Which HCAS Zone Is Your NHS Post In?

For NHS staff in or near London who want to check which High Cost Area Supplement zone applies to them, what each zone pays in 2026/27, and what it is worth after tax and pension.

Short answer

The High Cost Area Supplement has three zones, Inner London (20% of basic pay), Outer London (15%) and the Fringe (5%), each with a minimum and maximum payment for 2026/27. Which zone applies is set by the 2005 Primary Care Trust area your post is in (Handbook, Annex 8), not by the trust's name. This page lists those areas, shows what each zone pays at every band, and links to the official Handbook so you can check.

⚠Why there is no trust-by-trust lookup here

The Handbook defines the zones by area (2005 PCT boundaries), and a trust can run sites in more than one of them. We could not verify a trust-to-zone mapping from an official list, so this page gives the official area lists instead. Check the area your site is in against the lists below, and confirm with your payroll team or payslip.

What each zone pays, 2026/27

HCAS is a percentage of basic pay, subject to a minimum and a maximum payment (Handbook, Annex 9, from 1 April 2026). It is pensionable (paragraph 4.2). The percentage rules, and the salary at which the minimum stops and the maximum starts to apply, work out as follows.

Zone	Rate	Minimum	Maximum	Minimum applies up to a basic salary of	Maximum applies from
Inner London	20%	£5,794	£8,746	£28,970	£43,730
Outer London	15%	£4,870	£6,137	£32,467	£40,913
Fringe	5%	£1,346	£2,270	£26,920	£45,400

The result is that lower bands get a higher share of pay than the headline percentage (the minimum applies) and higher bands get a lower share (the maximum applies). Wales and Scotland are outside these zones.

The official areas in each zone

These lists are the Handbook's Annex 8 tables, shown by strategic health authority as they were in 2005. Most London entries match a London borough by name. If your post is in a part of London or the home counties that is not listed, the supplement does not apply.

Inner London

NW London SHA: Hammersmith & Fulham; Kensington & Chelsea; Westminster
North Central London SHA: Camden; Islington
NE London SHA: City & Hackney; Tower Hamlets
SE London SHA: Lambeth; Lewisham; Southwark
SW London SHA: Wandsworth

Outer London

NW London SHA: Brent; Ealing; Harrow; Hillingdon; Hounslow
North Central London SHA: Barnet; Enfield; Haringey
NE London SHA: Barking & Dagenham; Havering; Newham; Redbridge; Waltham Forest
SE London SHA: Bexley; Bromley; Greenwich
SW London SHA: Croydon; Kingston; Richmond & Twickenham; Sutton & Merton

Fringe

Kent & Medway SHA: Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley
Essex SHA: Basildon; Billericay, Brentwood & Wickford; Epping Forest; Harlow; Thurrock
Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire SHA: Dacorum; Hertsmere; Royston, Buntingford & Bishop Stortford; South East Hertfordshire; St Albans & Harpendon; Watford & Three Rivers; Welwyn, Hatfield
Thames Valley SHA: Bracknell Forest; Slough; Windsor, Ascot & Maidenhead; Wokingham
Surrey & Sussex SHA: East Elmbridge & Mid Surrey; East Surrey; Guildford & Waverley; North Surrey; Surrey Heath and Woking

Where staff were previously paid extra-territorial payments but fall outside these definitions, the Handbook says the payments become long-term recruitment and retention premia (paragraph 4.4). The official text is in the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook on NHS Employers, Annex 8, and the 2026/27 amounts are on the NHS Employers pay scales page.

A worked example at every band

Point 1 of each band on the England scale. HCAS is shown in pounds a year, and the gain is the monthly take-home increase against the same point outside London, after tax, National Insurance and the NHS Pension (no student loan). The band pages go point by point.

