£23,000 after tax
Take-home pay
£20,081.40
On a salary of £23,000 (23k) you take home £20,081.40 a year in the 2026/27 tax year. That is £1,673.45 a month or £386.18 a week.
A salary of £23,000 leaves £20,081.40 a year, or £386.18 a week, after income tax and National Insurance. A postgraduate loan already takes a small repayment at this level, while every undergraduate plan still has a threshold above it. All of the taxable pay sits in the basic rate band.
| England, Wales and Northern Ireland | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| A year | £20,081.40 | £20,121.07 |
| A month | £1,673.45 | £1,676.76 |
| A week | £386.18 | £386.94 |
| A working day | £77.24 | £77.39 |
| An hour (37.5 hours a week) | £10.30 | £10.32 |
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Salary | £23,000 |
| Income tax | £2,084.20 |
| National Insurance | £834.40 |
| Take-home pay | £20,081.40 |
How this was worked out
- Salary: £23,000
- Personal allowance: £12,570. Payroll applies it as tax code 1257L, which gives £12,579 of tax-free pay.
- Taxable income: £23,000 − £12,579 = £10,421
- Basic rate: £10,421 × 20% = £2,084.20
- Income tax: £2,084.20
- National Insurance: (£23,000 − £12,570) × 8% = £834.40
- Take-home pay: £23,000 − £2,084.20 − £834.40 = £20,081.40
What £23,000 pays in tax
With the standard personal allowance of £12,570, the taxable part of £23,000 is £10,421. Income tax at 20% on that part is £2,084.20. Before any loan, each extra pound earned loses 28% to tax and National Insurance.
Employee National Insurance is £834.40, which is 8% of pay above £12,570. On a week of 37.5 hours the take-home comes to £10.30 an hour. Your employer also pays £2,700 in employer National Insurance, separate from your deductions.
Student loans on £23,000
The postgraduate loan takes 6% of pay above £21,000, so a postgraduate borrower on £23,000 repays £120 a year and keeps £19,961.40.
Undergraduate loans take nothing yet. Plan 5 is the nearest, with a threshold of £25,000, two thousand pounds above this salary. The Plan 1 threshold of £26,900 and the Plan 2 threshold of £29,385 are further off. The page at the Plan 5 threshold covers that point.
Scotland, a pension and a raise
A Scottish taxpayer keeps £20,121.07 on £23,000, £39.67 more than elsewhere. The difference comes from the starter band at 19%, which is fully used by this salary.
Salary sacrifice of five per cent brings take-home down to £19,253.40. Net pay and relief at source both leave £19,161.40, so salary sacrifice keeps £92 more.
A thousand pound raise adds £720 with no loan, taking the yearly total to £20,801.40. For a postgraduate borrower the loan would take a further share of the raise. The take-home pay calculator can combine a loan with a pension.
| Plan | Repayment a year | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £0 | £20,081.40 |
| Plan 2 | £0 | £20,081.40 |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £0 | £20,121.07 |
| Plan 5 | £0 | £20,081.40 |
| Postgraduate loan | £120 | £19,961.40 |
| Type of scheme | Take-home a year |
|---|---|
| Salary sacrifice | £19,253.40 |
| Net pay | £19,161.40 |
| Relief at source | £19,161.40 |
Try other figures in the take-home pay calculator.
Questions
How much is £23,000 a month after tax?
You keep £1,673.45 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £1,676.76 in Scotland. Both use the standard tax code, with no pension or loan.
Do I repay my postgraduate loan on £23,000?
Yes. The postgraduate loan takes £120 a year from £23,000, which is 6% of the pay above its £21,000 threshold.
How does £23,000 compare with the median?
It is £16,039 less than the median full-time salary in April 2025. The Office for National Statistics recorded that median as £39,039, so £23,000 is close to three fifths of it.