Police Scotland sergeant pay 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.
Sergeants in Police Scotland are paid from £56,455 to £61,036 in 2026/27. That works out at about £3,095 to £3,278.45 a month once the pension, Scottish income tax and National Insurance are taken off.
| Pay point | Salary | Pension contribution | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £56,455 | £7,734.34 | £37,140.01 | £3,095 |
| 2 | £57,637 | £7,896.27 | £37,708.01 | £3,142.33 |
| 3 | £59,312 | £8,125.74 | £38,512.92 | £3,209.41 |
| 4 | £61,036 | £8,361.93 | £39,341.37 | £3,278.45 |
A short scale above the constable maximum
The sergeant scale has 4 points. Its first point is higher than the top constable point, so promotion brings a rise straight away even for a constable who had already reached point 11.
The steps inside the sergeant scale are all smaller than the jump on promotion.
How a sergeant's pay is taxed
Every sergeant point has part of its pay in the Scottish higher rate band, at a rate well above the basic rate paid in England on the same salary. Every point is also over the National Insurance upper earnings limit, so the pay above that limit attracts only the lower additional rate of National Insurance.
The effect is that a sergeant keeps a smaller share of each pay rise than a constable on a lower point. As an illustration, a rise of one hundred pounds leaves a little less than fifty pounds in take-home once the pension, tax and National Insurance are paid.
The pension on a sergeant's salary
The Scottish scheme charges the same rate at every rank, so the contribution for a sergeant is 13.7% of pensionable pay. The pension and take-home calculator shows how a pension deduction taken before tax changes net pay on any salary.
Questions
How much more does a sergeant take home than a top-point constable?
The first sergeant point pays more than constable point 11, but part of the rise is taxed at the Scottish higher rate. Compare the first row here with the last row on the constable table for the exact difference.
Does a sergeant pay the advanced rate of Scottish tax?
No, once the pension is taken off, taxable pay at every sergeant point stays below the advanced rate threshold in 2026/27.
What is a sergeant's take-home each month?
About £3,095 at the first point and £3,278.45 at the top, for a full-time officer on basic pay.