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About the NHS Take Home Pay Calculator
About this independent NHS pay calculator: where the 2026/27 figures come from, how the calculators work, how we check guides and how to report a correction.
How this site works
NHS Take Home Pay Calculator is an independent site that shows what NHS staff in England take home after pension, tax, National Insurance and student loan. It isn’t an official NHS website and isn’t run by NHS England, NHS Employers or any trust.
The aim is simple: turn published pay scales and tax rules into a figure you can compare with your payslip.
Where the figures come from
Pay points, hourly rates, unsocial hours percentages and London weighting come from the NHS Employers Agenda for Change pay scales for England. Pension tiers and the employer rate come from the NHS Business Services Authority. Income tax, National Insurance and student loan thresholds come from GOV.UK. Every source is listed on our sources and methodology page.
How the calculators work
All calculators use the same engine. It takes your gross pay, applies your NHS Pension tier, then works out income tax on pay after pension and National Insurance on gross pay, and finally any student loan. The result is annual take-home, divided by 12 for the monthly figure.
Examples we check against: for 2026/27, a full-time Band 5 nurse at the entry point in England takes home £24,482.51 a year and a Band 6 nurse at entry takes home £29,157.29. These come from the same engine as the calculators.
Calculators run in your browser. We don’t ask for your name or payroll details, and the figures you enter aren’t sent anywhere.
How we write and check guides
Guides are written to answer the question first, then explain the working. Every pay figure is calculated from the pay scale rather than typed by hand, so a table and a paragraph can’t disagree.
Before a guide goes live we check the figures against the published sources, check that internal links point to real pages and read the page as a reader would. Where a rule differs between nations or depends on an employer’s policy, we say so instead of guessing.
How often figures are updated
Pay scales, pension tiers and tax thresholds usually change in April. We review them when new figures are published and record each change on the updates page. If a figure changes mid-year, such as a late pay award, we update the affected calculators and guides.
What we don’t do
We don’t give financial, tax, pension or legal advice. A calculator estimates; your payslip is the final word. We don’t speak for any employer or union, and we don’t claim that any trust pays a particular figure.
Who writes the site
Guides are written by Daniel Carter, who covers NHS pay, accounting and payroll topics.
Contact and corrections
If you think a figure is wrong, please tell us what you found, which page it is on and where you saw the correct figure. Our correction policy is on the author page.
Frequently asked questions
Is this an official NHS website?
No. This is an independent site that estimates take-home pay for NHS staff. It is not run by, endorsed by or connected to NHS England, NHS Employers, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, HSC Northern Ireland, HMRC or the NHS Business Services Authority.
Where do the figures come from?
Pay scales come from NHS Employers, pension tiers from the NHS Business Services Authority, and tax, National Insurance and student loan rules from GOV.UK. The sources and methodology page lists each source and how it is used.
How accurate are the calculators?
They are estimates built on published 2026/27 rules for England. A payslip can differ because payroll tax is cumulative, tax codes vary and employers apply their own enhancements, so treat the result as a close guide and check it against your payslip.
How do I report a mistake?
Tell us the page, the figure and where you saw the correct number. We check it against the official source, correct the page and record the change on the updates page.
Last updated: 25 October 2026