NHS Mortgage Calculator

How this NHS mortgage calculator works

Pick your nation, Agenda for Change band and pay point (or type any salary), add any High Cost Area Supplement and your contracted hours, and the calculator works out your gross annual pay from the same 2026/27 pay data as our NHS Pay Calculator. With a partner, tick the second applicant and both incomes are combined, as most joint applications do. Existing monthly commitments such as car finance, loans, credit card minimums and student loan repayments are annualised and taken off before the 4.0x to 4.5x multiple is applied. Add your deposit for an estimated maximum property price.

The repayment table uses the standard capital-repayment formula at three illustrative rates, plus your own rate if you enter one, over the term you choose. Below it you can see those payments as a share of your take-home pay, and the stamp duty you would pay at the top of your range. Everything runs in your browser. The result link copies your inputs, so you can send a scenario to a partner or a broker.

How much mortgage can you get on an NHS salary?

The table below runs every Agenda for Change band through the same calculation for a sole applicant on basic pay, from the bottom to the top pay point (England scale, 2026/27). It excludes HCAS, overtime, deposit and existing commitments, so your own figure will differ.

If you think in salaries rather than bands, or you are applying jointly, this is the same maths for a single or combined gross income:

Two Band 5 colleagues on the same point would simply combine their incomes: that is the row for twice one salary, not a different calculation. For profession-specific context see the nurses, doctors, paramedics and healthcare assistants mortgage guides.

Worked example 1: sole applicant, Band 6 nurse, no other debts

A Band 6 nurse on pay point 2 (£42,170 a year), no other commitments and a £15,000 deposit:

At the top of that range (£189,765.00) the illustrative repayment over 25 years is about £1,054.78 a month at 4.5%, rising to about £1,165.32 at 5.5%: the same borrowing, a meaningfully different monthly cost.

Worked example 2: joint application with a car finance commitment

The same nurse applying with a partner on £28,000 a year, a £150-a-month car finance commitment and a combined £25,000 deposit:

Combining incomes lifts the range well above the sole example, but the car finance quietly removes £1,800.00 a year from the income it is calculated on. Existing debt reduces how much you can borrow, not just how much is left each month.

Do overtime, bank and unsocial hours pay count towards a mortgage?

For many NHS staff this is the real question, because nights, weekends and bank shifts can be a large part of pay. Our mortgage guides describe the general pattern: lenders often consider a regular, evidenced pattern of overtime, enhancements or bank work, commonly with 3 to 12 months of payslips, and may count all of it, a discounted share such as half, or none. We cannot tell you which lender will do what, and we name no lenders, so the calculator lets you test the cases yourself. In this example the Band 6 nurse above has £4,000 a year of regular bank pay:

If your pay varies, evidence matters more than the multiple. Work out what a typical month really pays in the Unsocial Hours Calculator or the Rota & Take-Home Calculator, and read how enhancements are paid in NHS unsocial hours payments explained and NHS overtime rates explained. Bank work is covered in bank versus substantive post.

Part-time hours, joint applications and existing commitments

Part-time: lenders assess actual pay, so enter your contracted hours and the calculator scales the salary. Joint: both incomes are combined, and the second applicant can be on any salary. Commitments: loans, car finance, credit card minimums, buy-now-pay-later and any student loan repayment taken from pay all reduce what a lender will consider. Our guide to NHS student loan repayment explains how those deductions work.

Mortgage guides by NHS role

Deposit, stamp duty and the cash you need on top

The deposit is only part of the cash needed. In England and Northern Ireland, stamp duty is due within 14 days of completion, and first-time buyers pay no stamp duty up to £300,000 and 5% on the part up to £500,000, with no relief above £500,000 (gov.uk rates). The calculator above shows stamp duty at the top of your range, and the stamp duty calculator gives the band-by-band breakdown. To work out how long a deposit will take, including a Lifetime ISA's 25% bonus, use the deposit savings calculator. Once you have a loan in mind, the mortgage repayment calculator shows overpayments and what happens when a fixed rate ends.

What NHS staff can and can't access when buying a home in 2026

A lot of broker marketing still talks about a "NHS Key Worker Mortgage Scheme" as if you could apply for it. You can't.

What has ended: the old key worker schemes

The national key worker home-buying programmes of the 2000s, the Starter Homes Initiative and then Key Worker Living, are no longer available, and Help to Buy: Equity Loan has closed to new buyers. GOV.UK's list of affordable home ownership schemes in England names Shared Ownership, First Homes, Rent to Buy and Right to Buy, and none reserved for NHS staff. If a site or advert implies otherwise, treat it as marketing.

Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership lets you buy a share of a home, usually 25% to 75% and a 10% share on some homes, with a mortgage and/or savings, and pay rent on the rest. GOV.UK says the deposit is usually 5% to 10% of the share you are buying. You can buy further shares later ("staircasing"). It is a general scheme, not NHS-only, but many councils and housing associations, particularly in London and other high-cost areas, prioritise key workers including NHS staff for some homes. How much priority, and whether your role counts, is decided locally, so ask the housing provider. Stamp duty works differently on Shared Ownership, as explained on the stamp duty calculator page.

First Homes

The First Homes scheme lets eligible first-time buyers in England buy new-build homes at 30% to 50% below market value. GOV.UK sets a household income limit of £80,000 a year (£90,000 in London). Councils may prioritise groups such as key workers, as the council defines them, during the first 3 months of a home's sale. It is general, not NHS-exclusive, and the local rules vary, so check the development and the council.

What individual lenders sometimes offer

Some lenders and brokers market products to key workers or public sector staff, or look kindly on stable NHS employment. That is not one scheme with one name, it varies by lender and changes over time, and we cannot verify specific offers. Ask a whole-of-market broker, and independently check anything you are shown. We do not recommend or partner with any lender or broker.

What this calculator can't tell you

Method, sources and assumptions

• • Pay: Agenda for Change 2026/27 from our pay data, the same source as the NHS Pay Calculator. Where NHS Employers publishes only entry, middle and top figures, in-between points are estimates and marked as such in the calculator.
• • Multiples: 4.0x to 4.5x gross income, a commonly cited range, not any lender's criteria.
• • Variable pay: shown only as a scenario you choose (none, half or all), because treatment varies by lender and we do not name lenders.
• • Repayments: standard capital-repayment formula; the 4.5%, 5.0% and 5.5% rates are illustrations, not current rates.
• • Take-home check: our shared tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension engine, salary only, no student loan.
• • Stamp duty: gov.uk residential rates for England and Northern Ireland, checked 6 October 2026. Scotland and Wales use different taxes.
• • Schemes: GOV.UK pages for Shared Ownership, First Homes and affordable home ownership schemes.

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