Freelance Day Rate Calculator UK 2026/27 | Take-Home Pay, Tax and NI, Hourly Rate (Google Sheets & Excel)

A UK spreadsheet that starts from the take-home pay you want and works out the day rate to quote. You get a PDF with Google Sheets copy links plus Excel files, for Google Sheets (free) or Excel. For sole traders and freelancers setting a day or hourly rate. If it doesn't work on your device, we fix it or refund you.

FREELANCE DAY RATE AND TAKE-HOME CALCULATOR UK 2026/27: start with the take-home pay you want and work back to the day rate to quote, through UK income tax, Class 4 National Insurance, student loan, your business costs and your real billable days.

FOUR COLOURWAYS, ALL INCLUDED
- Pastel: a soft pastel rainbow, each tab and category in its own pastel.
- Bright: bold, saturated colour blocks.
- Dark: deep navy with glowing accents, easy on the eyes.
- Earthy: sage, sand and terracotta.
Each colourway comes as an Excel file with example numbers, a blank Excel file and its own Google Sheets copy link. The formulas are identical, so pick the look you like (or switch later).

WHAT IT DOES
- Target take-home a month or a year, plus the pension you want to pay in
- Profit needed found exactly from the 2026/27 bands (personal allowance taper, Scottish rates and other income included), with a check that it adds up
- Working days: bank holidays, annual leave, sick days, training, gaps between clients and admin time come off first
- Business costs, monthly or yearly, and the cost per billable day
- Day, half-day and hourly rates, rounded up to the nearest £5 (or your choice), and a VAT threshold check
- Rate check: test a rate you already charge, and compare twelve rates side by side with a chart
- Colour means something: each tab has its own colour, categories keep their colour in the tables and the charts, and green, amber and red show good news, keep an eye on it, and over or overdue, always with a word as well. Text on every coloured fill meets the WCAG AA contrast level.

TABS
- Start here: five small steps
- Dashboard
- Day rate
- Working days
- Business costs
- Rate check
- Settings & Rates (2026/27, check gov.uk)
- Notes

GOOGLE SHEETS AND EXCEL, BOTH INCLUDED
Input cells (they have a coloured border) are yours to type in; everything else is worked out for you, so a stray click cannot break a formula (locked in Excel; Google Sheets asks before you edit a worked-out tab). No macros, nothing to enable. Works on a phone in the Google Sheets app; setting it up is easier on a laptop. For sole traders. Estimates for planning with a standard tax code; not tax or financial advice.

HOW YOU GET IT
From your Etsy downloads page (open etsy.com in a web browser, not the Etsy app):
- A PDF with a Google Sheets link for each colourway: tap the one you like and choose Make a copy (free Google account needed).
- A zip with the Excel files (.xlsx) for every colourway, for Excel 2016 or newer.
- A blank version of each, ready for your numbers, and an example version so you can see how it works first.
Not editable in the Etsy app; use a browser or the Google Sheets or Excel apps.

BUY TWO OR MORE: use code PICK2 at checkout for 20% off any two or more items from the shop, until 31 January 2027.

Google Sheets and Excel are trademarks of their owners, who do not make or endorse this product.

INSTANT DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. Nothing is posted. Open your download from etsy.com in a web browser, not the Etsy app. If it doesn't open, doesn't work on your device or isn't as described, message us and we will fix it or refund you. This does not affect your legal rights.
Personal use only. Please do not share, resell or redistribute the files or the link.
Stuck? Message the shop with a screenshot and a person replies within a day.

Designed and built by Neat Wren Studio. Layouts, formulas and code are built with digital tools, including AI assistance for structure and copy; no AI-generated artwork.