NHS Pay Calculator 2026/27

Choose your band and pay point to see your take-home pay after tax, National Insurance and pension, per month, per year and per week.

Free, no sign-up, runs in your browser. Updated October 2026.

Short answer

Your NHS take-home pay is your Agenda for Change salary (band, pay point and any London weighting) minus NHS Pension contributions (5.2% to 12.5% by pay tier), Income Tax and National Insurance (8% between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above), plus any student loan. For a full-time Band 5 nurse in England that works out at about £2,040 a month at the starting point and £2,381 a month at the top of the band. The calculator below does the sums for your exact band, point, hours and region, in the right order.

Quick start

Where do you work?

Choose where you are employed, not where you live. Wales and Scotland each publish their own pay scale, and NHS Scotland has its own income tax bands. Northern Ireland uses the England scale here because its 2026/27 award is not yet confirmed.

Where you sit on your band. Check your payslip or contract. Each option shows that point's full-time salary; your results are scaled to your own hours.

Leave at 37.5 if you are full time (the standard Agenda for Change week), so you are not scaled down.

Your inputs are saved on this device only, so they are here next time.

Your estimated take-home pay

£2,040/month

£24,483/year, £471/week. Band 5, point 1.

Gross annual pay

£32,073

Basic hourly rate

£16.40

Where your gross pay goes

Income tax 11%National Insurance 5%NHS Pension 8%Take-home 76%
Basic pay (full time)£32,073
Income tax-£3,368

Charged on pay after your pension contribution. 20% above the £12,570 Personal Allowance, 40% above £50,270. We assume the standard tax code (1257L).

National Insurance-£1,560

8% of pay between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above. It is worked out on pay before your pension comes off.

NHS Pension contribution-£2,662

The 8.3% tier applies to all of your pensionable pay and comes off before tax is worked out, so tax relief is built in.

Take-home per year£24,483
Per 4 weeks£1,883

See how your take-home changes

Everything else stays as you set it above.

Pay pointFull-time basicYour monthly take-homeStep up
£32,073£2,040
£34,592£2,177+£137/month
£39,043£2,381+£203/month

NHS take-home pay by band, 2026/27

Full-time, England scale (also used for Northern Ireland, whose 2026/27 award is not yet confirmed), in the NHS Pension Scheme, standard tax code, no student loan and no London weighting. Choose Wales or Scotland in the calculator for their own scales; the Wales scale is on our NHS Wales pay 2026/27 page. "Monthly" is take-home after tax, National Insurance and pension. Click through to the calculator above for your own hours, region and loan.

BandStarting grossStarting monthly take-homeTop grossTop monthly take-home
Band 1 £25,272 £1,700 same same
Band 2 £25,272 £1,700 same same
Band 3 £25,760 £1,727 £27,476 £1,823
Band 4 £28,392 £1,874 £31,157 £1,990
Band 5 £32,073 £2,040 £39,043 £2,381
Band 6 £39,959 £2,430 £48,117 £2,866
Band 7 £49,387 £2,934 £56,515 £3,309
Band 8a £57,528 £3,353 £64,750 £3,663
Band 8b £66,582 £3,742 £77,368 £4,136
Band 8c £79,504 £4,226 £91,609 £4,735
Band 8d £94,356 £4,851 £108,814 £5,459
Band 9 £112,782 £5,626 £129,783 £6,115

Looking for the full story for one band? See our salary guides for Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 6, Band 7, Band 8a, Band 8b, Band 8c, Band 8d and Band 9.

Take-home pay at every pay point, Bands 2 to 7

Published pay points only. Monthly take-home, same assumptions as above.

Band 2 take-home pay

Pay pointFull-time grossMonthly take-home
Point 1£25,272£1,700

Band 3 take-home pay

Pay pointFull-time grossMonthly take-home
Point 1£25,760£1,727
Point 2£27,476£1,823

Band 4 take-home pay

Pay pointFull-time grossMonthly take-home
Point 1£28,392£1,874
Point 2£31,157£1,990

Band 5 take-home pay

Pay pointFull-time grossMonthly take-home
Point 1£32,073£2,040
Point 2£34,592£2,177
Point 3£39,043£2,381

Band 6 take-home pay

Pay pointFull-time grossMonthly take-home
Point 1£39,959£2,430
Point 2£42,170£2,548
Point 3£48,117£2,866

