TroncCalculator

Tips, troncs and National Insurance, 2026/27

Tronc calculator: what a tronc saves you in National Insurance

When an independent troncmaster decides how tips are shared, GOV.UK says no National Insurance is due: no 15% for you and no 8% for your staff. Enter what your team shares in a year to see the saving.

Source: Tronc tax and tipping rules for 2026/27, from GOV.UK and HMRC: every row, with its source

Your figures

Card tips and service charge your staff share in a year. The default is an illustration; enter your own.

GOV.UK: if the troncmaster decides, the troncmaster pays PAYE tax and no National Insurance is due; if you decide, you pay PAYE tax and NICs.

Employer National Insurance is 15% on earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year (£96 a week).

Employees pay 8% on earnings between £242 and £967 a week and 2% above it (category A, 2026 to 2027).

Taxed at the 2% employee rate.

The result

National Insurance a tronc saves a year
£23,000
Employer National Insurance not due
£15,000
Employee National Insurance not due (stays with your staff)
£8,000
Saved per £1,000 of tips
£230
Income Tax
Still due: the troncmaster runs PAYE on every tronc payment. A tronc saves National Insurance, never Income Tax.

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The assumptions

  1. When National Insurance is due. GOV.UK's tronc guidance: if you decide how the tronc money is divided, you pay PAYE tax and NICs; if the troncmaster, or someone else not acting for you, decides, the troncmaster pays PAYE tax and no NICs are due. GOV.UK: employee gets tips, gratuities or service charges through a tronc
  2. The rates. From 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, category A employees pay 0% up to £242 a week, 8% from £242.01 to £967 and 2% above; employers pay 15% above £96 a week. GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and category letters
  3. The thresholds. The secondary threshold is £5,000 a year and the primary threshold £242 a week for 2026 to 2027. GOV.UK: rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
  4. Employment Allowance. An eligible employer can reduce its annual National Insurance bill by up to £10,500, so a small employer whose bill is already covered by the allowance saves less than shown. GOV.UK: Employment Allowance
  5. The Tips Act duties. Whoever shares the tips must follow the statutory Code of Practice: a written tipping policy, a record of every tip kept for three years, and an answer to a worker's request, limited to one per worker every three months. Code of practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips
  6. What is not worked out. One year at 2026/27 rates; it does not split each worker's pay week by week, and assumes your shares add up to what your staff actually earn. A troncmaster needs a separate PAYE scheme set up with HMRC.

This calculator applies the published 2026/27 National Insurance rates to the figures you enter; it is not tax, payroll or legal advice. An enquiry sent through the form is read and answered by Joe, who runs this site; no firm receives it.

The tronc rules for 2026/27, as GOV.UK and HMRC publish them

Last updated

Each figure the calculator applies, with the page it was read from.

Every figure is read from GOV.UK, HMRC's manuals or legislation.gov.uk through this site's fetch service and dated. Tipping platforms' and blogs' worked examples are used for nothing.

RuleFigureWhere it comes fromSource
Employer National Insurance above the secondary threshold15%GOV.UK NI rates GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and category letters
Employee National Insurance, £242.01 to £967 a week8%GOV.UK NI rates GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and category letters
Employee National Insurance over £967 a week2%GOV.UK NI rates GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and category letters
Secondary threshold£5,000 a yearGOV.UK employer rates GOV.UK: rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
Primary threshold£242 a weekGOV.UK employer rates GOV.UK: rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
Employment Allowanceup to £10,500GOV.UK GOV.UK: Employment Allowance
Tip records kept forthree yearsCode of Practice Code of practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips
A worker's information requestone per three monthsCode of Practice Code of practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips
National Living Wage, 21 and over, April 2026£12.71 an hourGOV.UK Tronc tax and tipping rules for 2026/27, from GOV.UK and HMRC: every row, with its source

Cite this page

“The tronc rules for 2026/27, as GOV.UK and HMRC publish them”, Tronc Savings Calculator, https://troncsavingscalculator.co.uk/ (updated 2026-10-28). Every figure is read from GOV.UK, HMRC's manuals or legislation.gov.uk through this site's fetch service and dated. Tipping platforms' and blogs' worked examples are used for nothing.

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  • Free, and no obligation
  • Read and answered by Joe himself, never passed to a firm or a list
  • No tax or legal advice: a call to work out what you need

Related guides

Sourced, dated, kept current.

  1. How to set up a tronc scheme: troncmaster, PAYE scheme, policy
  2. Tronc points system: sharing tips by role and hours, fairly
  3. Tronc tax: Income Tax due, National Insurance not, in 2026/27

Common questions

Does a tronc save National Insurance?

Yes, when the troncmaster decides how the money is divided: GOV.UK says the troncmaster pays PAYE tax and no NICs are due. If you as the employer decide, you pay PAYE tax and NICs.(GOV.UK: employee gets tips, gratuities or service charges through a tronc)

How much does a tronc save?

Up to 15% employer National Insurance and 8% employee National Insurance on the tips shared, at 2026/27 rates: £230 for every £1,000 of tips when every recipient earns between £242 and £967 a week and over £5,000 a year from you.(GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and category letters)

Is Income Tax still due on tronc payments?

Yes. The troncmaster runs PAYE on tronc payments; a tronc saves National Insurance, not Income Tax.(GOV.UK: employee gets tips, gratuities or service charges through a tronc)

What does the Tips Act require?

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and its Code of Practice require tips to be shared fairly under a written policy, with a record of every tip kept for three years.(Code of practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips)

Sources

This site's own dataset, every figure quoted from its source and dated:

  • The UK Tronc Tax Rules carries 6 published figures read from 5 sources' own pages, from 12.71 to 12,570 GBP, read 28 October 2026.
  1. GOV.UK: employee gets tips, gratuities or service charges through a tronc
  2. GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and category letters
  3. GOV.UK: rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
  4. GOV.UK: Employment Allowance
  5. Code of practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips
  6. Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023
  7. HMRC NIM02942: appointing a troncmaster
  8. HMRC PAYE20160: setting up a tronc PAYE scheme

The question this page is here to answer

What does a tronc save an employer and staff in National Insurance in 2026-27, what income tax is still due through PAYE, and what do the Tips Act 2023 and its Code require?

What your team shares in a year and who decides the split. The rates come from GOV.UK.

Answered by Joseph Ellul, which reads every enquiry this page takes.

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