- Employer National Insurance: 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year, for the tax year 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Source: rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 on GOV.UK.
- Employer pension: the legal minimum under automatic enrolment is 3% of qualifying earnings, which are earnings from £6,240 to £50,270 a year. Source: workplace pensions on GOV.UK, checked October 2026. Many employers pay more, or pay on the whole salary, so change this to match the job.
- Holiday: almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, which is 28 days for a five-day week and can include bank holidays. Source: holiday entitlement on GOV.UK.
- Sick pay: employers differ, so enter the number of sick days you want the day rate to cover.
Worked example: £50,000 permanent salary
- Employer National Insurance: 15% × (£50,000 − £5,000) = £6,750.00.
- Employer pension: 3% × (£50,000 − £6,240) = £1,312.80.
- Total cost of the job: £50,000 + £6,750.00 + £1,312.80 = £58,062.80.
- £58,062.80 ÷ 232 billable days = £250.27 a day.
Dividing the salary alone by 260 working days gives £192.31 a day, which leaves out the paid time off and the employer costs.
The off-payroll working rules (IR35) can change how a contractor is taxed. See understanding off-payroll working (IR35) on GOV.UK.
This page is general information for Great Britain. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. The comparison is a gross estimate and leaves out costs such as insurance, accountancy, equipment and training unless you add them under other benefits.
Day rate questions
How do I convert a day rate to an annual salary?
Multiply the day rate by the number of days you expect to bill in a year. With the default 232 billable days in this day rate calculator, £400 a day is £92,800 a year before tax. If you billed all 260 working days it would be £104,000, but that leaves no holiday or bank holidays.
How many working days should a contractor use?
There is no official number. A five-day week over 52 weeks is 260 days. Taking off 20 days of holiday and 8 bank holidays leaves 232 days. Take off more for sick days and for time between contracts. Ten sick days and four weeks between contracts would leave 202 days.
What day rate do I need to earn £60,000 a year?
Divide the target by your billable days. With 232 billable days, £60,000 a year needs a day rate of £258.62 before tax. With 202 billable days it needs £297.03.
What is a £50,000 salary as a contractor day rate?
Using the 2026 to 2027 employer National Insurance rate of 15% above £5,000 and the minimum 3% employer pension on qualifying earnings, a £50,000 salary costs an employer £58,062.80 a year. Spread over 232 billable days, that is £250.27 a day before tax. Change any of the assumptions in the calculator to fit your case.
Does this calculator show take-home pay?
No. It shows gross income only. What a contractor keeps depends on how they work, for example through a limited company, an umbrella company or as a sole trader, and on whether the off-payroll working rules apply. HMRC or an accountant can help with that.
Related tools
Use this day rate calculator to turn a day rate into annual income, or to find the day rate you need for a target income. It also compares a day rate with a permanent salary, and it shows the working.