NHS Take Home Pay Calculator
How to enter your pay
Your pay band
Hours / contract
Other deductions
Your NHS take home pay will appear here
Select your Agenda for Change band, adjust FTE for part-time, then press Calculate.
NHS take home pay —
Based on NHS Employers AfC pay scales and HMRC rates for . Figures are estimates — NHS Employers is the authoritative source. Excludes HCAS, unsocial hours, overtime, and local supplements.
Why standard calculators get NHS pay wrong
Most salary calculators ask you to type in a pension percentage. The NHS pension does not work like that. Your contribution rate is set by NHS Employers and depends on how much you earn. It is a tiered system — and most calculators ignore it completely.
This calculator handles it properly. It reads your band, finds the correct tier, and applies the right rate without you having to look anything up.
There is one more thing most calculators miss. NHS pension is salary sacrifice. Your contribution is taken from your gross pay before income tax and National Insurance are worked out. That means you save tax and NI on top of the pension deduction. This calculator applies that correctly — which is why its results often differ from simpler tools.
How to use the NHS take home pay calculator
Select your band or enter your salary Choose your Agenda for Change band from the dropdown. The minimum and maximum salary for each band is shown. If you know your exact salary — because you are partway through band progression — switch to “Enter my salary” mode instead.
Set your FTE if you work part-time Full-time is 1.0. A 0.6 contract is 60% of the full-time salary. Slide the FTE control to your contract fraction. Your pension tier is then calculated on your actual earnings, not the full-time equivalent — which is how the scheme rules require it.
Add any other deductions Select your student loan plan if you have one. Enter your tax code if it differs from the standard 1257L. The results show your full breakdown — gross pay, NHS pension, income tax, National Insurance, and take home.
NHS Agenda for Change pay bands 2025/26
Salaries below reflect the 3.6% pay award backdated to 1 April 2025. Source: NHS Employers.
| Band | Minimum | Maximum | Example roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | £24,169 | £25,674 | Healthcare assistant, porter, receptionist |
| Band 3 | £24,625 | £26,288 | Clinical support worker, pharmacy assistant |
| Band 4 | £27,485 | £30,162 | Nursing associate, pharmacy technician |
| Band 5 | £31,049 | £37,796 | Nurse, midwife, paramedic, radiographer |
| Band 6 | £38,682 | £46,580 | Senior nurse, specialist practitioner |
| Band 7 | £47,810 | £54,710 | Ward manager, advanced practitioner |
| Band 8a | £55,690 | £62,682 | Consultant nurse, senior manager |
| Band 8b | £64,455 | £74,896 | Head of service |
| Band 8c | £76,965 | £88,682 | Director of service |
| Band 8d | £91,455 | £106,142 | Deputy director |
| Band 9 | £109,175 | £125,675 | Director |
These are gross figures before any deductions. Use the calculator above to see your take home for any band.
NHS pension contribution rates 2025/26
Your pension rate is not something you choose — it is set by your actual pensionable pay. The six tiers for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are:
| Pensionable pay | Your contribution rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £13,246 | 5.1% |
| £13,247 – £26,831 | 5.4% |
| £26,832 – £47,846 | 7.5% |
| £47,847 – £111,376 | 8.5% |
| £111,377 – £156,000 | 11.2% |
| Above £156,000 | 13.5% |
Source: NHSBSA pension contribution rates 2025/26.
Most Band 5 and Band 6 staff pay 7.5%. Your employer pays a further 23.7% of your pensionable pay into the scheme on your behalf — this does not appear on your payslip.
Because NHS pension is salary sacrifice, your contribution comes off your gross pay before tax and NI are calculated. On a Band 5 entry salary of £31,049, the 7.5% pension (£2,329) reduces your taxable income to £28,720. That saves you roughly £465 in income tax and £186 in NI — about £651 per year more take home than a standard pension arrangement. Our salary sacrifice and pension calculator shows this comparison in full.
Band 5 take home pay — worked example 2025/26
Band 5 covers nurses, midwives, paramedics, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. These figures use a 1257L tax code, no student loan, and full-time hours.
Band 5 entry — £31,049
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | £31,049 |
| NHS pension (7.5%) | −£2,329 |
| Income tax | −£3,230 |
| National Insurance | −£1,294 |
| Annual take home | £24,196 |
| Monthly take home | £2,016 |
Band 5 top — £37,796
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | £37,796 |
| NHS pension (7.5%) | −£2,835 |
| Income tax | −£4,478 |
| National Insurance | −£1,794 |
| Annual take home | £28,689 |
| Monthly take home | £2,391 |
For your own figure — with student loan, part-time hours, or a different tax code — use the NHS take home pay calculator at the top of this page.
Part-time NHS pay and pro-rata
Your gross pay is your full-time band salary multiplied by your FTE fraction. A 0.5 FTE Band 5 entry nurse earns £15,525 gross. At 0.8 FTE that rises to £24,839.
Your pension tier is based on your actual earnings — not the full-time equivalent. A 0.5 FTE Band 5 nurse sits in the 5.4% tier rather than the 7.5% tier. That is a meaningful saving on a smaller salary. The FTE slider in the calculator handles all of this automatically.
What about HCAS (London weighting)?
High Cost Area Supplements are paid to NHS staff who work in London and surrounding areas. The three zones for 2025/26 are:
- Inner London — 20% of basic pay, minimum £4,551, maximum £6,469
- Outer London — 15% of basic pay, minimum £3,839, maximum £4,771
- London Fringe — 5% of basic pay, minimum £1,346, maximum £2,270
HCAS is taxable and pensionable. The calculator does not include it automatically. If you receive HCAS, switch to “Enter my salary” mode and add your supplement to your basic salary before calculating.
More calculators for NHS and public sector staff
- UK Take Home Pay Calculator For any PAYE salary — covers all tax codes, salary sacrifice, and every student loan plan.
- Scottish Take Home Pay Calculator Uses the correct SRIT bands for NHS Scotland staff who pay income tax at Scottish rates.
- Salary Sacrifice & Pension Calculator See exactly how much your NHS pension saves you in tax and NI compared to a standard pension.
- Reverse Take Home Pay Calculator Enter your target net pay and work out the gross salary you need to achieve it.
About this calculator
This calculator is maintained by the team at Take Home Pay Calculators. NHS pension tiers, AfC pay scales, and HMRC figures are reviewed each April. Pay scales come from the NHS Employers pay circular 2025/26. Pension tiers are from the NHSBSA. Income tax and NI rates are from HMRC.
This tool covers employed NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts. It does not cover medical staff on separate pay scales, bank staff on variable hours, or self-employed contractors. Last updated July 2026.