Teacher pay calculator 2026/27
A new teacher on M1 outside London earns £34,069 and takes home about £2,169 a month after tax, National Insurance and the Teachers’ Pension. Pick your pay range, point and area below, then add part-time hours, TLRs and your student loan to see your own take-home.
Your teaching job
Outside London and the fringe. Pay from 1 September 2026.
Add to your pay
Deductions and tax
Salary, TLRs and SEN allowances count for your pension. The rate is set on what you actually earn, so part-time teachers pay the rate for their real pay.
See take-home for every pay period
- Annually
- £26,032.40
- Monthly
- £2,169.37
- 4-weekly
- £2,002.49
- Fortnightly
- £1,001.25
- Weekly
- £500.62
- Daily (5-day week)
- £100.12
Main pay range
The salary column is the published full-time rate. Your gross and take-home a month use your hours and everything else you entered above.
| Point | Scale salary | Gross a month | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £34,069 | £2,839.08 | £2,169.37 |
| M2 | £36,042 | £3,003.50 | £2,278.01 |
| M3 | £38,400 | £3,200.00 | £2,369.46 |
| M4 | £40,941 | £3,411.75 | £2,506.84 |
| M5 | £43,529 | £3,627.42 | £2,646.77 |
| M6 | £46,940 | £3,911.67 | £2,831.19 |
Buying a home? See what you could borrow with the mortgage affordability calculator.
Take-home pay on every point
Pay from 1 September 2026, rest of England, full time, tax code 1257L. The last column adds a Plan 2 student loan, which many teachers who started university after 2012 repay.
| Point | Salary | Pension rate | Take-home a month | With Plan 2 loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £34,069 | 7.4% | £2,169 | £2,134 |
| M2 | £36,042 | 7.4% | £2,278 | £2,228 |
| M3 | £38,400 | 8.9% | £2,369 | £2,302 |
| M4 | £40,941 | 8.9% | £2,507 | £2,420 |
| M5 | £43,529 | 8.9% | £2,647 | £2,541 |
| M6 | £46,940 | 8.9% | £2,831 | £2,700 |
| U1 | £49,134 | 9.9% | £2,917 | £2,769 |
| U2 | £50,956 | 9.9% | £3,018 | £2,856 |
| U3 | £52,835 | 9.9% | £3,128 | £2,952 |
From M1 to M6 your salary rises by £12,871, but your monthly take-home rises by about £662. At U3 it is £3,128 a month. The full scales for every area, including leadership, are on the teacher pay scales page.
What the calculator includes
- Every range and area. Main, upper, unqualified and the leadership spine, with headteacher groups 1 to 8, for the rest of England, the London fringe, outer London and inner London.
- Part-time hours. Enter your FTE, such as 0.6 for three days, and pay, TLRs and SEN allowances are pro-rated.
- Allowances. TLR1, TLR2, TLR3 and the SEN allowance, which all count for your pension.
- Teachers’ Pension. The contribution tier is set by your actual pensionable pay and taken before tax.
- Student loans, tax code, union subs and salary sacrifice, so the result matches your payslip.
Worked example: M3 with a student loan
A teacher on M3 outside London earns £38,400, or £3,200 a month before deductions. Each month:
| Gross pay | £3,200 |
| Teachers’ Pension (8.9%) | −£285 |
| Income Tax | −£374 |
| National Insurance | −£172 |
| Plan 2 student loan | −£68 |
| Take-home | £2,302 |
The pension comes off before Income Tax, so it saves you tax at 20%. National Insurance and the student loan are worked out on your pay before the pension comes off.
London, part-time and TLR examples
- Inner London M1: £41,729, about £2,549 a month. See London teacher salary.
- M6 at 0.6 FTE (three days): £28,164, about £1,844 a month, with a lower pension rate of 7.4%. See part-time teacher pay.
- M6 with the minimum TLR2: £50,591, about £2,996 a month, £165 more than M6 alone. See TLR payments.
Before you check your payslip
Use the same point, area and FTE that are on your contract, then add your student loan plan and tax code. If your take-home is more than a few pounds away from the calculator, the usual causes are an emergency tax code, a pension tier that changed after a pay rise, or back pay landing in one month. Teachers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own scales: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For your pension, use the Teachers’ Pension calculator.
Common questions
How much does a teacher take home a month?
A new teacher on M1 outside London takes home about £2,169 a month in 2026/27, after tax, National Insurance and the Teachers’ Pension. At M6 it is about £2,831, and at U3 about £3,128. A student loan takes more.
Is the Teachers’ Pension taken off before tax?
Yes. Contributions come off your pay before Income Tax is worked out, so you get tax relief straight away. National Insurance is still charged on your full pay.
What pension rate do teachers pay?
It depends on your actual pensionable pay. In 2026/27 the rates run from 7.4% up to £36,198.99 to 12% above £104,414. Part-time teachers pay the rate for their actual pay, not the full-time salary.
Does this work for academies?
It uses the national pay ranges and the advisory points in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. Most academies follow them, but they can set their own pay, so check the salary on your contract and enter it if it differs.
When do teachers get the 2026 pay rise?
The 2026/27 award applies from 1 September 2026. The figures here use the new rates.