Police Scotland pay after tax 2026/27
- Tax year: 2026/27. Tax code: S1257L. Income tax nation: Scotland.
- Pension: Police Pension Scheme 2015, 13.7% of pensionable pay, taken before income tax. Student loan: none unless selected in the calculator.
- Full-time basic pay, for a full tax year. Money is rounded to the nearest penny.
This calculator shows what a Police Scotland officer keeps from each pay point in the 2026/27 tax year. It starts from the salary in the official pay circular, then takes off the police pension contribution, Scottish income tax and National Insurance. Each rank has its own page with a table for every point.
| Rank or grade | Starting salary | Top salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constable | £34,001 | £54,597 | £2,026.27 to £3,020.60 |
| Sergeant | £56,455 | £61,036 | £3,095 to £3,278.45 |
| Inspector | £67,491 | £74,853 | £3,536.94 to £3,831.75 |
| Chief Inspector | £76,087 | £80,989 | £3,881.17 to £4,077.47 |
| Superintendent | £89,569 | £105,632 | £4,415.33 to £5,023.92 |
| Chief Superintendent | £110,803 | £120,554 | £5,219.83 to £5,513.52 |
| Assistant Chief Constable | £164,043 | £174,216 | £6,724.18 to £7,087.66 |
| Deputy Chief Constable | £230,580 | £230,580 | £9,101.54 to £9,101.54 |
| Chief Constable | £281,522 | £281,522 | £10,921.70 to £10,921.70 |
Where the Scottish scales come from
Police pay in Scotland is agreed by the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland and published as numbered circulars on the Scottish Government website. One circular covers the federated ranks, constable to chief inspector. Two more cover the superintending ranks and the chief officers. The 2026/27 figures apply from 1 April 2026 and already include the inflation guarantee adjustment the board agreed for the year before.
Every salary used here is copied from those circulars, and each one is listed on the sources page with the date it was checked.
England and Wales
Officers in England and Wales are paid on a separate scale set by the Home Office. For 2026/27 the government announced a rise to every rank and pay point, with effect from 1 September 2026, and matching rises to London Weighting and the London and South East allowances. An official table of the new salary at each point had not been published when the figures here were last checked, so these pages cover Police Scotland only.
The England and Wales pension scheme also works differently. Its contribution rate depends on which of three pay tiers an officer falls in, while the Scottish scheme charges one rate to everyone.
How the police pension affects take-home
Officers who joined Police Scotland after April 2015 are enrolled in the Police Pension Scheme 2015, which the Scottish Public Pensions Agency runs. Members pay 13.7% of pensionable pay, whatever their rank or salary, so a constable and a chief superintendent lose the same share of basic pay to the pension.
The contribution comes off before income tax is worked out. Relief at the Scottish higher and advanced rates is worth more than at the lower rates, so each pound paid in costs a senior officer less in lost take-home than it costs a constable. National Insurance is still charged on the full salary.
What the figures assume
Each result is for a full-time officer paid for a whole tax year at one point, on the standard tax code, with Scottish income tax. Overtime, rest day working, allowances and any other income are left out, and so is a student loan. The methodology page explains the rounding and the order of the deductions. For a salary that is not on a police scale, the general take-home pay calculator uses the same tax rules.
Questions
Does this cover police officers in England and Wales?
No, the Home Office scale for England and Wales has its own pay points and a tiered pension. Only the Police Scotland scale for 2026/27 is shown here.
Why is Scottish income tax used for every rank?
The pages assume the officer lives in Scotland, which makes them a Scottish taxpayer. Someone who serves in Scotland but lives elsewhere in the UK would pay the rates for that nation instead.
Is the police pension taken before or after tax?
It comes off before tax. The contribution reduces the pay that income tax is charged on, but it does not reduce National Insurance.