NHS take home pay calculator

What comes off your NHS pay, in order

Your payslip takes things off in a set order, and the order matters: the pension comes off before tax is worked out, which is why it costs you less than its headline rate.

1. Salary sacrifice (if you have any)

Cycle to work, a workplace nursery and childcare vouchers started before 5 October 2018 come off your pay before anything else, so you save tax, National Insurance and pension contributions on them. Most other salary sacrifice schemes (tech, gym, lease cars) still carry a tax charge on the benefit, so the saving is smaller or nil. Salary sacrifice also lowers your pensionable pay, so you build up a little less pension.

2. NHS pension

You pay one flat rate on all your pensionable pay, set by which tier your actual yearly pensionable pay falls in. In England and Wales that runs from 5.2% to 12.5%. Scotland has its own nine tiers (5.7% to 12.7%) and Northern Ireland charges slightly more than England in every tier above the first. Pensionable pay includes London weighting and unsocial hours payments but not overtime beyond full-time hours. See the pension tiers for each country.

3. Income tax

The first £12,570 of the year is tax free for most people (the 1257L code), then 20%, 40% and 45% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has six bands from 19% to 48%, and you pay them if you live in Scotland, wherever you work. Above £100,000 the tax-free allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2. That's measured after your pension contribution comes off, so in practice it only bites from the middle of Band 9.

4. National Insurance

8% on pay between £1,048 and £4,189 a month, and 2% above that. It's worked out on each month's pay against those monthly thresholds, so a month with overtime or back pay can come out differently from a twelfth of the yearly figure. Your pension contribution doesn't reduce it.

5. Student loan

9% of pay above your plan's threshold, plus 6% above £21,000 for a postgraduate loan. Your plan depends on where and when you started your course: Plan 2 (£29,385 a year) if you started in England between September 2012 and July 2023 or in Wales from September 2012; Plan 5 (£25,000) if you started in England from August 2023; Plan 4 (£33,795) for Scotland; Plan 1 (£26,900) for Northern Ireland or anywhere before September 2012. It's worked out on your pay before tax and other deductions, so the pension doesn't reduce it.

What adds to your basic pay

Unsocial hours

Every band gets a percentage on top of its hourly rate for hours worked on Saturdays, weekday nights (8pm to 6am), Sundays and public holidays. The lower bands get more:

The enhancement is worked out on basic pay, never on London weighting, and it counts towards your pension.

Overtime

Hours over 37.5 a week are paid at time and a half, or double time on a general public holiday, for Bands 1 to 7. Bands 8a and above aren't paid overtime. If you're part time, extra hours are paid at your normal rate until you go over 37.5 in that week.

London weighting (England)

20% of basic pay in Inner London, 15% in Outer London and 5% in the Fringe, each with a minimum and maximum. The minimum matters more than people expect: in Inner London everyone from Band 2 to the bottom of Band 4 gets the same £5,794. Read the London weighting guide for the zones.