NHS pay · England · 2026/27 · Updated 2 November 2026

NHS Band 3 salary after tax

Band 3 pays £25,760 to £27,476 a year in England in 2026/27. After income tax, National Insurance and the NHS Pension, a full-time Band 3 takes home £1,727.27 to £1,822.80 a month.

Entry pay a year£25,760

Take-home a month at entry£1,727.27

NHS Pension rate at entry6.5%

Employer adds a year£6,105

Take-home at each pay point

Full time (37.5 hours a week), outside London, with the NHS Pension and no student loan:

Pay point	Yearly pay	Pension rate	Pension a month	Tax a month	NI a month	Take-home a month
Entry	£25,760	6.5%	£139.53	£191.93	£87.93	£1,727.27
After 2 years	£27,476	6.5%	£148.83	£218.67	£99.37	£1,822.80

How it's worked out at entry

Basic pay: £25,760 a year.
NHS Pension: 6.5% of £25,760 = £1,674.40, taken before tax.
Taxable pay: £25,760 − £1,674.40 − £12,570 tax-free allowance = £11,515.60.
Income tax: £11,515.60 × 20% = £2,303.12.
National Insurance: worked out on the full £25,760, because the pension doesn't reduce NI = £1,055.20.
Take-home: £20,727.28 a year, or £1,727.27 a month.

Band 3 in London

The High Cost Area Supplement is added for work bases in and around London. Yearly pay including HCAS, with full-time take-home a month underneath:

Pay point	Inner London	Outer London	London fringe
Entry	£31,554 £2,011.94 a month	£30,630 £1,961.61 a month	£27,106 £1,802.20 a month
After 2 years	£33,270 £2,105.41 a month	£32,346 £2,055.08 a month	£28,850 £1,899.28 a month

HCAS is 20% of basic pay in inner London (between £5,794 and £8,746), 15% in outer London (£4,870 to £6,137) and 5% in the fringe (£1,346 to £2,270). It counts towards your NHS Pension.

Part-time Band 3

At the entry pay point, outside London. Pay is pro rata to a 37.5-hour week, and your pension rate is set by your actual pay:

Hours a week	Yearly pay	Pension rate	Take-home a month
15 hours	£10,304.00	5.2%	£814.02
22.5 hours	£15,456.00	6.5%	£1,153.68
30 hours	£20,608.00	6.5%	£1,440.48
37.5 hours	£25,760.00	6.5%	£1,727.27

Worth knowing

You move from entry to the top pay point after 2 years in the band, as long as you meet the expected standards.
Your employer pays another 23.7% of your pensionable pay into the NHS Pension, on top of your salary. At the top of Band 3, that's £6,512 a year.
These are the rates for England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own NHS pay, and HCAS only applies in and around London.

Add your own hours, London zone, extra pay or student loan.

Open the NHS calculator

Other NHS bands

NHS pay calculator · How NHS Pension contributions work

Sources: NHS Employers pay scales 2026/27, NHS Pension Scheme member contributions, GOV.UK rates and thresholds 2026/27.