NHS Pensioner Net Income Calculator: What Do You Actually Take Home?

For people who already draw an NHS pension. Add your State Pension and any other income to see the tax, your monthly take-home, and what the April 2027 pension increase adds after tax. Free, in your browser.

Last updated 21 October 2026. Rates checked against gov.uk. How we check our figures.

Short answer

An NHS pension and a State Pension are both taxable income, with no National Insurance, sharing one £12,570 Personal Allowance. The full new State Pension is £12,547.60 a year, so it leaves £22.40 of allowance and nearly all of an NHS pension is taxed. On a £15,000 NHS pension with the full new State Pension, income tax is £2,995.52 and take-home is about £2,046.01 a month in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A 3.5% NHS pension rise would add £525.00 before tax and £420.00 after it. September CPI was 3.5%, which sets the April 2027 increase once the Government confirms it.

Your income

The yearly pension on your latest advice of payment, before tax. Add together separate NHS pensions if you have more than one.

Pick the full rate that applies to you, or enter your own weekly amount from your State Pension letter or forecast.

State Pension used: £12,547.60 a year.

Another pension, part-time earnings, rent. Leave blank if none. Do not include a tax-free lump sum.

Scotland has its own income tax rates and bands.

September CPI was 3.5%. The increase follows it once the Government confirms it.

Not announced yet. Leave at 0 to see the NHS pension rise on its own, or type a figure to test.

Your result

Enter your NHS pension to see your take-home

For example, a £15,000 NHS pension with the full new State Pension is £27,547.60 a year before tax, and about £2,046 a month after it.

What Pensioner Income Planner Pro adds

The free calculator above shows this tax year and April 2027. The Planner (£9.99 once, 12 months of access, no subscription) carries the same figures forward year by year:

  • Your take-home, tax and tax rate for each year, for 10, 20 or 30 years, with rises you choose for the NHS pension, State Pension and other income.
  • What frozen tax thresholds cost you each year and in total to April 2031, and the year the State Pension passes the Personal Allowance.
  • Low, middle and high rises side by side, a today's money view, a printable summary and a table you can copy.

Everything runs in your browser. Every rise is your assumption, not a forecast. See all plans, or read the method below.

Worked examples: NHS pension plus State Pension

England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27, no other income, full Personal Allowance. Figures come from the same function as the calculator above.

NHS pension With full new State Pension: tax Take-home a month With full basic State Pension: tax Take-home a month
£8,000 £1,595.52 £1,579.34 £1,008.96 £1,383.82
£12,000 £2,395.52 £1,846.01 £1,808.96 £1,650.49
£15,000 £2,995.52 £2,046.01 £2,408.96 £1,850.49
£20,000 £3,995.52 £2,379.34 £3,408.96 £2,183.82
£25,000 £4,995.52 £2,712.67 £4,408.96 £2,517.15
£30,000 £5,995.52 £3,046.01 £5,408.96 £2,850.49
£40,000 £8,451.04 £3,674.71 £7,408.96 £3,517.15

The take-home column adds the State Pension and the NHS pension together and takes off the tax on both. On the £15,000 example with the basic State Pension, tax is £2,408.96, which is less than with the new State Pension because the basic pension is smaller and leaves more allowance. For the tax rules in plain English see NHS pension plus State Pension: what you pay tax on.

How we calculate: method, assumptions and sources

  • ✓ Adds your NHS pension, State Pension and other taxable income into one total, then applies the 2026/27 income tax bands from the same engine as our other tax tools, for England, Wales and Northern Ireland or for Scotland
  • ✓ Uses the standard Personal Allowance of £12,570, reduced only above £100,000, as HMRC does
  • ✓ Uses the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week or the full basic State Pension of £184.90 a week for 2026/27 (gov.uk), times 52 because it is paid every four weeks, or your own weekly figure
  • ✓ Charges no National Insurance, because it is not charged on pension income
  • ✓ Applies the April 2027 NHS Pensions Increase you enter to the NHS pension only, and a separate State Pension rise you enter, which starts at 0% because it is not announced
  • ✓ Assumes the 2026/27 tax rates and allowance stay the same in 2027/28. That is an assumption, not a forecast
  • ✓ Estimates the tax code on your NHS pension by taking the State Pension off the Personal Allowance, because HMRC normally collects State Pension tax through another pension's code
  • ✓ Leaves out Marriage Allowance, savings and dividend income, benefits taxed through your code, tax-free lump sums and part-year effects
  • ✓ Runs entirely in your browser. Your figures are not sent to a server

The NHS pension increase status on this page follows our NHS pension increase page, so when the Government confirms the April 2027 percentage this calculator starts on it. Sources: gov.uk, Tax when you get a pension, gov.uk, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, gov.uk, Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027 and gov.uk, Tax codes.

Free download: 2026/27 Agenda for Change pay scales

One page, every band, annual and hourly. We'll also email you when the yearly increase, a rule change or a Budget measure affects NHS Pension members.