Band 7 take-home pay

Pay pointFull-time grossMonthly take-home
Point 1£49,387£2,934
Point 2£51,932£3,078
Point 3£56,515£3,309

England, Wales and Scotland take-home pay compared

Wales and Scotland both publish their own Agenda for Change pay scales, and Scotland also has a six-band income tax system (Wales uses the England income tax bands), so take-home pay differs from England even at the same band. Starting-point figures, full time, in the NHS Pension Scheme, standard tax code, no London weighting:

BandEngland and NIWalesScotlandScotland vs England
Band 1 £1,700 £1,757 £1,777 +£77
Band 2 £1,700 £1,757 £1,784 +£84
Band 3 £1,727 £1,786 £1,907 +£180
Band 4 £1,874 £1,898 £2,042 +£168
Band 5 £2,040 £2,067 £2,167 +£127
Band 6 £2,430 £2,462 £2,600 +£170
Band 7 £2,934 £2,974 £3,032 +£98
Band 8a £3,353 £3,389 £3,508 +£155
Band 8b £3,742 £3,785 £3,991 +£249
Band 8c £4,226 £4,276 £4,504 +£278
Band 8d £4,851 £4,910 £5,156 +£305
Band 9 £5,626 £5,695 £5,699 +£73

Wales's own scale starts Band 5 at £32,557, against £32,073 in England, and the Welsh figures are taken from the Welsh Government pay letter, not the England table. There is no High Cost Area Supplement in Wales. Scottish pay scales are higher at the same band, but Scottish tax bites earlier above about £30,000, so the gap narrows and can reverse in the middle bands. NHS Scotland's full-time week is 36 hours, against 37.5 elsewhere. See NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27.

What London weighting adds to take-home pay

High Cost Area Supplement is taxed like basic pay and raises your pension contribution base. Monthly take-home at the starting point of each band:

Band and pointNo HCASFringe (5%)Outer London (15%)Inner London (20%)
Band 5, point 1 £2,040£2,128£2,269£2,351
Band 6, point 1 £2,430£2,537£2,750£2,857
Band 7, point 1 £2,934£3,062£3,255£3,379

HCAS is a percentage of basic pay with a minimum and maximum for each zone, so the real figure for lower and higher pay points can be set by the floor or the cap. Our London weighting vs HCAS guide explains how zones are decided.

What the NHS Pension costs you in take-home pay

Because your contribution comes off before income tax, it costs you less in take-home pay than the headline rate suggests. Starting point of each band, full time:

BandGrossContribution ratePaid in per yearExtra monthly take-home if you opted out
Band 2 £25,272 6.5% £1,643 £110
Band 3 £25,760 6.5% £1,674 £112
Band 4 £28,392 6.5% £1,845 £123
Band 5 £32,073 8.3% £2,662 £177
Band 6 £39,959 9.8% £3,916 £261
Band 7 £49,387 9.8% £4,840 £323
Band 8a £57,528 10.7% £6,156 £308

That is cash only. Each year in the 2015 scheme builds a pension of 1/54th of your pensionable pay, and the scheme also pays death-in-service and ill-health benefits. See is it worth opting out of the NHS Pension? before changing anything.

How this NHS pay calculator works

It follows the order your payroll does. First your gross pay: the Agenda for Change salary for your band and point, scaled to your hours, plus High Cost Area Supplement if you choose a zone. Then your NHS Pension contribution, which uses the tier your pay falls in and comes off before tax. Then Income Tax on what is left, National Insurance on your full gross pay, and any student loan.

Income Tax, England, Wales and Northern Ireland

BandTaxable incomeRate
Personal AllowanceFirst £12,570 (tapered above £100,000, gone by £125,140)0%
Basic rate£12,571 to £50,27020%
Higher rate£50,271 to £125,14040%
Additional rateAbove £125,14045%

Income Tax, Scotland

BandGross income up toRate
Starter£16,53719%
Basic£29,52620%
Intermediate£43,66221%
Higher£75,00042%
Advanced£125,14045%
TopAbove £125,14048%

National Insurance (Class 1, employee)

EarningsRate
Up to £12,5700%
£12,570 to £50,2708%
Above £50,2702%

National Insurance is worked out on your full gross pay before your pension comes off, which is why it does not move when you change your pension setting.

