🏥 NHS Pay Deal Calculator 2026 – NHS Pay Calculator 26/27 (England)
A free NHS pay deal calculator for England that works out your Agenda for Change salary, pension deduction, tax, National Insurance and take-home pay in seconds — for both 2025/26 and the confirmed 2026/27 pay deal. Includes a part-time (WTE) calculator, NHS pay calculator with London weighting, and an NHS pay calculator with salary sacrifice.
Use this NHS take-home pay calculator if you already know your full-time equivalent (FTE) basic salary — handy for part-time staff, bank/locum shifts averaged out, or double-checking a payslip.
See exactly how much more you'll earn under the confirmed 2026/27 NHS pay deal (3.3% uplift) compared with your current 2025/26 salary.
NHS Pay Deal Calculator — Everything You Need to Know
Whether you've just had your pay band confirmed or you're checking what the latest pay award means for your payslip, working out your real NHS salary by hand is fiddly — between pay points, pension tiers, tax, and National Insurance, it's easy to misjudge what actually lands in your bank account. This free NHS pay deal calculator works out your Agenda for Change salary, pension deduction, tax, and take-home pay instantly, with no sign-up, email capture, or account required.
This tool doubles as an NHS pay calculator 26/27, letting you see your salary under the confirmed 2026/27 pay deal, and as an NHS pay deal calculator England — built specifically around the Agenda for Change pay scales that apply in England, with separate consideration for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland where their figures differ.
NHS Pay Calculator 2026: What's Changed
The NHS pay deal for 2026/27 was confirmed alongside the 2025/26 award, with a 3.3% uplift applied from 1 April 2026 on top of 2025/26 pay scales. If you're searching for an NHS pay calculator 2026 to see what that means in practice, the Pay Deal Calculator tab above lets you select "2026/27" and instantly view your uplifted salary, pension deduction, and take-home pay — or use the dedicated "25/26 vs 26/27 Pay Rise" tab to see the two years compared side by side.
Basic salary = Pay point value for your Band (full-time equivalent)
Actual basic pay = Basic salary × (Contracted hours ÷ Full-time hours)
Gross pay = Actual basic pay + HCAS (London weighting, if applicable)
Pensionable pay = Gross pay − Salary sacrifice amount (if any)
Take-home pay = Pensionable pay − Pension contribution − Tax − National Insurance
✅ Example: Band 5, Point 2, full-time, 2025/26, no London weighting
Basic salary = £33,487
Pension contribution (8.3% tier) ≈ £2,779
Estimated annual take-home ≈ £25,600 (≈ £2,135/month)
NHS Agenda for Change Pay Bands 2025/26 (England)
NHS salaries are set under the Agenda for Change (AfC) framework, which covers all NHS staff in England except doctors, dentists, and very senior managers. Every role sits in one of nine bands (Band 2 to Band 9, with Band 8 split into 8a–8d), and pay rises through several points within each band based on length of service. The table below shows the official 2025/26 figures published by NHS Employers, effective from 1 April 2025.
| Band | Entry Point | Top of Band | Typical Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | £24,465 | £24,465 | Healthcare assistant, domestic support, porter |
| Band 3 | £24,937 | £26,598 | Senior healthcare assistant, clerical officer |
| Band 4 | £27,485 | £30,162 | Assistant practitioner, therapy assistant |
| Band 5 | £31,049 | £37,796 | Newly qualified nurse, paramedic, physiotherapist |
| 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 | Clinical lead, senior manager |
| Band 8b | £64,455 | £74,896 | Consultant nurse, deputy director |
| Band 8c–8d | £76,965 | £105,337 | Director-level, senior consultant roles |
| Band 9 | £109,179 | £125,637 | Executive director-level posts |
These are full-time equivalent (FTE) figures based on a standard 37.5-hour week. Under the confirmed 2026/27 deal, every point above rises by 3.3% from 1 April 2026 — select "2026/27" in the Pay Deal Calculator tab to see your specific uplifted figure rather than working it out manually.
NHS Take-Home Pay Calculator: Part-Time Staff
A huge proportion of NHS staff work part-time, and an NHS take-home pay calculator part-time search is one of the most common ways people land here. Part-time pay is calculated as a simple pro-rata of the full-time equivalent (FTE) salary: a nurse on Band 5 working 22.5 hours a week (60% WTE, where WTE means "whole-time equivalent") earns 60% of the full-time Band 5 salary, with pension contributions, tax, and National Insurance then calculated on that pro-rated amount.
- Enter your hours as a percentage of full-time (e.g. 30 hours out of a 37.5-hour week = 80%) in either the Pay Deal Calculator or Take-Home Pay tab above.
- Pension tier is usually based on your FTE salary, not your actual part-time pay, since NHS Pension Scheme tiers are set by whole-time equivalent pensionable pay — this calculator follows that convention.
- Tax and National Insurance are calculated on your actual part-time earnings, which is why part-time staff often pay a noticeably lower effective tax rate than their FTE salary alone would suggest.
NHS Take-Home Pay Calculator 25/26 — Tax, NI & Pension Explained
If you're specifically looking for an NHS take-home pay calculator 25 26, the figures below explain exactly what's deducted from your gross NHS salary for the 2025/26 tax year before you see a penny land in your account.
