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Just monetised and wondering what a typical month could look like.
YouTube money calculator (UK)
Estimate what your channel could earn from AdSense using your monthly views and RPM, then see roughly how much Income Tax and National Insurance you would set aside.
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Part of our guide to creator tax guide UK.
Quick answer
This YouTube money calculator multiplies your monetised views by an RPM range to estimate your AdSense payout, then applies 2026/27 UK tax rates. Most UK channels see an RPM between roughly £1 and £5, but your YouTube Studio figure is the one to use.
On this page
Contents
Try it
Use the tool
YouTube money calculator
Estimated monthly payout£200 – £800
Estimated yearly payout (mid-point)£6,000
Tax and NIC if this were your only income£0
Left after tax (before expenses)£6,000
RPM (revenue per 1,000 views, after YouTube's share) varies by niche, audience country, season and ad types. Adjust the range to match your YouTube Studio analytics. Tax uses 2026/27 rates for a sole trader with no other income and no expenses. General information only, based on 2026/27 UK rules. Not personal advice. Speak to us about your circumstances.
Who this is for
Is this you?
Growing channels
Planning whether YouTube income could replace a salary.
Creators budgeting for tax
Want to know how much of each AdSense payment to set aside.
Brands and managers
Sense-checking what a channel earns before agreeing a sponsorship fee.
Income streams
Everything we handle for you
- AdSense long-form revenue
- Shorts revenue share
- Channel memberships
- Super Chat and Super Thanks
- YouTube Premium revenue
- Sponsorships (not included in calculator)
Sound familiar?
Problems you face, answered
RPM means revenue per mille: what you earn per 1,000 views after YouTube takes its share. It includes all views, not only those showing ads, so it is lower than CPM. You will find your RPM in YouTube Studio under Analytics, then Revenue.
It gives a range, not a promise. Ad rates change by month, niche and audience country. December usually pays more than January. Use your own RPM from the last three months and treat the result as a planning figure only.
No. Brand deals are negotiated separately and often earn more than AdSense for mid-sized channels. Add them to your total when working out tax; our self employed tax calculator handles combined income.
Shorts pay from a pooled revenue share and usually earn far less per 1,000 views. Enter long-form views here, or use a much lower RPM if you want to model Shorts separately.
Google may withhold US tax from earnings on US viewers unless you submit a W-8BEN claiming the UK–US treaty rate. Our W-8BEN guide explains the steps.
Yes. Once you earn more than the £1,000 trading allowance, YouTube income usually needs reporting on a Self Assessment tax return as self-employed income.
How we help
The work we do for you
Tax explained
How youtube money calculator works
The YouTube money calculator starts with the number most creators care about: views. Multiply your monthly monetised views by your RPM and divide by 1,000 to get an estimated payout. We show a low and high figure because RPM rarely stays still.
YouTube keeps 45% of ad revenue on long-form videos and pays 55% to the creator. For Shorts the creator share is 45% of an allocated pool. RPM already reflects these shares, which is why it is the most useful figure for planning.
Finance, technology and business channels often see higher RPMs because advertisers pay more to reach those viewers. Gaming, entertainment and kids content usually sit lower. A UK audience generally earns more than a global one, but less than a mostly US audience.
Once you have a yearly estimate, the calculator applies 2026/27 UK tax rates: a £12,570 personal allowance, 20% basic rate Income Tax up to £50,270, 40% above that, plus Class 4 National Insurance at 6% and 2%. It assumes YouTube is your only income and you have no expenses, so your real bill is likely to be lower once costs are deducted.
If you also have a job, your salary uses up your personal allowance first, so more of your YouTube money is taxed. Use the side hustle tax checker to model that, or the self employed tax calculator for combined creator income.
Official rules on self-employed income are on GOV.UK, and HMRC explains the trading allowance at gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income.
Source: Income Tax rates and allowances (gov.uk) · Self Assessment (gov.uk)
Example: 200,000 monthly views at £1–£4 RPM
- Monthly payout range
- £200 – £800
- Yearly mid-point
- £6,000
- Less personal allowance
- Covered in full if this is your only income
- Estimated tax and NIC
- £0
Illustrative example, not a client result. If you also earn a £35,000 salary, the same £6,000 would typically cost about £1,560 in extra Income Tax and Class 4 NIC before expenses.
General information only, based on 2026/27 UK rules. Not personal advice. Speak to us about your circumstances.