NHS Pension Scheme member contribution tiers, from 1 April 2026

Annual pensionable payContribution rate
Up to £13,2595.2%
£13,260 to £28,8546.5%
£28,855 to £35,1558.3%
£35,156 to £52,7789.8%
£52,779 to £67,66810.7%
Above £67,66812.5%

Unlike tax, the tier is not split across bands: whichever tier your whole pensionable pay falls in is the rate on all of it.

Worked example: Band 5, point 2, England

A full-time Band 5 nurse on point 2 (gross £34,592), in the NHS Pension Scheme, with no student loan:

StepAmount
Gross annual salary£34,592.00
NHS Pension contribution (8.3% tier)-£2,871.14
Income Tax (on pay after pension)-£3,830.17
National Insurance (on gross pay)-£1,761.76
Net annual pay£26,128.93
Net monthly payabout £2,177

With a Plan 2 student loan the same nurse would pay a further £468.63 a year, leaving about £2,138 a month.

Worked example: the same band and point in England, Wales and Scotland

A full-time Band 7 nurse on point 2, in the NHS Pension Scheme. Each nation publishes its own scale, and Scotland's tax system is different:

StepEngland and NIWalesScotland
Gross annual salary£51,932£52,712£54,863
NHS Pension contribution-£5,089-£5,166-£6,145
Income Tax-£6,855-£6,995-£8,444
National Insurance-£3,049-£3,065-£3,108
Net monthly pay£3,078£3,124£3,097

Why your real payslip might not match

This tool is accurate for the case it models: contracted basic pay and the standard tax code. A real payslip can differ for reasons that have nothing to do with the maths.

  • Unsocial hours, overtime and on-call are not included. Use the Unsocial Hours Calculator and Overtime Calculator and add the results.
  • Your tax code may not be 1257L. An emergency code, a second job, a benefit in kind or underpaid tax moves your allowance. The NHS Payslip Checker works out which code your payslip implies, and our tax codes guide explains what each means.
  • Salary sacrifice is not modelled. Cycle to work, a car lease or AVCs by sacrifice reduce pay before tax and NI. See the Salary Sacrifice Calculator.
  • Backdated awards and increments land unevenly. A one-off catch-up can look heavily taxed in a single month even though the year works out correctly. The Back Pay Calculator shows the effect.

ℹA reliable baseline, not a payslip replacement

Treat this as the accurate starting point for contracted pay, then add enhancements and local allowances. If a figure on your payslip still looks wrong, ask your trust's payroll team to explain that line, and see how to read your NHS payslip.

