Free tools The Leap
The Leap · Free calculator
When Can I Quit My Job?
Enter your savings, your costs and your side income with its growth. It runs the months and gives you the exact month you can quit without your savings ever dropping below the buffer you choose, with the tax to set aside worked out from this year’s official bands for the UK, the US or Ireland. Save the result as a card, or share the link.
Where you pay tax
2026 to 2027 bandsIncome Tax and Class 4 National Insurance on your side profits. Student loan and Class 1 on your salary are not included.
Your safety net
Your job, for now
The side income
Your savings, month by month
Highest: £24,151 · lowest after you quit: £15,318 · the dashed line is your buffer, the dotted one your quit date.
Each month: while employed, savings grow by what the job leaves over plus the side profit, less the extra tax that profit adds on top of your salary. After you quit: side profit, less its tax on its own, less your costs. The quit date is the first month after which your savings never fall below the buffer, up to ten years out. Tax is worked out on the year’s income at that month’s rate, using the 2026 to 2027 bands for every year, because later bands are not set yet.
The tax rules used, word for word
“Basic rate £12,571 to £50,270 20% Higher rate £50,271 to £125,140 40% Additional rate over £125,140 45%”
GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances · checked 25 September 2026
“Your personal allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 that your adjusted net income is above £100,000.”
GOV.UK, Income Tax rates: income over £100,000 · checked 25 September 2026
“For tax year 2026 to 2027 you’ll pay: 6% on profits over £12,570 up to £50,270 2% on profits over £50,270”
GOV.UK, Self-employed National Insurance rates · checked 25 September 2026
Not sure the side income will grow? Check what the business really pays first with the Side Hustle Reality Check, and price your time with the Rate Floor. The steadiest side income is one paid every month: the LinkedIn Ghostwriting walkthrough builds one on a monthly retainer, part-time.
Questions
How do I know when I can quit my job for my side hustle?
When your savings can carry you, without falling below a safety buffer, until the side income pays your bills on its own, after tax. That depends on how fast the income grows and how long the growth lasts, which is why this tool runs it month by month rather than giving a rule of thumb.
How much tax should I set aside from side income?
It depends on your salary, because side income is taxed on top of it. A UK basic-rate employee typically owes 20% income tax plus Class 4 National Insurance once profits pass £12,570; a US employee owes self-employment tax of 15.3% on 92.35% of profit plus income tax at their top rate. The tool works out your figure from the 2026 bands.
Why does the tax change after I quit?
Because while you are employed your salary uses up the lower bands, so every pound of side income is taxed at your top rate. Once the salary stops, the side income gets the personal allowance and the lower bands to itself.
What does it leave out?
State and local tax in the US, student loans and pensions in the UK, and anything specific to you. It is an estimate for planning. Check with an accountant before you hand in your notice.
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