NHS take-home pay
Every band and pay point for 2026/27, with the pension tier worked out from your actual pensionable pay rather than left as a box for you to guess at. The 2026/27 award was 3.3%, consolidated, from 1 April 2026.
That is £24,483 a year, after the NHS pension tier, income tax and National Insurance.
- Gross
- £32,073
- Pension tier
- 8.3%
- Income tax
- £3,368
- Marginal rate
- 28.0%
| A year | A month | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pay | £32,073.00 | £2,672.75 |
| Gross pay | £32,073.00 | £2,672.75 |
| NHS pension at 8.3% | £-2,662.06 | £-221.84 |
| Income tax | £-3,368.19 | £-280.68 |
| National Insurance | £-1,559.76 | £-129.98 |
| Take-home pay | £24,482.99 | £2,040.25 |
Every band, at the top of the scale
| Band | Salary | Pension tier | Take-home a year | A month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | £25,272 | 6.5% | £20,402 | £1,700.15 |
| Band 3 | £27,476 | 6.5% | £21,874 | £1,822.84 |
| Band 4 | £31,157 | 8.3% | £23,884 | £1,990.36 |
| Band 5 | £39,043 | 9.8% | £28,570 | £2,380.84 |
| Band 6 | £48,117 | 9.8% | £34,392 | £2,866.00 |
| Band 7 | £56,515 | 10.7% | £39,708 | £3,309.04 |
| Band 8A | £64,750 | 10.7% | £43,956 | £3,663.00 |
| Band 8B | £77,368 | 12.5% | £49,629 | £4,135.74 |
| Band 8C | £91,609 | 12.5% | £56,821 | £4,735.05 |
| Band 8D | £108,814 | 12.5% | £65,509 | £5,459.09 |
| Band 9 | £129,783 | 12.5% | £73,386 | £6,115.53 |
What this does that other NHS calculators do not
It applies the pension tier automatically from your pensionable pay, including the high cost area supplement and unsocial hours, rather than asking you to type a percentage. That matters because the tiers are steps, not a slope: crossing one costs you real money, and the tier trap page shows exactly where those boundaries fall.
It uses the real Section 2 unsocial hours percentages rather than a flat pound figure, and it does not invent an on-call table. The unsocial hours page explains why there isn't one to invent.
These are the England Agenda for Change scales. Scotland received a different award (3.75%) applied to a re-based 2025/26 starting point and uses a different band point structure, so Scottish salaries are not England's figures plus a percentage. Wales received the same 3.3% headline but negotiates its own terms. Northern Ireland had not announced a 2026/27 award at the time of writing. We have not published Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish scales here because we could not confirm them from a primary source, and a wrong salary is worse than no salary. Check your own nation's circular before relying on a figure.
Start from the question you have
- Band 5 to Band 6The gross jump is £7,886. The net gain is considerably less.
- Bank, overtime or agency?Three ways to work the same shift, three different outcomes.
- The 3.3% awardWhat it added to each band after everything came off it.
Questions people actually ask
What is the NHS pay rise for 2026/27?
3.3%, consolidated, announced on 12 February 2026 and effective from 1 April 2026. Scotland received 3.75% on a re-based starting point and Northern Ireland had not announced an award at the time of writing.
How much does a Band 5 nurse take home?
At the entry point of £32,073, about £2,040.25 a month outside London. At the top of Band 5, £39,043, about £2,380.84 a month. Both figures assume the standard pension tier and no unsocial hours.
How is the NHS pension contribution worked out?
It is tiered on your actual annual pensionable pay, not the whole-time equivalent, and it runs from 5.2% to 12.5%. It is a net pay arrangement, so it reduces your taxable pay but not the pay your National Insurance or student loan is worked out on.
Figures on this page are for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) and were last checked on 29 August 2026. Every rate we use is listed on the sources page.