NHS Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27

How the NHS take-home pay calculator works

Your NHS salary is not the same as the amount that reaches your bank account. Your gross pay can include basic pay and, where applicable, enhancements such as HCAS and unsocial-hours payments. The calculator then estimates deductions including NHS Pension, Income Tax, National Insurance, student loan repayments and union fees.

NHS pay bands and 2026/27 salaries

The NHS Agenda for Change pay structure groups many NHS roles into national pay bands. The 2026/27 NHS Employers pay scales are effective from 1 April 2026. The calculator's reference data includes the following annual basic-pay points.

Nation matters: England, Wales and Scotland have different 2026/27 Agenda for Change scales. Scotland also uses a 36-hour standard working week. Northern Ireland follows the HSC pay process separately, so do not assume an England rate applies there.

Important Basic salary is only the starting point for take-home pay. Your actual gross earnings and deductions can differ because of hours, HCAS, enhanced hours, pension membership, tax code, student loans and other payroll items.

What is deducted from an NHS salary?

NHS Pension contributions

If you are enrolled in an NHS Pension scheme, your employee contribution is calculated using pensionable pay and the applicable contribution tier. The calculator includes England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland pension tier data and lets you select the 2015, 2008, 1995 or no-pension option.

Income Tax

For 2026/27, the standard UK Personal Allowance is £12,570. For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the main non-savings Income Tax rates are 20%, 40% and 45% across the relevant taxable-income bands. Scotland has separate Income Tax bands and rates. The Personal Allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000.

National Insurance

For most employees in 2026/27, Class 1 National Insurance is 8% between the Primary Threshold and Upper Earnings Limit, then 2% above the Upper Earnings Limit. The calculator applies the annual thresholds included in its calculation model.

Student loan repayments

Student loan repayments are based on the repayment plan and income above that plan's threshold. The calculator includes Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 for Scotland, Plan 5 and Postgraduate Loan options. If more than one applicable repayment is selected, the tool adds the calculated deductions.

Union fees

Union fees entered in the calculator are treated as deductions after tax and National Insurance. Enter the monthly amount to include it in the annual, monthly and weekly take-home calculation.

London weighting and NHS HCAS

The High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is an additional payment for eligible NHS staff working in designated high-cost areas. In the calculator, HCAS can be switched on for England and Wales and selected as Inner London, Outer London or Fringe.

HCAS eligibility and the amount paid can depend on the applicable NHS terms and conditions and payroll arrangements. Use the supplement option only when it applies to your role and location.

NHS take-home pay with a student loan

Student loan deductions can make a noticeable difference to NHS net pay, particularly for staff with earnings above the relevant repayment threshold. The repayment plan matters because each plan has its own threshold and repayment rules.

• Plan 1: included as a selectable repayment plan in the calculator.
• Plan 2: included as a selectable repayment plan in the calculator.
• Plan 4: available for Scottish student-loan borrowers.
• Plan 5: included as a selectable repayment plan.
• Postgraduate Loan: calculated separately from the undergraduate plans.

Because student-loan deductions depend on the plan and earnings period, the calculator should be treated as an estimate rather than a substitute for your payroll record.

NHS take-home pay for part-time staff

If you work fewer than the full-time hours used by the calculator, your basic annual salary is pro-rated according to your contracted hours. For example, selecting 30 hours instead of 37.5 hours reduces the basic salary proportionally before the calculator estimates deductions.

NHS unsocial hours and enhanced pay

NHS staff may receive additional pay for qualifying work at evenings, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays under the relevant Agenda for Change arrangements. The calculator provides separate monthly-hour inputs for weekday evening/Saturday work and Sunday/bank-holiday work.

The calculator's 2026/27 model uses the following Section 2 enhancement percentages: Band 2 uses 41% for weekday evening/Saturday hours and 83% for Sunday/bank-holiday hours; Band 3 uses 35% and 69%; Bands 4–9 use 30% and 60%.

Actual payroll can depend on the precise shift, qualifying hours and the terms applying to your employment. Enter only hours that qualify for the relevant enhancement.

Why your NHS payslip can differ from the calculator

A take-home pay calculator is useful for planning, but a payslip can contain information that a general estimator does not know. Differences can arise from your tax code, payroll timing, arrears, back pay, overtime, salary sacrifice, taxable benefits, additional deductions, pensionable-pay treatment and other individual circumstances.

• Your employer may process a pay award or arrears in a particular payroll month.
• Your tax code may differ from the standard allowance used for a simple estimate.
• Overtime and additional payments can change both gross pay and deductions.
• Salary sacrifice arrangements can affect taxable pay and National Insurance treatment.
• Student-loan deductions depend on the plan recorded by payroll.
• Pensionable and non-pensionable earnings may not be treated identically.

NHS salary, gross pay and take-home pay: what is the difference?

Who can use this NHS take-home pay calculator?

This calculator is designed around Agenda for Change NHS pay bands and can be useful for nurses, healthcare assistants, allied health professionals, administrative staff and other NHS employees whose pay follows the relevant AfC structure. It is also useful when comparing full-time and part-time hours, checking the effect of a pay-step progression, or estimating the impact of selected deductions.

It is not a specialist calculator for every NHS employment arrangement. Doctors, dentists, consultants, salaried GPs and other groups with separate pay structures may need a calculator based on their specific contract and national pay framework.