Band 6 nurse pay after tax 2026/27

Take-home pay a month

£2,429.93

£29,159.10 a year from a salary of £39,959.00

Your details

Pay point Point 1Point 2Point 3

Hours a week

Full time is 37.5 hours a week

I pay into this pension scheme

Student loan NonePlan 1Plan 2Plan 4 (Scotland)Plan 5 Postgraduate loan as well

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Where your salary goes

	A year
Salary	£39,959.00
NHS Pension (9.8%)	£3,915.98
Income tax	£4,692.80
National Insurance	£2,191.12
Take-home pay	£29,159.10

How this was worked out

1. Pension rate: pay of £39,959.00 is in the tier from £35,156 to £52,778, so 9.8%
2. Salary: £39,959
3. Pension (net pay): £39,959 × 9.8% = £3,915.98, 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: £36,043.02 − £12,579 = £23,464.02
6. Basic rate: £23,464.02 × 20% = £4,692.80
7. Income tax: £4,692.80
8. National Insurance: (£39,959 − £12,570) × 8% = £2,191.12
9. Take-home pay: £39,959 − £4,692.80 − £2,191.12 − £3,915.98 = £29,159.10

• 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.

Band 6 nurses in England earn £39,959 to £48,117 in 2026/27. Take-home runs from about £2,429.93 to £2,866.11 a month once deductions are made.

NHS Band 6 pay after tax

Nursing roles at Band 6

The national job profiles have two Band 6 nursing profiles. One covers nurses who care for patients with complex needs, often in a specialist area or with their own community caseload. The other covers nurses who support and supervise registered and unregistered staff and may run the team when the manager is away.

NHS careers guidance gives school nurse as a Band 6 role, and says district nurses and health visitors typically start at this band.

Pay points and pension

There are 3 points in England's Band 6. The guidance links the entry point to under two years in the band, the middle point to two to five years, and the top point to five years or more. The jump to the top point is the largest step in the band.

All three England points share one NHS Pension tier, so the contribution rate, 9.8%, stays the same across the band. The NHS Band 6 page gives take-home at each point, including the Scottish scale.

Wales

NHS Wales pays slightly more than England at every Band 6 point in 2026/27. The Welsh points stay inside the same pension tier as England's, so the whole difference in pay feeds through to take-home after tax and National Insurance.

Questions

What does a Band 6 nurse take home a month?

From about £2,429.93 at the entry point to £2,866.11 at the top in 2026/27, on basic pay in England.

Does a Band 6 nurse pay higher rate tax?

Not in England on basic pay. The pension comes off first, and taxable pay stays in the basic rate band at every Band 6 point.

Which nurses start on Band 6?

NHS careers guidance says district nurses and health visitors typically start at Band 6, after further training beyond registration.