NHS Salary After Tax 2026/27
NHS pay questions are rarely answered by gross salary alone. Staff want to know what the official pay scale means after NHS pension, PAYE tax, National Insurance, student loans and London weighting.
Estimated monthly take-home pay: £2,040.21 after tax, NI and NHS pension.
Estimate assumptions
Illustrative annualised 2026/27 estimate using a standard tax code, Cat A NI and NHS pension membership. Student-loan deductions are annualised; payroll calculates and rounds them by pay period. Your payslip can also differ with overtime, salary sacrifice, arrears or a different tax code.
NHS salary after tax: the quick answer
By Dan · Updated 8 June 2026 · Checked against NHS Employers, NHSBSA and GOV.UK rates.
NHS pay is published as a gross annual salary, but what matters is what reaches your account after the tiered NHS pension, tax, National Insurance and any student loan. This hub turns the 2026/27 Agenda for Change scales into real monthly take-home pay and points you to the right page for your band, grade or location.
NHS take-home pay is not the same as the gross Agenda for Change salary. For example, 2026/27 entry Band 5 is £32,073 gross but about £2,040 a month after NHS pension, Income Tax and NI before student loan. Entry Band 6 is £39,959 gross and about £2,430 a month on the same assumptions.
NHS take-home pay by band
| Band | Entry salary | Top salary | Entry monthly net | Top monthly net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 5 | £32,073 | £39,043 | £2,040.21 | £2,380.80 |
| Band 6 | £39,959 | £48,117 | £2,429.77 | £2,865.96 |
| Band 7 | £49,387 | £56,515 | £2,933.86 | £3,308.99 |
What changes NHS monthly take-home pay?
The official NHS pay table is only the starting point. The bank-account figure changes when pensionable pay crosses an NHS pension tier, when a student-loan plan is above its threshold, or when High Cost Area Supplement is added. A Band 5 worker with Inner London HCAS can keep roughly £300 more a month than the no-London version, even though the gross allowance is higher than that.
NHS pension
NHS pension contributions are based on actual annual pensionable pay, not just the headline band name. For 2026/27, the key thresholds are 8.3% from £28,855 to £35,155, 9.8% from £35,156 to £52,778, and 10.7% from £52,779 to £67,668. That means a pay step or London HCAS can change both the gross salary and the pension percentage.
Student loans
Student-loan deductions are separate from tax and pension. Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5 use 9% of earnings above the relevant threshold; postgraduate loans use 6% and can sit alongside an undergraduate plan. A worker can check their plan in their Student Loans Company online account, on payroll notices, or through their payslip if deductions have started. For more detail, use the student loan repayment guide.
London weighting
“London weighting” is the common name staff use for the NHS High Cost Area Supplement. It is extra pensionable pay for eligible staff in Inner London, Outer London or Fringe zones. The gross amount matters, but the net amount matters more because pension, tax, NI and student loan can all increase too.
Country and contract differences
The main calculator uses England Agenda for Change pay scales and standard England, Wales and Northern Ireland PAYE assumptions. That matters because Scotland has separate income-tax bands, Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland can confirm different NHS awards, and resident doctors/consultants sit on different contracts from Agenda for Change staff. Use the Band 5–7 pages for Agenda for Change roles and the doctor pages for foundation, registrar and consultant pay.
England baseline and country differences
Unless stated otherwise, these pages use England 2026/27 pay scales. Scotland has different tax bands and NHS pay values; Wales and Northern Ireland may confirm awards separately. Resident doctors and consultants use separate medical contracts.
Frequently asked questions
What is NHS salary after tax?▼
It is the estimated take-home pay left after Income Tax, National Insurance, NHS pension contributions and any student loan are removed from gross NHS pay. It is usually a good deal lower than the headline Agenda for Change salary.
Which NHS bands are covered?▼
The cluster covers Agenda for Change Band 5, Band 6 and Band 7, plus London weighting and HCAS. There are also dedicated pages for resident (junior) doctors and consultants, who are on separate contracts.
Are doctor salaries included?▼
Yes. Resident doctors and consultants have their own pages because rotas, nodal points, programmed activities, on-call and pension treatment make their pay more complex than Agenda for Change band pay.
What is taken out of NHS pay each month?▼
The main deductions are Income Tax, National Insurance, NHS pension contributions and, where applicable, a student-loan repayment. London weighting and unsocial-hours enhancements add to gross pay before those deductions.
Are unsocial hours and overtime included in these figures?▼
No. The calculators model basic Agenda for Change pay. Section 2 unsocial-hours enhancements, bank shifts and overtime are paid on top and are covered in the notes on each band page.
Is NHS take-home pay different in Scotland?▼
Yes. Scotland applies its own income tax bands and negotiates its own Agenda for Change pay scales. At lower bands the difference is small; it grows at higher salaries as Scotland's Higher, Advanced and Top rates apply.
Sources, methodology and data quality
| Source | How this page uses it | Link |
|---|---|---|
| NHS Employers 2026/27 Agenda for Change pay scales | Used for Band 5, Band 6, Band 7 and HCAS/London weighting salary values. | NHS Employers pay scales |
| NHSBSA pension contribution tiers from 1 April 2026 | Used to apply the employee NHS pension contribution rate against pensionable pay. | NHSBSA pension tiers |
| GOV.UK student and postgraduate loan deduction tables 2026/27 | Used for Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4, Plan 5 and postgraduate loan thresholds. | GOV.UK student loan tables |
| GOV.UK Income Tax and National Insurance guidance | Used for 2026/27 PAYE and employee NI assumptions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. | GOV.UK income tax rates |