NHS nurse pay after tax 2026/27

Take-home pay a month

£2,040.36

£24,484.31 a year from a salary of £32,073.00

Your details

Where you work EnglandScotland

Band Band 1Band 2Band 3Band 4Band 5Band 6Band 7Band 8aBand 8bBand 8cBand 8dBand 9

Pay point EntryIntermediateTop

Hours a week

CalculateReset

Where your salary goes

	A year
Salary	£32,073.00
NHS Pension (8.3%)	£2,662.06
Income tax	£3,366.39
National Insurance	£1,560.24
Take-home pay	£24,484.31

I pay into the NHS Pension Scheme

Student loan None Plan 1 Plan 2 Plan 4 (Scotland) Plan 5 Postgraduate loan as well

How this was worked out

1. Pension rate: pay of £32,073.00 is in the tier from £28,855 to £35,155, so 8.3%
2. Salary: £32,073
3. Pension (net pay): £32,073 × 8.3% = £2,662.06, taken off before tax
4. Personal allowance: £12,570. Payroll applies it as tax code 1257L, which gives £12,579 of tax-free pay.
5. Taxable income: £29,410.94 − £12,579 = £16,831.94
6. Basic rate: £16,831.94 × 20% = £3,366.39
7. Income tax: £3,366.39
8. National Insurance: (£32,073 − £12,570) × 8% = £1,560.24
9. Take-home pay: £32,073 − £3,366.39 − £1,560.24 − £2,662.06 = £24,484.31

• Tax year: 2026/27. Tax code: 1257L. Income tax nation: England.
• Pension: NHS Pension Scheme contribution at the tier for the selected pay. Student loan: none unless selected in the calculator.
• Full-time basic pay, for a full tax year. Money is rounded to the nearest penny.

Nurses in the NHS are paid on Agenda for Change, the same pay system as most other NHS staff. This page and the band pages below show what a full-time nurse keeps from each pay point in 2026/27 after the NHS Pension, income tax and National Insurance.

Which band a nurse is on

The band depends on the job, and the NHS Employers national job profiles describe what nursing work fits each one. NHS careers guidance says adult, mental health, children's and theatre nurses typically start at Band 5. District nurses and health visitors typically start at Band 6. Both roles need further training after registration as a nurse.

More senior specialist and leadership posts reach Band 7 and above. The band pages for nurses explain the kind of work at each level in general terms. Individual posts are graded by the employer.

Where the full tables are

Each nurse page links to the matching page in the NHS pay calculator, which has the take-home table for every point in England and Scotland. Nurses on part-time hours can enter their hours there, and the calculator scales the salary and the pension tier to match.

Nurses in Wales and Northern Ireland

NHS Wales publishes its own Agenda for Change scale. For 2026/27 the Welsh salary is higher than the England salary at every point of Bands 5 to 8a, by a small margin. Wales uses the same NHS Pension Scheme as England, and at these bands each Welsh point falls in the same contribution tier as the matching England point.

Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland has its own scale too, and a confirmed 2026/27 scale had not been published when the figures were checked. Neither nation's pay is in the take-home tables.

What the figures leave out

The tables use basic pay for 37.5 hours a week, the standard tax code and no student loan. Unsocial hours payments, overtime, bank shifts and high cost area supplements are all extra and taxed as pay. Many nurses repay a student loan, and the student loan repayment calculator shows the amount.

Questions

What band does a newly qualified nurse start on?

Usually Band 5, and NHS careers guidance gives adult, mental health, children's and theatre nursing as roles that typically start there.

Are nurses in Wales paid more than in England?

Slightly. In 2026/27 the NHS Wales scale is higher at every point of Bands 5 to 8a. Scotland's scale is higher again.

Do the figures include unsocial hours pay?

No, they cover basic Agenda for Change pay. Unsocial hours, overtime and bank work add to taxable pay on top.