Confused about salary and tax for part-time temporary job

[candelabra93]

Hi there. I'm a student, and have seen a lecturing job which is for 8 hours a week, and is a 9 month contract. It's right up my street, but I would be taking a bit of a financial hit from my studentship, were I to be offered it. I want to make sure it would be financially viable for me to take it.

My problem is this: how on earth do I calculate what tax I would pay? It would be around £12011 for the whole 9 month period. Do I just try to find out a what a yearly contract would be (12011/9 then x 12) and then calculate my tax from the yearly salary? Or do I try to find out what the full time, 12 month salary would be? (my maths is starting to fail me here!)

Thank you all so much in advance x

I also meant to ask: would it be extremely bad etiquette to e-mail the administrator to ask what the breakdown of the salary would be? I feel that in the current climate of precarious academia, it's not unreasonable, but I don't want to come across as stingy!

If you google salary calculator it will give you the figures you are looking for

Tax free allowance for this year is £12500 so, depending on other income, paye may be £0

@melissasummerfield - I have. But my 'salary' refers to a 9 month period, not a full year. My Q is whether I should extrapolate what a 12 month contract would be and then use the salary calculator to calculate what tax I would pay.

@LIZS - The salary for the job is 12011 for the 9 months, not for the year.

Tax is calculated on a live basis now so you wont start paying tax until you hit the threshold.

I am paid in a similar way and I would calculate it as 9 month salary divided by 3 then multiplied by 4 to work out salary per year equivalent, as LIZS says though, unless your studentship is also taxable you would be under the tax threshold so ignore the tax. It should show you how much National Insurance and pension contributions you will make per month on a standard tax calculator. I find that method is fairly accurate.

How much would you earn between starting at 6 April?
Put that into a salary calculator, it will give you the take home - although remember if it is unpaid during the holidays it may not be exact. It should be pretty close tho.
Then, same again for how much you will earn after 6 April - although if you get another job that tax year, inaccuracies will creep in.

Basically, if you are earning less than 18£/h on the 8 hours, there will be no NI.
If you earn less than 12k/tax year, there is no tax, is my understanding.

@TheBrockmans - This is very helpful. It's what I imagined would be the case, but the ways of academic management are not my ways, etc. etc.

@RainOrSun - thanks for this, esp. the NI info. Will dig deeper into the salary to have a look at the exact figures.

Thanks! x

Presumably some income would fall into this tax year, some next , but both well within tax free allowance.

Do check though with the university payroll as they might spread payment out over the whole (academic) year even if you only work for 9 months of it. This is good if you plan to stay there for next year as you get some summer income, not good if you plan to claim benefits etc.