Band	Basic	Inner London	Outer London	Fringe
Band 2	£25,272	£5,794 (minimum), +£285 a month	£4,870 (minimum), +£235 a month	£1,346 (minimum), +£75 a month
Band 3	£25,760	£5,794 (minimum), +£285 a month	£4,870 (minimum), +£234 a month	£1,346 (minimum), +£75 a month
Band 4	£28,392	£5,794 (minimum), +£282 a month	£4,870 (minimum), +£231 a month	£1,420 (rate), +£43 a month
Band 5	£32,073	£6,415 (rate), +£311 a month	£4,870 (minimum), +£228 a month	£1,604 (rate), +£87 a month
Band 6	£39,959	£7,992 (rate), +£427 a month	£5,994 (rate), +£320 a month	£1,998 (rate), +£107 a month
Band 7	£49,387	£8,746 (maximum), +£445 a month	£6,137 (maximum), +£321 a month	£2,270 (maximum), +£128 a month
Band 8a	£57,528	£8,746 (maximum), +£376 a month	£6,137 (maximum), +£264 a month	£2,270 (maximum), +£98 a month
Band 8b	£66,582	£8,746 (maximum), +£308 a month	£6,137 (maximum), +£198 a month	£2,270 (maximum), +£36 a month
Band 8c	£79,504	£8,746 (maximum), +£368 a month	£6,137 (maximum), +£258 a month	£2,270 (maximum), +£96 a month
Band 8d	£94,356	£8,746 (maximum), +£368 a month	£6,137 (maximum), +£258 a month	£2,270 (maximum), +£96 a month
Band 9	£112,782	£8,746 (maximum), +£262 a month	£6,137 (maximum), +£191 a month	£2,270 (maximum), +£84 a month

For a band-by-band breakdown with every pay point, see take-home pay for Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 6, Band 7 and Band 8a. For your own point, hours and loan plan use the NHS pay calculator.

How we calculated this

ℹMethod, assumptions and sources

Zones and amounts: NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (version 63), Section 4 and Annexes 8 and 9; NHS Employers pay scales for 2026/27. Take-home: the same engine as the NHS Pay Calculator, 2026/27 tax, National Insurance and England and Wales pension tiers, standard tax code, full-time, point 1. Limits: we have not matched trusts or postcodes to zones; local arrangements and recruitment and retention premia are not included. FrontlinePay is independent and not affiliated with the NHS.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out which HCAS zone my NHS job is in? +

The Handbook (Annex 8) puts each area of London and the surrounding counties into Inner London, Outer London or the Fringe using 2005 Primary Care Trust boundaries, and everywhere else in England gets no supplement. Find the area your post is based in on the lists on this page, then check your contract, your offer letter or your payslip for the zone your employer applies. We do not list trusts, because a trust can have sites in more than one zone and the Handbook defines zones by area, not by employer.

What if my trust has sites in different zones? +

Section 4, paragraph 4.6 says employers who employ staff in more than one high cost area zone can agree locally a harmonised rate of payment across the organisation, provided they agree with neighbouring employers if the proposed rate would exceed the average rate payable in their area. So your supplement may follow your employer's local arrangement. Your contract and payslip show what applies.

How much is HCAS in 2026/27? +

Inner London pays 20% of basic pay, with a minimum of £5,794 and a maximum of £8,746. Outer London pays 15%, between £4,870 and £6,137. The Fringe pays 5%, between £1,346 and £2,270. These apply from 1 April 2026 (Handbook Annex 9).

Is HCAS pensionable, and is it used to work out my night shift or overtime pay? +

HCAS is pensionable, so it counts toward your NHS Pension contribution tier (Handbook paragraph 4.2). It is not counted as basic pay for overtime, unsocial hours or on-call payments (paragraphs 4.2 and 2.8), so enhancements are worked out on basic pay.

Do Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have HCAS? +

The zones in Annex 8 are all areas of England, and our Welsh and Scottish pay data carry no high cost area supplement, so the supplement is treated here as England only. Scotland has its own island and remote area allowances: see the Highlands allowance and Distant Islands allowance guides.

Why does a London supplement add less to my take-home than I expect? +

The supplement is taxed, charged National Insurance and counts as pensionable pay, and it can push your whole pay into a higher pension tier. At Band 5 point 1, Inner London adds £535 a month before deductions and £311 after them. The band pages show the zone-by-zone effect for each band.

Related guides and tools

London Weighting vs HCAS Explained

How the supplement works and who gets it.

NHS Pay Calculator

Your point, hours, London zone and loan plan.

NHS Band 5 Take-Home Pay 2026/27

Zone-by-zone effect at Band 5.

NHS Hourly Pay Rates by Band 2026/27

Hourly rates including each London zone.

NHS Pay Rise 2026/27

What was confirmed and when.

Agenda for Change Pay Scales 2026/27

Every band and point.