NHS Take Home Pay Calculator 2026/27
Free NHS take home pay calculator for 2026/27. A Band 5 nurse nets about £2,040 a month at entry. Enter your band, hours, pension, tax and loan.
Quick answer: A full-time NHS Band 5 employee in England takes home about £2,040.21 a month at the entry point in 2026/27, from a salary of £32,073. That is after income tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension, on tax code 1257L with no student loan. Choose your own band and pay point in the calculator above.
The NHS take home pay calculator turns an Agenda for Change band and pay point into the money that reaches your bank account each month. It uses the 2026/27 pay scale for England, the six NHS Pension contribution tiers, income tax, National Insurance, student loan plans and London weighting, and it is free to use.
In this guide
- How the NHS take home pay calculator works
- Where your NHS pay goes
- Pick your band
- Take-home pay at the entry point of each band
- What comes off your NHS pay
- London weighting, shifts and part-time hours
- Why your payslip may differ from the estimate
- NHS pay terms explained
- Who the calculator is for
- What the calculator includes and leaves out
- More NHS pay calculators
- Guides to NHS pay
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
How the NHS take home pay calculator works
- Choose your band and pay point. Pay points run from entry to top, and the calculator fills in the annual pay for you.
- Add the details that change your pay. Pick a London weighting zone, enter your weekly hours, choose a student loan plan and say where you pay tax.
- Read the breakdown. You’ll see pension, income tax, National Insurance and any student loan, and what is left each month.
For a full-time Band 5 nurse at the entry point in England, the result is £2,040.21 a month from a salary of £32,073. That assumes tax code 1257L, NHS Pension membership and no student loan.
Where your NHS pay goes
Four deductions explain the gap between your salary and your take-home pay: the NHS Pension, income tax, National Insurance and, if you have one, a student loan.
| Band 5 entry point, a year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross pay | £32,073 |
| NHS Pension (8.3%) | – £2,662 |
| Income tax | – £3,368 |
| National Insurance | – £1,560 |
| Take-home pay | £24,483 |
The pension rate depends on your pay. It runs from 5.2% to 12.5%, so a Band 2 colleague and a Band 8c colleague pay very different percentages. Our pension rates guide lists every tier.
Pick your band
Each band has its own guide with every pay point, London weighting, part-time hours, shift pay and student loan plans. Monthly figures are at the entry point for full-time staff in England.
Band 2
£1,700 a month
From £25,272 a year, entry point
See the Band 2 guide
Band 3
£1,727 a month
From £25,760 a year, entry point
See the Band 3 guide
Band 4
£1,874 a month
From £28,392 a year, entry point
See the Band 4 guide
Band 8a
£3,353 a month
From £57,528 a year, entry point
See the Band 8a guide
Bands 8b to 9
£3,742 a month
From £66,582 a year, entry point
See the Bands 8b to 9 guide
Take-home pay at the entry point of each band
These are monthly take-home figures for full-time staff in England, using 2026/27 pay and standard rules.
| Band (entry point) | Annual pay | Pension rate | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | £25,272 | 6.5% | £1,700.11 |
| Band 3 | £25,760 | 6.5% | £1,727.27 |
| Band 4 | £28,392 | 6.5% | £1,873.79 |
| Band 5 | £32,073 | 8.3% | £2,040.21 |
| Band 6 | £39,959 | 9.8% | £2,429.77 |
| Band 7 | £49,387 | 9.8% | £2,933.86 |
| Band 8a | £57,528 | 10.7% | £3,352.53 |
| Band 8b | £66,582 | 10.7% | £3,741.70 |
Bands 8c, 8d and 9 are covered in the Band 8b to Band 9 guide.
What comes off your NHS pay
NHS Pension
The NHS Pension is the largest deduction for most staff. In 2026/27 you pay between 5.2% and 12.5% of pensionable pay, set by six tiers, and your employer pays a further 23.7%. The contribution comes off before income tax, so it lowers your taxable pay. At Band 5 entry the rate is 8.3%, which is £2,662 a year.
Income tax
Income tax is 20% on taxable pay above the £12,570 personal allowance, 40% above £50,270 and 45% above £125,140 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own bands. At Band 5 entry the calculator shows £3,368 a year in income tax, on pay after the pension contribution.
National Insurance
Employee National Insurance is 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that in 2026/27. At Band 5 entry it comes to £1,560 a year. Unlike pension, it is charged on your pay before the pension contribution is taken off.
Student loan
If you repay a student loan, payroll takes 9% of gross pay above your plan’s threshold, or 6% above £21,000 for a postgraduate loan. The 2026/27 thresholds are £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4 and £25,000 for Plan 5. Our student loan guide has worked examples.
