Money Worked Out

Band 8a nurse pay after tax 2026/27

Estimated take-home pay a month

£3,352.83

£40,233.94 a year from gross pay of £57,528.00

Your details

Full time is 37.5 hours a week

Your NHS pay and deductions
Pay or deductionA yearA month
Basic pay£57,528.00£4,794.00
Nights and weekends£0.00£0.00
London weighting (HCAS)£0.00£0.00
Extra hours at plain time£0.00£0.00
Overtime£0.00£0.00
Gross pay£57,528.00£4,794.00
Pensionable pay£57,528.00£4,794.00
NHS Pension (10.7%)£6,155.50£512.96
Income tax£7,977.40£664.78
National Insurance£3,161.16£263.43
Student loans£0.00£0.00
Take-home pay£40,233.94£3,352.83

How this was worked out
  1. Basic pay: £57,528.00 × 37.5 ÷ 37.5 = £57,528.00 a year. Standard week.
  2. Hourly rate shown: £29.42. We use the exact rate: full-time salary × 7 ÷ 365 ÷ 37.5. Weekly pay rule. The handbook sets weekly pay as 7/365 of salary but does not fix an hourly divisor for overtime. Your employer may differ by a few pence an hour.
  3. Nights and weekends: exact hourly rate × (0 hours × 30% + 0 hours × 60%) × 365 ÷ 7 = £0.00 a year. HCAS is excluded from the base. Unsocial hours rates.
  4. London weighting (high cost area supplement, HCAS): £0.00 a year. The full-time percentage is limited by the area's minimum and maximum, then multiplied by 37.5 ÷ 37.5. Part-time rule.
  5. Extra hours at plain time: exact hourly rate × hours up to the standard week × 365 ÷ 7 = £0.00 a year. Extra hours rule.
  6. Hours above the standard week: £0.00 a year at plain time, check your contract. Pay for these hours is a local arrangement for this band. Overtime eligibility.
  7. Gross pay: the five rounded annual components total £57,528.00. We round each annual component once to pennies, half up, combining both unsocial rates and both overtime rates before rounding. Monthly amounts are annual amounts divided by 12, rounded half up.
  8. Pensionable pay: basic pay + regular unsocial pay + HCAS + plain-time extra hours up to the standard week = £57,528.00. Hours above the standard week are excluded, even when paid at plain time. Pensionable extra hours; Regular unsocial pay; Pensionable HCAS. Check your payroll's treatment of regular payments.
  9. NHS Pension tier 5: 10.7% of actual pensionable pay = £6,155.50 a year. This is taken before income tax but does not reduce National Insurance or student loan pay. NHS Pension tiers.
  10. This is a whole-year tax estimate using the standard tax code, rest of UK income tax and the student loans you selected. A monthly payslip can differ.
  11. Salary: £57,528
  12. Pension (net pay): £57,528 × 10.7% = £6,155.50, taken off before tax
  13. Personal allowance: £12,570. Payroll applies it as tax code 1257L, which gives £12,579 of tax-free pay.
  14. Taxable income: £51,372.50 − £12,579 = £38,793.50
  15. Basic rate: £37,700 × 20% = £7,540
  16. Higher rate: £1,093.50 × 40% = £437.40
  17. Income tax: £7,977.40
  18. National Insurance: (£50,270 − £12,570) × 8% = £3,016, plus (£57,528 − £50,270) × 2% = £145.16, total £3,161.16
  19. Take-home pay: £57,528 − £7,977.40 − £3,161.16 − £6,155.50 = £40,233.94

A Band 8a nurse in England earns £57,528 to £64,750 in 2026/27. Monthly take-home after the NHS Pension, income tax and National Insurance is about £3,352.83 to £3,663.25.

NHS Band 8a pay after tax

Senior nursing roles at Band 8a

NHS careers guidance gives modern matron and nurse consultant in mental health nursing as Band 8a examples. The national job profile for Band 8a nursing describes clinical and operational leadership for a service or department, making sure nursing care is safe and based on evidence, and taking a lead in reviewing services and writing policies.

Higher rate at every point

Every Band 8a point in England has part of its pay taxed at the higher rate, even after the pension comes off. Each pay rise within the band is therefore taxed at the higher rate and the lower rate of National Insurance, and the pension contribution of 10.7% is taken from it as well.

The pension relief is worth more to a higher rate taxpayer, so the pension costs a Band 8a nurse less in take-home than the headline rate suggests. The NHS pension calculator shows the cost after tax relief.

Wales and the full table

The NHS Wales Band 8a scale is slightly higher than England's at all 3 points in 2026/27, with the same pension tier throughout. The NHS Band 8a page has the full take-home table for England and Scotland.

Questions

What nursing jobs are Band 8a?

NHS careers guidance lists modern matron and nurse consultant in mental health nursing as examples. Grading of any particular post is decided by the employer.

How much does a Band 8a nurse take home?

From about £3,352.83 to £3,663.25 a month in England in 2026/27, on basic pay.

Is Band 8a taxed at the higher rate?

Yes, on part of the pay at every point in England, after the NHS Pension has been deducted.