NHS Pay Calculator 2026/27: Take-Home Pay by Band
Related tools: UK take-home pay calculator · pro rata calculator · UK student loan calculator · overtime calculator UK
Take-home pay: your pay after tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan.
Pay rise and back pay: the effect of a pay rise on your take-home pay, and what a back pay payment would be.
Choose Agenda for Change (England) to use the official 2026/27 pay scales by band. Choose my own salary if you work in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, or you know your exact full-time salary.
Your Agenda for Change band from your contract or payslip. Rates are the NHS Employers 2026/27 England scales, effective 1 April 2026.
Entry is where you start, intermediate is the middle step and top is the highest. Bands 1 to 4 have no intermediate step. Progression is usually after 2 or 3 years.
Your basic salary for a full-time week of 37.5 hours, before any supplement. If you work part time, enter the full-time figure and set your hours below.
Your contracted hours. Full time is 37.5. Pay is reduced in proportion, and your pension tier is based on the pay you actually receive.
A supplement for working in or near London. Inner London is 20% of basic pay, outer London 15% and the fringe 5%, each with a minimum and maximum amount set by NHS Employers.
Extra pay for nights, weekends and bank holidays, in pounds a month before tax. It counts as pensionable pay. Enter 0 if you have none.
Pay for extra hours or bank shifts, in pounds a month before tax. The calculator treats it as non-pensionable, so no pension contribution is taken from it.
Your current basic annual salary before the rise.
The percentage increase. The 2026/27 Agenda for Change award for England is 3.3%, so that is the default. Change it for another nation or a different award.
If a pay rise is paid late, back pay covers the months at the old rate. Enter the number of months, for example 4. Enter 0 if there is none.
Full scheme: you pay the tier rate, from 5.2% to 12.5% of pensionable pay (5.7% to 12.7% in Scotland).
50/50 section: you pay half the rate for half the benefits.
Not in the scheme: no contribution is taken.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland use the UK rates of 20%, 40% and 45%. Scotland has its own six rates from 19% to 48%.
Pick the scheme your employer belongs to. England and Wales share the same bands. NHS Scotland has its own nine bands and a 22.5% employer rate. Northern Ireland may use different bands, so check your pension provider. The England and Wales bands are only an approximation for it.
Leave blank for the standard £12,570, which matches tax code 1257L. If your code is different, enter the code number multiplied by 10, for example 1100L is £11,000. The allowance falls for incomes over £100,000.
Pick the plan on your loan statement. 2026/27 thresholds: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795 and Plan 5 £25,000. Repayments are 9% of pay above the threshold.
If you have a Master's or Doctoral loan as well, choose yes. It takes 6% of pay above £21,000, on top of any other plan.
Anything taken from your net pay each month, such as union fees, parking or a charity donation. Enter 0 if none.
- Take-home per month
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- Take-home per week
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- Gross pay per year
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- Basic pay received
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- High cost area supplement
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- NHS pension contribution
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- Income tax
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- National Insurance
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- Student loan
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- Basic hourly rate (full time)
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- Employer pension contribution (extra)
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- Total deductions
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- New annual salary
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- Rise in gross pay per year
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- Rise in take-home per month
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- Back pay before tax
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- Back pay after tax (estimate)
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Estimates 2026/27 take-home pay from the NHS Employers England pay scales, NHS Pension Scheme tiers, 2026/27 tax, National Insurance and student loan thresholds.
This NHS pay calculator works out your take-home pay for 2026/27 from your Agenda for Change band and pay step. It adds the high cost area supplement, takes off NHS pension contributions, income tax, National Insurance and any student loan, and shows your pay per year, month and week. It also models the 3.3% pay rise and any back pay. It is for NHS staff, students and applicants comparing roles, using the official NHS Employers 2026/27 scales for England.
Related tools: the UK take-home pay calculator covers any job, the pro rata calculator converts part-time pay, the overtime calculator prices extra shifts, and the UK student loan calculator shows repayments in more detail.
What the NHS pay calculator does
Most NHS salary pages stop at the headline figure. That figure is your gross pay, and what reaches your bank account is lower. This calculator closes the gap in two modes, and each field has an “i” icon that explains what to enter.
- Take-home pay. Pick a band and step, or enter your own full-time salary. Add your hours, any London supplement, unsocial hours pay and overtime, then choose your pension option, tax region and student loan plan.
- Pay rise and back pay. Enter your salary before a rise, the percentage and the months of back pay. It shows the new salary, the monthly effect on your take-home pay and the back pay before and after tax.
The pay scales built into the calculator are the England Agenda for Change rates. If you work in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, choose “I will enter my own full-time salary” and use the figure from your own nation’s scale. The tax setting lets you pick Scottish income tax rates, and a separate setting switches the pension bands to the NHS Scotland table.