London weighting, shifts and part-time hours
London weighting, called the High Cost Area Supplement, is 20% of basic pay in Inner London, 15% in Outer London and 5% in the Fringe, within a minimum and a maximum. At Band 5 entry, Inner London adds £6,415 a year. Use the London weighting calculator for your zone.
Nights, weekends and public holidays are paid as a percentage on top of your plain hourly rate, and overtime is paid at time and a half. The unsocial hours calculator and the bank shift and overtime calculator price them.
For part-time staff, pay is your weekly hours divided by 37.5, multiplied by the full-time salary. The part-time pay calculator shows what a 30-hour week takes home.
Why your payslip may differ from the estimate
The calculator follows the published 2026/27 rules, so differences usually come from your own circumstances. The most common are:
- A different tax code. The calculator assumes 1257L. A second job, benefits or tax owed change it.
- Enhancements and overtime. Nights, weekends and extra shifts add pay that changes tax, National Insurance and student loan.
- Timing. Arrears, back pay and a pay step in the middle of a month alter one payslip.
- Salary sacrifice and local deductions. Cycle schemes, car schemes and union fees change take-home.
- A different pension tier. Part-time pay or London weighting can move you into a different tier.
Our payslip guide shows how to check each line.
NHS pay terms explained
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Basic salary | Your pay for your band and pay point, before any extras. |
| Gross pay | Basic salary plus London weighting, enhancements and overtime, before deductions. |
| Pensionable pay | The part of your pay the NHS Pension is based on. It sets your contribution tier. |
| Net pay or take-home | What reaches your bank account after tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan. |
| Effective rate | Total deductions as a share of gross pay. |
Who the calculator is for
The calculator is for NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts in England who want to check a payslip, compare bands or plan a move. It also helps people applying for NHS jobs and anyone deciding between a part-time and a full-time post. Doctors and dentists are on different contracts and are not covered.
What the calculator includes and leaves out
Included: 2026/27 England pay points, NHS Pension tiers, income tax, National Insurance, student loan plans, High Cost Area Supplement, part-time hours and Scottish income tax bands.
Left out: overtime, bank shifts, unsocial hours enhancements, salary sacrifice and other local agreements. Each has its own calculator.
More NHS pay calculators
- NHS Pension calculator: find your contribution tier and what it costs you.
- Unsocial hours calculator: price nights, weekends and public holidays.
- London weighting calculator: work out HCAS for your zone.
- Bank shift and overtime calculator: see what extra shifts are worth after tax.
- Part-time pay calculator: take-home for any weekly hours.
- Student loan calculator: repayments by plan.
- Pay rise calculator: the real effect of the 2026/27 award.
- Salary sacrifice calculator: the saving from cycle and other schemes.
Guides to NHS pay
- NHS pay bands 2026/27 and Agenda for Change for the framework.
- NHS nurse take home pay and healthcare assistant take home pay.
- NHS pay rise 2026/27 explained.
- NHS payslip explained.
Frequently asked questions
How much is NHS Band 5 take home pay a month?
NHS Band 5 take home pay is £2,040.21 a month at the entry point in 2026/27, rising to £2,380.80 at the top point. That is for a full-time employee in England with tax code 1257L, NHS Pension and no student loan. London weighting and shifts add to it.
How much is NHS Band 6 take home pay a month?
NHS Band 6 take home pay is £2,429.77 a month at the entry point in 2026/27, rising to £2,865.96 at the top point. These figures use the same assumptions as Band 5: full-time, England, tax code 1257L, NHS Pension and no student loan.
Is the calculator for England only?
The pay scale is England’s. You can switch to Scottish income tax, but Scottish pension tiers and pay points differ, so treat that result as an estimate. Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own scales, so check them against the figures here before relying on the result.
What tax code does the calculator assume?
The calculator assumes tax code 1257L, the standard code for one job with no benefits, which gives a £12,570 personal allowance in 2026/27. If your code differs, for example because of a second job or benefits, your payslip will differ from the estimate by the tax difference.
How accurate is the calculator?
It follows the published 2026/27 rules for pay, pension, tax, National Insurance and student loans, so it is usually within a few pounds when your tax code is 1257L. Your payslip is the final word, because tax codes, timing and other deductions can differ. Our payslip guide shows how to check yours.
Is this an official NHS website?
No. It is an independent calculator and isn’t part of the NHS, NHS Employers, HMRC or the NHS Business Services Authority. Pay figures come from NHS Employers and tax figures from GOV.UK, and every source is listed on our sources page.
Sources
- NHS Employers: pay scales 2026/27
- NHS Business Services Authority: NHS Pension Scheme
- GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and allowances
- GOV.UK: National Insurance rates and categories
- GOV.UK: student loan repayments
- Our own sources and methodology page explains how every figure here is calculated.
Last updated: 25 October 2026
Find your band, then check your payslip
Browse every Agenda for Change pay band for 2026/27, or read how the system works.