Rate Sorted
A labourer pushing a wheelbarrow of sand along scaffold boards. Generated image.

Self employed labourer earnings UK

£18,623kept in a year from a typical £140 day, after sample running costs and 2026/27 tax

Typical day rate: our modelled starting figure, reviewed October 2026.

Work out your own year

Free. No login.

Where £28,000 goes

200 paid days at £140. Sample costs, 2026/27 tax.

  • Van, tools, insurance, admin£7,250
  • Income Tax£1,636
  • National Insurance£491
  • Kept, 67p in every £1£18,623

What an employed labourer earns

From the National Careers Service construction labourer profile, read 3 October 2026.

Employed labourer pay by experience, National Careers Service
Starter£23,000 a year
Experienced£35,000 a year

Those are salaries before tax. The self employed £18,623 above is after costs and tax.

£36 more a day is £5,377 more a year

£176 is the day rate the calculator says £24,000 take home needs.

Same costs, same 200 paid days.

Try your own day rate
The £39 Labourer Rate Book prices every job, writes the quote and the invoice, and puts the tax by.See what is in it

230 working days. 200 get paid.

The other 30 go on quoting, the merchant run and cancelled jobs.

Paid dayUnpaid day

The same year, town by town

Each bar is a year kept at that town's modelled day rate. Dashed line: the typical rate.

London£23,655
Sunderland£14,479
All 31 towns
Kept a year by town
TownKept a year
London£23,655
Guildford£22,323
Oxford£21,583
Cambridge£21,287
Brighton£20,547
Bath£19,807
Reading£19,659
Bristol£19,215
Milton Keynes£19,215
Cheltenham£18,919
Edinburgh£18,771
York£18,179
Exeter£18,031
Portsmouth£18,031
Northampton£17,735
Southampton£17,735
Cardiff£17,439
Manchester£17,439
Norwich£17,439
Birmingham£17,143
Leeds£16,995
Coventry£16,699
Glasgow£16,699
Leicester£16,699
Sheffield£16,551
Derby£16,107
Liverpool£16,107
Newcastle£15,811
Nottingham£15,811
Stoke-on-Trent£15,367
Sunderland£14,479

Your year, with your numbers

Your day rate, your days, your costs. Tax done for you.

Work out your own year
Day rate£140
Paid days a year200
Running costs a year£7,250
Kept a year£18,623
Sample figures

Questions labourers ask

How much does an employed labourer earn?

The National Careers Service puts a starter at £23,000 and an experienced labourer at £35,000 a year, before tax. Read 3 October 2026.

Is that before or after tax?

After. 2026/27 Income Tax and National Insurance come off first.

Is £112 a day good for a labourer?

It keeps £14,479 a year over 200 paid days, after sample costs and tax. The typical day is £140.

Where do self employed labourers keep the most?

London, at £23,655 a year from £174 a day. Sunderland is lowest, at £14,479.

Does it include materials?

No. Day rates are labour only, and materials go on top.

Why is my year lower than this?

Usually fewer paid days, not a lower rate. The calculator shows which.

Labourer hourly rate UKLabourer day rates

Making Tax Digital and VAT have their own thresholds. We are not accountants.

Check them on gov.uk:

Making Tax Digital

VAT registration

Want a job, not a business?

The National Careers Service covers pay.

Typical day rate: our modelled starting figure, reviewed October 2026. UK price guides disagree on this trade, so check this figure against your own quotes.

Town rates are modelled from them. Costs are the calculator's sample figures.

How these figures are worked out