NHS Band 8d Salary & Take Home Pay 2026/27
Band 8d pays £94,356, £100,140 and £108,814 in England for 2026/27, which is £4,851 to £5,459 a month take home full time. It's the highest of the Band 8 sub-bands and the last band below Band 9, and its middle and top points are over £100,000.
Salary (England)
£94,356 to £108,814
Take home a month
£4,851 to £5,459
Hourly rate (entry)
£48.26
NHS pension rate
12.5%
Work out your own Band 8d take home pay
Pay advice
England · 2026/27 · monthlyPayments
Deductions
£1,119.37 a week · £58,207.18 a year
Rates
Band 8d pay in each UK country, 2026/27
| Country | Pay points | Take home a month | Hourly (entry) |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £94,356 / £100,140 / £108,814 | £4,850.60 / £5,094.01 / £5,459.04 | £48.26 |
| Scotland | £107,810 / £112,426 | £5,155.51 / £5,332.51 | £57.43 |
| Wales | £95,773 / £101,643 / £110,448 | £4,910.23 / £5,157.26 / £5,527.80 | £48.98 |
| Northern Irelandaward pending | £91,342 / £96,941 / £105,337 | £4,714.62 / £4,949.69 / £5,302.18 | £46.71 |
Full time (36 hours a week in Scotland, 37.5 elsewhere), NHS pension at each country's own rates, 1257L tax code, Scottish tax for Scotland, no student loan, London weighting or shift pay. Northern Ireland is on the rates in force from 1 April 2025 until its 2026/27 award is paid.
Where your Band 8d pay goes each month
| England, full time | Entry | Top of band |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £7,863.00 | £9,067.83 |
| NHS pension (12.5%) | -£982.88 | -£1,133.48 |
| Income tax | -£1,704.72 | -£2,126.41 |
| National Insurance | -£324.81 | -£348.91 |
| Take home | £4,850.60 | £5,459.04 |
Over £100,000, but usually clear of the tax trap
Above £100,000 of income, the tax-free Personal Allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2, which is why people talk about a 60% tax rate between £100,000 and £125,140. 8d's middle point (£100,140) and top point (£108,814) are both over £100,000, but HMRC tests the income you're taxed on, which is your pay after the NHS pension comes off. At 12.5%, the top of 8d leaves £95,212, so basic 8d pay in England keeps the full allowance at every point.
When 8d does hit the taper
London weighting is the usual reason. At the top of 8d, the full Inner London supplement (£8,746) takes pay to £117,560 and taxable pay to £102,865, into the taper. Each extra £1 of taxable income in the taper costs 60p in income tax plus 2p NI. Anything that comes off before tax brings you back below the line, including salary sacrifice for the schemes that are fully exempt.
Take home and progression
8d's three points are all in the 12.5% pension tier. The middle point (after 2 years) adds £243 a month to take home and the top (after another 3) a further £365. At the top of the band about £44,942 of income is taxed at 40%.
Scotland
Scotland's 8d has two points, £107,810 and £112,426. After the 12.7% SPPA rate, both stay under the £100,000 test (£94,118 and £98,148), but a large part of the pay is taxed at Scotland's 45% advanced rate: about £19,118 and £23,148. Take home is £5,156 to £5,333 a month.
Extra pay on Band 8d: shifts, overtime and London
Unsocial hours. Band 8d gets 30% on top of the hourly rate for Saturdays and weekday nights (8pm to 6am) and 60% for Sundays and public holidays. Two Saturday shifts and one Sunday shift of 7.5 hours a month would add £434.30 a month before deductions at the bottom of the band in England, and lift take home from £4,850.60 to £5,069.92. The payments count towards your NHS pension.
Overtime. Band 8d isn't entitled to overtime payments: the handbook pays overtime to Bands 1 to 7 only. Unsocial hours payments still apply.
London weighting (England). The High Cost Area Supplement for Band 8d, a year:
| Zone | Entry | Top of band |
|---|---|---|
| Inner London (20%) | £8,746 (maximum) | £8,746 (maximum) |
| Outer London (15%) | £6,137 (maximum) | £6,137 (maximum) |
| Fringe (5%) | £2,270 (maximum) | £2,270 (maximum) |
Moving up the band. You become eligible for the middle point after 2 years and the top after another 3, so 5 years from the bottom to the top of Band 8d. In England you move up on your pay step date if your appraisal was done in the last 12 months and meets your trust's standards, you're not in a formal capability process, you have no live disciplinary sanction, and your statutory and mandatory training is up to date.
Jobs on Band 8d
Bands are set by job evaluation, so the same job title can sit in different bands at different trusts. These are the bands NHS Health Careers gives for each role.
Consultant clinical scientist
Bands 8a to 8d.
Decontamination manager or lead
Consultant clinical scientist level, Bands 8a to 8d.
Strategic and senior management
Typically Bands 8 and 9.
Band 8d questions
£94,356, £100,140, £108,814 in England (£48.26 to £55.65 an hour); £107,810 and £112,426 in Scotland; £95,773, £101,643, £110,448 in Wales; £91,342, £96,941, £105,337 in Northern Ireland (2025/26 rates).
Sources (checked 18 October 2026)
- Personal Allowances: adjusted net income (HM Revenue & Customs)
- Income Tax rates and allowances for current and previous tax years (HM Revenue & Customs)
- Salary sacrifice for employers (HM Revenue & Customs)
- Decontamination science (sterile services and flexible endoscopy) (NHS Health Careers)
- Strategic management (NHS Health Careers)
- Pay scales for 2026/27 (NHS Employers)
- NHS Circular PCS(AFC)2026/1: pay and conditions for Agenda for Change staff (Scottish Government)
- Pay Letter AfC(W) 02/2026 (Welsh Government)
- AFC February 2026 Pay Award (2025/26 rates) (HSC Business Services Organisation, Payroll Shared Services)
- NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (version 63) (NHS Employers)
- NHS Pension Scheme member contributions (NHS Employers)
- Member contributions (NHS Pension Scheme (Scotland)) (Scottish Public Pensions Agency)
- Membership, Contributions & Pay (HSC Pension Service)
- Scottish Income Tax: rates and bands, 2026 to 2027 (Scottish Government)
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (HM Revenue & Customs)