NHS Pension Contribution Tiers (2025/26)
| Pensionable Pay (FTE) | Contribution Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £13,259 | 5.2% |
| £13,260 – £27,797 | 6.5% |
| £27,798 – £33,868 | 8.3% |
| £33,869 – £50,845 | 9.8% |
| £50,846 – £65,190 | 10.7% |
| £65,191 and above | 12.5% |
NHS pension contributions are deducted before tax is calculated, which means you get automatic tax relief — a 9.8% contribution effectively costs a basic-rate taxpayer closer to 7.8% in real take-home terms. After pension, standard 2025/26 Income Tax (20% basic rate, 40% higher rate above £50,270) and Class 1 employee National Insurance (8% between the primary threshold and upper earnings limit, 2% above) are applied to reach your final take-home figure.
NHS Pay Calculator With Salary Sacrifice
Many NHS staff use salary sacrifice schemes — for pension top-ups, the Cycle to Work scheme, or NHS Fleet Solutions car leasing — which reduce gross pay before tax and National Insurance are calculated, lowering your taxable income. Use the NHS pay calculator with salary sacrifice field in the Pay Deal Calculator tab to enter the percentage of your salary being sacrificed and see the resulting effect on your monthly take-home pay, alongside the tax and NI saving that salary sacrifice typically provides compared with paying for the same benefit out of net pay.
NHS Pay Calculator With London Weighting (HCAS)
An NHS pay calculator with London weighting needs to account for the High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS), which adds a percentage of basic salary on top for staff working in or around London, subject to annual minimum and maximum caps set by NHS Employers.
| Zone | Rate | 2025/26 Minimum | 2025/26 Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner London | 20% of basic salary | £5,414 | £8,172 |
| Outer London | 15% of basic salary | £4,551 | £5,735 |
| Fringe | 5% of basic salary | £1,258 | £2,122 |
HCAS is fully pensionable and taxable, meaning it increases both your pension contribution and your tax/NI liability, but also boosts your final pensionable salary for retirement purposes. Select your zone in the calculator above to see HCAS applied automatically, with the minimum and maximum caps respected.
Where This NHS Pay Calculator Gets Its Figures
The pay points used in this calculator are taken directly from the official Agenda for Change pay scales published by NHS Employers for 2025/26, with the confirmed 3.3% uplift applied for 2026/27 figures. Pension tiers match the NHS Business Services Authority's published 2025/26 contribution table, and HCAS figures match the rates set out in the NHS Pay Review Body's most recent report. If you're cross-checking against resources like nursing notes or NHS pay calculator guides elsewhere, the underlying band and point figures should match — this tool simply automates the maths so you don't have to do it by hand.
Common Mistakes When Using an NHS Pay Calculator
- Confusing FTE with actual pay: the headline Band 5 or Band 6 salary you see quoted is always the full-time equivalent — part-time staff are paid a pro-rata share, not the full figure.
- Forgetting HCAS caps: London weighting isn't a flat percentage with no limit — it's capped at a maximum amount each year, so very high earners in Inner London may receive less than a straight 20% calculation suggests.
- Assuming pension tier is based on part-time pay: your pension contribution rate is generally set by your full-time equivalent salary, not your actual part-time earnings, which can surprise staff expecting a lower tier.
- Ignoring the 2026/27 uplift when budgeting ahead: if you're planning finances around the new pay deal, make sure you're using 2026/27 figures (3.3% higher) rather than last year's 2025/26 scales.
- Not accounting for salary sacrifice correctly: salary sacrifice reduces your gross pay before tax and NI, so it should never simply be subtracted from your final take-home figure — it changes the whole calculation upstream.
Frequently Asked Questions — NHS Pay Deal Calculator
Q: What is the NHS pay deal calculator 26/27?
A: It's a tool that applies the confirmed 2026/27 NHS pay award (a 3.3% uplift from 1 April 2026) to your 2025/26 pay band and point, then works out your new salary, pension deduction, and take-home pay under the updated rates.
Q: How is NHS pay calculated under Agenda for Change?
A: Your basic salary is set by your pay band (2–9) and pay point within that band. Any London weighting (HCAS) is added, then pension contributions, tax, and National Insurance are deducted to reach your take-home pay.
Q: Does this NHS pay calculator work for part-time staff?
A: Yes — enter your contracted hours as a percentage of full-time (WTE) and the calculator pro-rates your basic salary and take-home pay, the same method NHS payroll uses.
Q: How does NHS salary sacrifice affect take-home pay?
A: Salary sacrifice reduces your gross pay before tax and National Insurance are calculated, lowering your taxable income. Enter a salary sacrifice percentage above to see the effect on your specific figures.
Q: What is NHS London Weighting and how is it calculated?
A: Also called HCAS, it adds 20% of basic salary in Inner London, 15% in Outer London, or 5% in the Fringe area, subject to annual minimum and maximum caps published by NHS Employers.
Use our free NHS pay deal calculator above to instantly work out your salary, pension deduction, and take-home pay for 2025/26 or 2026/27 — with full step-by-step working shown for every result. No account, sign-up, or credit check required.