NHS pay calculator 2026/27

What this calculator includes

Most NHS pay calculators stop at basic salary for England. Your payslip rarely does, so this one also works out:

• All four nations. England and Wales on Agenda for Change, Scotland on its own scale and 36-hour week with Scottish Income Tax, and Northern Ireland, which is still on 2025/26 rates.
• Unsocial hours. Nights, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays at the Annex 2 rates for your band, or the ambulance percentage.
• Overtime and extra hours. Time and a half, double time on bank holidays, and plain-time extra hours for part-time staff.
• London weighting (HCAS). Inner, outer and fringe, with the minimum and maximum amounts. See NHS London weighting for the zones.
• The right pension tier. Set on your actual pensionable pay, so part-time staff pay the rate for what they really earn.
• Student loans, tax codes, union fees and salary sacrifice such as cycle to work, lease cars and buying extra leave.

Take-home pay for every band (England, full time)

Basic pay only, 37.5 hours, tax code 1257L, no student loan, NHS Pension at your tier. Band 2 has one pay point, Bands 3 and 4 have two, and Bands 5 to 9 have three. For the hourly rate at each step and the pay progression rules, see the NHS pay scales 2026/27.

What shifts and overtime add

Using a Band 5 at entry in England as the example:

• Two 7.5-hour nights a week add about £3,849 a year, lifting take-home from £2,040 to about £2,214 a month.
• Eight hours of overtime a month at time and a half add about £2,362 a year, or £164 a month after deductions.
• Working in inner London adds £6,415 of High Cost Area Supplement, which is pensionable, taking take-home to about £2,351 a month.

For the details, see NHS unsocial hours and NHS part-time pay.

The same job in each nation

Scotland pays most, and for a 36-hour week, even after its higher Income Tax rates. Northern Ireland has not yet had a 2026/27 award, so HSC staff are still on last year’s figures. See NHS Scotland pay, NHS Wales pay and HSC pay in Northern Ireland.

Back pay and pay rises

Staff in England, Wales and Scotland got their 2026/27 rise on time, so there is no back pay this year. In Northern Ireland, any award will be backdated and arrive as one lump sum. That lump sum is taxed in the month it is paid, and if it pushes that month’s pay past the higher-rate line the payslip will look over-taxed. Most of the extra tax comes back through later payslips over the tax year, because PAYE works on your running total. To see what a rise is worth after tax, use the NHS pay rise 2026/27 page.

Why your payslip may not match

• Your tax code. An emergency code, a code for a second job or benefits in kind changes your tax. Enter the code from your payslip.
• Unsocial hours are usually paid a month in arrears, so this month’s enhancements are often for last month’s shifts.
• Pay step dates. If you moved up a step part-way through the year, your pay changes from that month.
• Student loan. It is worked out on each month’s pay, so a month with lots of overtime takes more.