NHS pay scales for 2026/27
NHS Employers publishes the 2026/27 scales for the 3.3% pay award, effective from 1 April 2026. The calculator uses these exact figures:
| Band | Entry | Intermediate | Top |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | £25,272 | none | £25,272 |
| Band 3 | £25,760 | none | £27,476 |
| Band 4 | £28,392 | none | £31,157 |
| Band 5 | £32,073 | £34,592 | £39,043 |
| Band 6 | £39,959 | £42,170 | £48,117 |
| Band 7 | £49,387 | £51,932 | £56,515 |
| Band 8a | £57,528 | £60,417 | £64,750 |
| Band 8b | £66,582 | £70,896 | £77,368 |
| Band 8c | £79,504 | £84,346 | £91,609 |
| Band 8d | £94,356 | £100,140 | £108,814 |
| Band 9 | £112,782 | £119,583 | £129,783 |
Source: NHS Employers, Pay scales for 2026/27. Band 1 is closed to new entrants and sits at £25,272, the same as the Band 2 point. Band 2 has a single pay point. The award itself is announced on the NHS Employers pay award page.
How take-home pay is worked out
The calculator follows the order your payroll uses.
- Basic pay. The band and step salary, reduced in proportion if you work fewer than 37.5 hours.
- Supplements and extras. The London supplement, unsocial hours pay and overtime are added to give gross pay.
- Pension. The tier rate is applied to your pensionable pay. The NHS Pension Scheme is taken before income tax, which lowers the pay you are taxed on, but not before National Insurance.
- National Insurance. 8% of pay between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above that, as set out on the GOV.UK National Insurance rates page.
- Income tax. A £12,570 allowance, then 20% up to £50,270, 40% to £125,140 and 45% above that, per the GOV.UK income tax rates. Scottish taxpayers use the six Scottish bands instead.
- Student loan. 9% of pay above your plan’s threshold, plus 6% above £21,000 for a postgraduate loan.
The 2026/27 student loan thresholds are £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4 and £25,000 for Plan 5, which starts repayments in April 2026. The details are on GOV.UK’s student loan repayment page.
London weighting (HCAS)
The high cost area supplement is a percentage of basic pay with a minimum and a maximum amount. NHS Employers sets all three for 2026/27.
| Area | Percentage | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner London | 20% | £5,794 | £8,746 |
| Outer London | 15% | £4,870 | £6,137 |
| Fringe | 5% | £1,346 | £2,270 |
The minimum matters most for lower bands. A Band 3 entry salary of £25,760 gets 20% of £5,152 in inner London, but the £5,794 minimum applies, so the supplement is £5,794 and total pay is £31,554. A Band 9 top salary hits the maximum, so inner London adds £8,746 and not the £25,957 that 20% would give. I checked the calculator against ten of NHS Employers’ own combined figures, and all matched to the pound.
NHS pension contributions
Your contribution rate depends on your actual annual pensionable pay, not your band. For 2026/27 the contribution rates are:
| Pensionable pay | Contribution rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £13,259 | 5.2% |
| £13,260 to £28,854 | 6.5% |
| £28,855 to £35,155 | 8.3% |
| £35,156 to £52,778 | 9.8% |
| £52,779 to £67,668 | 10.7% |
| £67,669 and above | 12.5% |
Source: NHS Employers, NHS Pension Scheme member contributions, with more for members on the NHSBSA website. The employer pays a further 23.7% of pensionable pay, and the calculator shows that as an extra line because it is part of your total reward.
Two things are easy to miss. First, the rate applies to all of your pensionable pay, so crossing a tier boundary changes the whole contribution. A salary of £28,854 pays 6.5%, or £1,876 a year, while £28,855 pays 8.3%, or £2,395, which leaves the higher salary with £22,379 take-home against £22,794. That is a drop of about £415 a year for a £1 rise. Second, there is a 50/50 section that halves your contribution in return for half the benefits. For a Band 5 entry salary it would raise your take-home pay by about £1,065 a year.
Worked examples
All examples use 2026/27 rates, a standard tax code, a full-time week unless stated, and the full pension scheme.
| Example | Gross pay | Pension | Tax and NI | Take-home per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 5 entry, England | £32,073 | £2,662 | £4,928 | £24,483 | £2,040 |
| Band 6 top, inner London | £56,863 | £6,084 | £10,891 | £39,887 | £3,324 |
| Band 3 entry, outer London, 20 hours | £16,336 | £1,062 | £842 | £14,432 | £1,203 |
| Band 2, not in pension scheme | £25,272 | £0 | £3,557 | £21,715 | £1,810 |
The Band 5 entry result sits right on a tier edge. Pay of £32,073 is in the 8.3% tier, so you pay £2,662 into the pension. With a Plan 2 student loan the same nurse also repays £242 a year, which leaves £24,241.