Free. Independent, not affiliated with the NHS. Every email has an unsubscribe link. See our privacy policy.

Related guides & tools

NHS Pension Increase April 2027

How the yearly rise is set and what is confirmed.

NHS Pension Tax Calculator

Tax on your NHS pension and other income, without the State Pension options.

NHS Pension Increase by Pension Amount

What the April 2027 rise adds at every pension from £5,000 to £40,000.

NHS Pension Plus State Pension: What You Pay Tax On

Why most of an NHS pension is taxed once the State Pension starts.

NHS Pension Lump Sum Calculator

Standard or maximum lump sum and the break-even age.

NHS Pension Payment Dates 2026/27

When your pension reaches your account, month by month.

⚠Independent information, not tax advice

FrontlinePay is independent and is not affiliated with NHS Pensions, HMRC, DWP or the Department of Health and Social Care. This calculator gives an estimate. HMRC and your advice of payment from NHS Pensions are the authority on your tax. For your own situation, check with HMRC or a regulated adviser.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay tax on my NHS pension and my State Pension together? +
Yes. gov.uk treats both as income and you get one Personal Allowance, £12,570 for most people, across all of it. The full new State Pension is £12,547.60 a year, so it uses almost all of the allowance and most of an NHS pension on top is taxed at 20% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Who deducts the tax on my State Pension? +
Nobody deducts it from the State Pension itself. gov.uk says it is paid without tax taken off, and HMRC normally collects the tax by changing the tax code on another pension or job. Only one payer collects it, and for many NHS pensioners that is NHS Pensions. This calculator shows the tax code your NHS pension would roughly carry.
How much will my take-home go up after the April 2027 rise? +
It goes up by less than the headline percentage, because the extra pension is taxed. On a £15,000 NHS pension with the full new State Pension, a 3.5% rise adds £525.00 a year before tax and £420.00 after tax, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. September CPI was 3.5%, which sets the April 2027 increase once the Government confirms it.
Does the State Pension go up in April 2027 too? +
It normally goes up every April, but the April 2027 State Pension rise has not been announced and is set separately from the NHS pension increase. The calculator leaves it at 0% so you can see the NHS rise on its own, and you can type a figure to test.
Is there National Insurance on an NHS pension or the State Pension? +
No. National Insurance is charged on earnings from work, not on pension income. If you still work, your wages carry National Insurance until State Pension age, but this calculator is for pension income and shows income tax only.
Why is my real payment different from the calculator? +
HMRC sets your tax code, and yours may include adjustments for Marriage Allowance, other income, benefits or underpaid tax. The calculator assumes the full Personal Allowance and a standard code, so it is an estimate. Your advice of payment from NHS Pensions shows what is actually deducted.
Is the tax different in Scotland? +
Yes. Scottish taxpayers pay Scottish rates and bands on pension income. On a £15,000 NHS pension with the full new State Pension the tax is £2,955.85 in Scotland against £2,995.52 elsewhere in the UK. Choose Scotland in the calculator to use the Scottish bands.
What does the Pensioner Income Planner Pro project? +
It takes the figures you enter in the calculator and projects your NHS pension, State Pension, other income, income tax and take-home for each tax year for 10, 20 or 30 years from 2026/27, per year and per month, with your effective tax rate. It also shows what the frozen tax thresholds cost you each year and in total to April 2031, the year the full new and full basic State Pension pass the Personal Allowance and what that means for the tax on your NHS pension, low, middle and high rises side by side, a today's money view, a printable summary and a copy-as-text table. It costs £9.99 once, with 12 months of access, and nothing renews.
What does the Planner assume? +
Every rise is a number you set, with round starting points of 2.5% a year for the NHS pension (it follows CPI) and 3% a year for the State Pension. April 2027 uses the NHS pension rate in the calculator. gov.uk says the State Pension rises each year by the highest of average earnings growth, CPI price growth and 2.5%, so use your own view of that. Income tax thresholds are held at their 2026/27 level until April 2031 (Budget 2025) and then rise at the rate you choose. Scotland sets its own bands every year, so the Planner holds the 2026/27 Scottish bands and then applies the same assumed rise, which is a simplification. No National Insurance is charged on pension income.
What can the Planner not know? +
It cannot know the actual NHS pension increase or State Pension rise in any future April, what a future Budget does to tax thresholds or rates, your tax code (HMRC sets it and Marriage Allowance, savings income, benefits and underpaid tax can change it), tax-free lump sums, or changes in your own income. It is an estimate to help you plan, not financial or tax advice: check your code with HMRC and your payment with NHS Pensions.
What if I get the basic State Pension, not the new one? +
The full basic State Pension is £184.90 a week, £9,614.80 a year, which leaves £2,955.20 of the Personal Allowance for other income. Choose "Full basic State Pension" in the calculator, or enter your own weekly figure from your State Pension letter.