FAQ
Short answers to the questions the calculator is built around. Deeper guides: ANI for Tax-Free Childcare and EV scheme contributions.
What is Adjusted Net Income (ANI)? +
ANI is HMRC’s figure used for the personal allowance taper and for Tax-Free Childcare / 30 hours eligibility.
It starts from income that counts for tax, subtracts relieved pension contributions (salary sacrifice or net-pay auto-enrol),
and adds taxable benefits in kind such as company-car BiK. It is not take-home pay.
See HMRC’s guide to
adjusted net income,
or the ANI guide for a full what-counts / what-doesn’t list.
Do ISAs, capital gains, or eBay sales count toward ANI? +
Usually no.
Capital gains
are outside ANI;
ISA
returns are tax-free; casual sales of your own belongings typically don’t count.
Regular trading / buying-to-sell can count as taxable income — see
extra income guidance.
Full detail in the
ANI guide.
Why does £100,000 ANI matter for parents? +
Tax-Free Childcare
and
30 hours free childcare
generally require ANI of £100k or under.
Going £1 over can remove eligibility for that tax year — including up to £2,000 government top-up per child on
TFC.
Does my pension reduce ANI? +
Yes for salary sacrifice and auto-enrol / net-pay in this calculator. That matches HMRC treating relieved contributions as reducing ANI —
see
how pension contributions affect adjusted net income
and
salary sacrifice.
“Calculated from gross” only sets the contribution amount — tax relief decides the ANI effect.
Does EV / company-car BiK count toward ANI? +
Yes. List price × BiK % is taxable income and increases ANI — see
tax on company cars
and
BiK percentages.
The monthly sacrifice reduces cash pay, tax, and NI; BiK is added back for tax and ANI.
Employee NI and student loan ignore BiK.
Full walkthrough:
EV scheme contributions.
How do I calculate EV scheme contributions? +
Two figures: monthly sacrifice (×12 for the year) comes off gross pay and reduces tax, NI, and ANI
(salary sacrifice);
BiK = list price × BiK % is taxable income added to ANI but not employee NI
(company cars).
Net cost ≈ tax+NI saved on the sacrifice minus income tax on the BiK.
Enter list price, BiK rate, and monthly sacrifice in the
calculator,
or read the
EV scheme guide.
What is the £100k “tax trap”? +
Between £100,000 and £125,140 ANI you lose £1 of personal allowance for every £2 earned —
set out on
Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances.
That creates an effective ~60% income-tax rate on that slice (40% higher rate + taper), before NI.
Nursery salary sacrifice vs Tax-Free Childcare? +
They usually can’t stack on the same fees. Sacrifice saves tax + NI and lowers ANI when the scheme qualifies
(see
employer childcare exemptions
and
salary sacrifice);
Tax-Free Childcare
is a 20% top-up when ANI ≤ £100k.
Sometimes sacrifice is what keeps (or gets) you under £100k so remaining eligible costs can use TFC —
the calculator’s planning panel shows that trade-off.
Is there a £1,000 minimum for nursery salary sacrifice? +
Not an HMRC rule — a common employer / provider scheme floor. HMRC sets the conditions for
employer-supported childcare
and
workplace nurseries,
not a £1,000 minimum. Below that amount the calculator marks you not eligible and does not apply the sacrifice.
Does salary sacrifice reduce Plan 2 student loan? +
Yes in PAYE terms when sacrifice or net-pay pension reduces the earnings figure used for student loan —
employers use the same gross pay base as for Class 1 NI
(student loan PAYE rules;
repaying your student loan).
Post-tax pension contributions do not reduce that base the same way.
How do quarterly bonuses affect tax and ANI? +
Cash bonuses add to annual gross, so they feed into
income tax,
NI, student loan, and
ANI
for the year.
If you salary-sacrifice the entire bonus into pension, it does not enter cash, tax, NI, or ANI
(salary sacrifice).
Payment months are modelled as the first month of the next quarter (Q1→April, Q2→July, Q3→October, Q4→January).
Is my salary data uploaded anywhere? +
No. Everything runs in your browser. Inputs can sit in the URL for bookmarking, but the calculation itself is not sent to a server.