Are you sure your tax rate is 55%? You’d have to be earning £500k+ and paying off a Plan 4 student loan for that to be the case.
I'm nuking the student loan as fast as possible, especially with the interest rates being near extortion, so hopefully that will mean I get more take home in the future
45% Income Tax + 9% Student Loan Repayment (mandatory) + 3.25% National Insurance Contributions
Gives 57.25%, but this is off because:
- Student loan repayments start somewhere above 20k, which decreases it
- National insurance runs at 10.25% before going down above a certain income, which increases it
- Higher rate and basic rate apply to some income (but no tax free allowance), which decreases it
Hence to a round(ish) number roughly 55%
Also, you're not paying 45% income tax on the total amount right (that's the highest bracket in the UK).