Your net worth is the simplest, most complete measure of your financial position: everything you own, minus everything you owe. One number that captures your property, pensions, savings and investments on one side, and your mortgage, loans and other debts on the other.
Net worth = total assets − total liabilities
That's the whole formula. The difficulty isn't the maths — it's making sure both sides are actually complete. Most people calculate their net worth from memory and miss things, which is why the number is usually wrong on the first attempt. This guide walks through doing it properly.
If you'd rather start straight away, our net worth calculator does the structure for you — but it's worth reading the asset list below first so you don't leave anything out.
Step 1: List everything you own
Work through your assets in categories. For each one, use the current value, not what you paid.
Property. Your home, at a realistic current market value (recent local sold prices are a better guide than asking prices). Include any buy-to-let, holiday home or land. Use the property's full value here — the mortgage comes off in step 2, which gives a more accurate picture than netting it off in your head.
Pensions. For most UK adults, pensions are the largest asset after — or including — the home, yet they're the most commonly omitted. Include your current workplace pension, every previous workplace pension, any personal pension or SIPP, and your State Pension entitlement if you want a fuller picture (most people count only private pensions in net worth, which is fine — just be consistent). If you've changed jobs more than a couple of times, there's a reasonable chance you have a pot you've lost track of: there are an estimated 3.3 million lost pension pots in the UK worth £31 billion. Our guide to finding and organising old pensions covers how to track them down.
Cash and savings. Current accounts, savings accounts, Cash ISAs, Premium Bonds and other NS&I products, and any fixed-term deposits.
Investments. Stocks & Shares ISAs, general investment accounts, individual shareholdings (including old paper share certificates), employee share schemes, and investment bonds.
Other assets. Vehicles at realistic resale value, and anything individually significant — jewellery, art, collections. Be conservative: everyday possessions depreciate and don't belong in the total. A useful rule is to include only items you could genuinely sell for £1,000 or more.
This is where most calculations go wrong — not in the categories people know about, but in the ones they've forgotten. Old pensions, dormant bank accounts, lapsed-but-still-valuable insurance policies and unclaimed windfalls are common enough that we've written a separate piece on the assets people forget when calculating net worth.
Step 2: List everything you owe
Liabilities are usually quicker to compile, because lenders remind you about them.
- Mortgage balance(s) — the outstanding amount, not the original loan
- Personal loans and car finance (for PCP, the settlement figure)
- Credit card balances you carry month to month
- Student loans — include them for accuracy, though many people footnote Plan 2 loans separately given how repayment works in practice
- Money owed to family, tax owing, and any other debts
Step 3: Subtract and record
Total assets minus total liabilities is your net worth. Two things to note about the result:
It can legitimately be negative, particularly early in your career when student debt outweighs assets. That's a starting point, not a verdict — the trajectory matters far more than the snapshot.
The first calculation is a baseline. The value comes from repeating it — typically once or twice a year — and watching the direction of travel. We've covered why and how often to track your net worth separately.
What counts as an asset — and what doesn't
A genuine asset has realisable cash value. Your salary isn't an asset (it's income); your employer's death-in-service benefit isn't (it's contingent); your season ticket isn't (it's spent). Defined benefit pensions are awkward: they have no pot value, but you can include the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) from your annual statement, or simply footnote the guaranteed income. Either approach is fine — again, consistency matters more than the method.
Common questions
Should I include my partner's finances? Calculate individually or as a household — both are valid. Household is usually more meaningful for couples with shared property and joint goals. Just label which one you've done, because UK statistics (and our net worth by age benchmarks) are usually quoted per household.
Do I include my home? Yes, for total net worth. Some people also track "liquid net worth" (excluding the home) as a second figure, since you can't spend the house. Both are useful; total net worth is the standard.
How accurate do valuations need to be? Roughly right beats precisely wrong. A sensible estimate for the house and exact figures for accounts is the normal standard. The bigger accuracy risk is omission, not estimation.
What's the point of the number? Comparison with your past self, mainly — plus a few practical uses (planning, advice conversations, knowing your inheritance tax exposure) that we cover in what your net worth is actually for.
Calculate yours now
The fastest way to do this properly is with a structured tool that prompts you for each category, so nothing gets missed. Use the free net worth calculator →