At a glance
Typical YouTube RPM ranges by niche (UK audiences)
Indicative ranges drawn from what creators commonly report. Your own analytics always win.
| Niche | Indicative RPM | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Personal finance and business | £4 – £12 | High-value advertisers such as banks and software |
| Tech reviews | £3 – £8 | Retail and gadget advertisers |
| Education and how-to | £2 – £6 | Longer watch time, more mid-roll slots |
| Lifestyle, beauty and food | £1.50 – £5 | Seasonal retail spend |
| Gaming and entertainment | £0.80 – £3 | Younger audiences and lower ad rates |
| Shorts (all niches) | £0.03 – £0.20 | Pooled revenue share |
Action plan
How to use the YouTube money calculator
- 1
Find your RPM
Open YouTube Studio, go to Analytics, then Revenue, and note your RPM for the last 90 days.
- 2
Enter monthly views
Use monetised long-form views from the same period.
- 3
Set a low and high RPM
Enter a cautious and optimistic figure to see a realistic range.
- 4
Read the tax estimate
See roughly what to set aside, then deduct your expenses for a truer figure.
Avoid these
Common mistakes
- Using CPM instead of RPM, which overstates earnings because CPM is before YouTube’s share.
- Forgetting that December ad rates fall sharply in January.
- Spending the whole AdSense payment and having nothing saved for the 31 January tax bill.
- Not submitting a W-8BEN, so up to 24% of US-viewer earnings is withheld.
- Leaving out sponsorships and memberships when working out total taxable income.
Structure
Sole trader or limited company?
£
Sole trader£46,111
Limited company£46,091
Illustrative estimate only. Uses the published 2026/27 tax configuration. Assumes a single-director company drawing all profit, with no Employment Allowance. Excludes expenses, student loans, pensions, other income, Scottish rates and individual circumstances. Not tax advice.
Diary
Key deadlines
5 October
Register for Self Assessment for the previous tax year
31 October
Paper tax return deadline
31 January
Online return, balancing payment and first payment on account
31 July
Second payment on account
Want this off your plate?
Talk through your platform income, allowable expenses and next steps with a creator accountant.
Book your free creator tax callWritten and reviewed by
Waqas Sagar ACA FCCA FMAAT
Chartered Accountant with 18+ years' experience and founder of Accotax. Has served over 5,000 clients across London and the UK.
About Waqas SagarAccotax on LinkedIn Last reviewed: 2026-09-26
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Most UK creators report an RPM between about £1 and £5 for long-form videos, with finance and tech channels higher and gaming lower. Shorts usually pay a few pence per 1,000 views. Your exact figure is in YouTube Studio under Revenue, and it changes month to month with advertiser demand.
At a £2 RPM you would need around 500,000 monetised views a month; at £5, about 200,000. That is why many creators add sponsorships, memberships and affiliate links rather than relying on AdSense alone. Use the calculator above to test your own numbers.
Yes. It is free to use with no sign-up. It runs in your browser and does not store your figures. If you would like a chartered accountant to check your numbers and plan your tax, you can book a free call with our team at any time.
If your gross self-employed income, including YouTube, is over £1,000 in a tax year, you normally need to register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the year ends and file a return. Below £1,000 the trading allowance usually covers it, provided you have no other self-employed income.
Cameras, microphones, lighting, editing software, music licences, freelance editors and a share of home studio costs are usually allowable. Everyday clothes and personal grooming generally are not. Our YouTuber expenses guide lists what HMRC normally accepts and how to keep records.
Under the digital platform reporting rules, platforms that facilitate sales of goods and services report seller data to HMRC. Whether or not your payouts appear in that data, you are responsible for declaring all taxable income on your return.
It can make sense once profits are consistently above roughly £50,000 and you do not need to draw everything you earn. Below that, the extra admin often outweighs any saving. Our sole trader vs limited company calculator gives a quick comparison.
RPM depends on niche, audience country, video length, ad placement and time of year. A mostly UK or US audience watching longer videos with mid-rolls usually earns more than short videos watched internationally. It is not a judgement on content quality.
Yes. Channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Thanks and Super Stickers are all part of your trading income. Include them alongside AdSense when working out profit. They also count towards turnover for the VAT registration threshold.
For the 2026/27 tax year, the balancing payment is due by 31 January 2028. If your bill is over £1,000, HMRC usually asks for payments on account towards the next year too, which can make your first January bill larger than expected.
Keep reading
Related pages
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Self employed tax calculator (2026/27)
Enter your expected profit from brand deals, platform payouts and affiliate income to estimate your Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026/27.
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