NHS take-home pay calculator 2026/27
Choose your Agenda for Change band and pay point. We set out exactly what reaches your bank account — Income Tax, National Insurance and your tiered NHS pension — for the 2026/27 tax year.
Show figures per
England, base Agenda for Change pay (excludes London High Cost Area Supplements). Standard tax code.
Band 6 · entry
2026/27- Gross (pensionable) pay
- £3,330
- NHS pension (9.8%)
- −£326
- Income Tax
- −£391
- National Insurance
- −£183
- Student loan
- −£0
Monthly take-home
£29,157 a year
£2,430
Your take-home is 73% of your gross. Rounded to the nearest pound.
Verified · 2026/2721 June 2026
How NHS take-home pay works
NHS staff in England are paid on the Agenda for Change scale — a set of bands, each with two or three pay points you move up with experience. From 1 April 2026 every point rose by 3.3%. Your headline band salary is only the start: three things come off before the money reaches your account.
First, your NHS pension. The scheme is tiered — the more you earn, the higher the percentage, from 5.2% up to 12.5% of your whole pensionable pay. Because it is a net-pay arrangement, the contribution comes off before Income Tax, so you get tax relief automatically; it does not, however, reduce your National Insurance. Then comes Income Tax — a £12,570 tax-free Personal Allowance, then 20% and 40% bands — and National Insurance at 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above.
Every figure here is traced to an official source and checked for 2026/27: the NHS Employers pay scales and pension tiers, and gov.uk for Income Tax and National Insurance. Need the plain version for any salary? Use the main take-home calculator.
NHS pay questions
- How much is the NHS pension contribution in 2026/27?
- It is tiered from 5.2% to 12.5% of your whole pensionable pay, set by which band your salary falls in (from 1 April 2026). A Band 6 salary, for example, contributes 9.8%.
- Does the NHS pension reduce my tax?
- Yes. The NHS Pension Scheme is a net-pay arrangement, so your contribution is taken before Income Tax — you get tax relief automatically. It does not reduce your National Insurance, which is charged on your full pay.
- What is Band 6 take-home pay?
- A Band 6 entry salary of £39,959 leaves about £29,157 a year — roughly £2,430 a month — after Income Tax, National Insurance and the 9.8% pension (2026/27, England, no student loan).
- Are these the 2026/27 figures?
- Yes. Agenda for Change pay is the scale from 1 April 2026 (a 3.3% award), with 2026/27 Income Tax, National Insurance and pension tiers — every figure traced to NHS Employers and gov.uk.
- Does it include London weighting?
- Not yet. These are base Agenda for Change figures and exclude High Cost Area Supplements (London weighting) — that is on the way.