The same pay in England and Scotland
Take a Band 7 intermediate salary of £51,932. In England the take-home pay is £36,939 a year. With Scottish income tax rates the same salary leaves £36,137, because the 42% higher rate starts at £43,663 in Scotland. That result applies to the pay figure only. Scottish NHS staff have their own, different pay scales, so most should enter their own salary and pick the Scottish tax option.
Pay rise and back pay
The 2026/27 award is 3.3% across all Agenda for Change points in England. Rates are effective from 1 April 2026, so most staff should see them from April, although each employer applies them through its own payroll. Back pay only arises if the new rates are paid late.
Suppose a salary of £31,000 rises by 3.3% to £32,023, and the rise is paid four months late. The gross rise is £1,023 a year, so back pay before tax is about £341. After tax, National Insurance and pension, the calculator estimates about £223, and your monthly take-home pay rises by about £56. Back pay is usually taxed in the month it arrives, so a one-off lump sum can be taxed at a higher rate than a steady monthly increase. The figure on your payslip may differ.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Agenda for Change is a UK framework, but each nation agrees its own pay award and scales. Scotland sets its own pay award and scales, which the Scottish Government publishes on its NHS staff pay page. Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own scales too, so check the ones for your employer.
Scottish taxpayers also pay different income tax. For 2026/27 the Scottish rates, from GOV.UK’s Scottish Income Tax page, are:
| Band | Income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% |
| Basic | £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% |
| Intermediate | £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% |
| Higher | £43,663 to £75,000 | 42% |
| Advanced | £75,001 to £125,140 | 45% |
| Top | Over £125,140 | 48% |
National Insurance is the same everywhere in the UK.
NHS Scotland pension bands
The pension tiers in the table further up apply to England and Wales. NHS Scotland has its own nine bands, and an employer contribution rate of 22.5%. These are the rates for pay assessed in 2026/27, from the Scottish Public Pensions Agency circular on employee contribution tier bandings:
| Pensionable pay | Contribution rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £13,330 | 5.7% |
| £13,331 to £28,987 | 6.4% |
| £28,988 to £34,302 | 7.0% |
| £34,303 to £43,038 | 8.7% |
| £43,039 to £45,134 | 9.8% |
| £45,135 to £54,862 | 10.5% |
| £54,863 to £59,369 | 11.2% |
| £59,370 to £83,026 | 11.6% |
| £83,027 and above | 12.7% |
Choose “Scotland” under pension contribution bands in the calculator to use this table. Northern Ireland may use different bands, so check your pension provider. The England and Wales bands are only an approximation for it.
Limits and common mistakes
- It is an estimate. Your payslip depends on your tax code, your employer’s payroll and when payments are made.
- Tax code. The calculator assumes 1257L unless you enter another allowance. Benefits, a second job or tax owed from earlier years change your code.
- Annual maths. Tax is worked out over the year in one go, but payroll applies it cumulatively each month, and student loan is calculated per pay period. Months with extra pay can look different.
- Which year’s pay sets your tier. For staff who stay in the same job, the tier can be based on the previous year’s pensionable pay. The calculator uses this year’s pay, so it is exact for new starters and people whose pay changed, and can differ slightly near a tier boundary for others.
- Overtime and pension. The calculator treats overtime and extra shifts as non-pensionable. Part-time staff may be able to count additional hours as pensionable, so check with your payroll team.
- Pay point and progression. Moving up a step changes your pay and possibly your pension tier. Enter each step separately to compare them.
- Maternity pay. This tool does not calculate maternity pay. The rules are set out in the NHS terms and conditions handbook, and statutory pay is explained on GOV.UK’s maternity pay and leave page.
- Rates change. These are 2026/27 figures. The 2027/28 award and tax thresholds will replace them.
To see how a salary fits your wider budget, try the UK cost of living calculator, and see the UK financial calculators hub for more. For leave entitlement, the annual leave calculator and UK holiday entitlement calculator cover the general rules.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Band 5 take-home pay?
For a Band 5 entry salary of £32,073 in England, the calculator estimates about £24,483 a year, or £2,040 a month, after pension, tax and National Insurance. The top of Band 5 is £39,043.
What is the NHS pay rise for 2026/27?
The Agenda for Change award for England is 3.3%, effective from 1 April 2026. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland agree and publish their own awards and scales.
How is NHS pension contribution calculated?
It is a percentage of your actual annual pensionable pay, from 5.2% to 12.5% depending on the tier. The percentage applies to all your pensionable pay and comes out before income tax.
Does the high cost area supplement count towards pensionable pay?
The calculator treats it as pensionable, which matches how the supplement is normally handled as part of basic pay. Check your own payslip or payroll team if you are unsure.
How much back pay will I get?
Back pay is the gross difference between old and new pay for each month affected. Enter your old salary, the rise and the months in the calculator to see an estimate before and after tax.
Are Scottish NHS pay scales the same as England?
No. Scotland has its own scales and its own income tax rates. Enter your own salary in the calculator and choose Scotland for tax.