How PAYE works
PAYE is charged on chargeable income: your basic salary plus taxable allowances, minus your SSNIT contribution. The tax is progressive — income is split into bands and each band is taxed at its own rate. Earning more never reduces your take-home pay, because only the income above a threshold is taxed at the higher rate.
Monthly PAYE bands (2026 (1 Jan – 31 Aug))
| Chargeable income (monthly) | Rate | Max tax in band |
|---|---|---|
| First GH₵490.00 | 0% | GH₵0.00 (total GH₵0.00) |
| Next GH₵110.00 | 5% | GH₵5.50 (total GH₵5.50) |
| Next GH₵130.00 | 10% | GH₵13.00 (total GH₵18.50) |
| Next GH₵3,166.67 | 17.5% | GH₵554.17 (total GH₵572.67) |
| Next GH₵16,000.00 | 25% | GH₵4,000.00 (total GH₵4,572.67) |
| Next GH₵30,520.00 | 30% | GH₵9,156.00 (total GH₵13,728.67) |
| Above GH₵50,416.67 | 35% | — |
The Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 1178) changed the resident PAYE bands from 1 September 2026, raising the monthly tax-free band from GH₵490 to GH₵588. The full new band table has not yet been verified for this calculator, so PAYE for September 2026 onwards may differ from this estimate.
Worked example
- Basic salary
- GH₵5,000.00
- = Gross salary
- GH₵5,000.00
- − SSNIT (5.5% of basic)
- GH₵275.00
- = Taxable income
- GH₵4,725.00
- − PAYE on taxable income
- GH₵779.75
- = Estimated take-home pay
- GH₵3,945.25
PAYE detail: GH₵490.00 × 0% + GH₵110.00 × 5% + GH₵130.00 × 10% + GH₵3,166.67 × 17.5% + GH₵828.33 × 25% = GH₵779.75
Marginal vs effective tax rate
Your marginal rate is the rate on your last cedi of income — the band you are in. Your effective rate is total PAYE divided by gross pay. In the example above, the top slice is taxed at 25% but PAYE is a much smaller share of the salary.
What can lower your PAYE
- Your SSNIT contribution, which is deducted before PAYE (included in the calculator).
- Personal reliefs you have claimed with the GRA, such as marriage/responsibility, child education or aged dependant relief (not included in the calculator).
- Voluntary Tier 3 pension contributions within the allowed limit (not included in the calculator).
Who this applies to
The bands above are for resident individuals in employment. Non-residents and some casual workers are taxed differently and are not covered by this calculator. For your exact tax position, speak to your employer's payroll team or the GRA. You can also read about SSNIT and gross to net pay.