Sources and how we keep this accurate

Frequently asked questions

How much is take-home pay for a Band 5 nurse in 2026/27? +
In England (and Northern Ireland, on the England scale until its 2026/27 award is confirmed) a full-time Band 5 nurse on the starting point (£32,073) takes home about £2,040 a month after tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension, with no student loan or London weighting. At the top of the band (£39,043) that rises to about £2,381 a month. Those figures use the standard tax code and basic pay only, so unsocial hours, overtime and London weighting come on top.
Is this NHS pay calculator accurate for 2026/27? +
It uses the 2026/27 Agenda for Change pay scales (a 3.3% consolidated award from 1 April 2026 in England, with Wales and Scotland publishing their own separate 2026/27 scales; Northern Ireland uses the England scale here because its award is not yet confirmed), the 2026/27 Income Tax and National Insurance rules, the 2026/27 NHS Pension Scheme member contribution tiers and the current High Cost Area Supplement figures. It assumes the standard tax code, so it is an excellent estimate for a typical payslip, but your own payslip is always the final word.
Does the NHS Pay Calculator include my NHS pension contribution? +
Yes, by default. Your contribution comes off before income tax is worked out, so tax relief is built in. Untick the box, or use the With or without pension tab, to see the cash difference. That comparison shows what the contribution costs in take-home pay, not whether opting out is wise: the scheme also provides death-in-service and ill-health benefits, so speak to NHS Pensions or an adviser before changing anything.
Why is my real payslip different from the calculator? +
The calculator models your contracted basic pay with the standard tax code. Real payslips also reflect unsocial hours payments, overtime, on-call, recruitment and retention premia, a different tax code (an emergency code, a second job or a benefit in kind), salary sacrifice schemes such as cycle to work or a car lease, student loan plans recorded wrongly by HMRC, and backdated or one-off payments. Use the NHS Payslip Checker to compare each line of your payslip against what we expect.
Does it work for part-time staff? +
Yes. Enter your contracted weekly hours and your pay is scaled to match (for example 30 hours is 80% of a 37.5 hour week). The pension tier is worked out on your actual pay, so part-time staff can sit in a lower tier than their full-time equivalent. Pay point figures in the drop-down always show the full-time salary for that point, so do not be alarmed if the number looks higher than your own gross pay.
What is a pay point and how do I know mine? +
Your pay point is where you sit on your band's Agenda for Change pay scale. Most bands have two or three points: you start on the first and move up at set points in the band (the scales say how long you wait, for example two years then a further two years in Band 5). Your payslip or contract states your pay point. If you are unsure, our guide to pay progression and increments explains when you move up.
How are Scotland's income tax bands and 36-hour week handled? +
Choose Scotland and the calculator switches to NHS Scotland's pay scales and the six-band Scottish income tax system, which can leave take-home pay noticeably different from England at the same gross salary. NHS Scotland's standard full-time week is also now 36 hours rather than 37.5, so the hours box treats 36 as full time for Scotland: leave it on 36 if you work a full-time week and you will not be scaled down.
Does the calculator add London weighting (HCAS) automatically? +
Only when you choose a zone. HCAS is a percentage of basic pay (5% Fringe, 15% Outer London, 20% Inner London) with a minimum and maximum for each zone, and it applies to England-based roles only. It is added to your gross pay before tax, NI and pension are worked out, as it is on a real payslip. The London weighting tab shows all four zones side by side for your band.
Does it include student loan repayments? +
Yes. Choose Plan 1, 2, 4, 5 or Postgraduate and the calculator deducts repayments on pay above the plan threshold (9% for undergraduate plans, 6% for postgraduate loans). If you have both an undergraduate and a postgraduate loan, run the calculator twice and add the two repayments, because it models one plan at a time.
Why does my take-home pay rise by less than the 3.3% pay award? +
The award is a percentage of gross pay, but the Personal Allowance and the National Insurance thresholds have been frozen since 2021, so more of each pay rise is taxed. If a rise lifts you across an NHS Pension contribution tier, the higher rate then applies to all of your pensionable pay. The calculator flags when you are close to a tier edge. Use the NHS Pay Rise Calculator for a line-by-line before and after.
What happens above £100,000? +
Between £100,000 and £125,140 you lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 of income, which creates an effective marginal rate of 60% in that range. This mostly affects Band 8d and 9 staff and doctors with additional income. The calculator applies the taper automatically. Pension contributions reduce taxable pay, so they can help, which is worth discussing with an adviser.
How is this different from the Unsocial Hours and Overtime calculators? +
This tool models your contracted basic pay at a band and pay point. Unsocial hours enhancements, overtime and on-call depend on your own rota, so they are in separate free calculators: the Unsocial Hours Calculator for nights, weekends and bank holidays and the Overtime Calculator for hours beyond a full week. Work those out and add them to the take-home figure here for the full picture, or use the Rota and Take-Home Calculator to combine them in one go.

More free NHS pay tools and guides

Unsocial Hours Calculator

Nights, weekends and bank holidays on top of this salary.

Overtime Calculator

Time and a half and double time, with the part-time rules.

NHS Pay Rise Calculator 2026/27

Before and after for your band and point.

NHS Payslip Checker

Compare a real payslip with what we expect.

Rota and Take-Home Calculator

Basic pay, enhancements and overtime combined.

NHS Pension Calculator

What your contributions build.

NHS Pro-Rata Salary and FTE Calculator 2026/27

Part-time salary, FTE, pension tier, take-home and leave in hours.

Agenda for Change pay scales 2026/27

Every band and pay point in full.

NHS pay rise 2026/27 explained

What was agreed, for whom, and when it was paid.

How to read your NHS payslip

What every line and code on your payslip means.

London weighting vs HCAS explained

Zones, percentages and the minimum and maximum.

NHS pay progression and increments

When you move up a pay point.

NHS Pension Scheme 2015 explained

How contributions and accrual work.

NHS tax codes explained

What 1257L, BR and 0T mean for your tax.

NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27

The separate Scottish scales and the 36-hour week.