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

NHS Band 8a salary after tax

Band 8a pays £57,528 to £64,750 a year in England in 2026/27. After income tax, National Insurance and the NHS Pension, a full-time Band 8a takes home £3,352.53 to £3,662.95 a month.

Entry pay a year£57,528

Take-home a month at entry£3,352.53

NHS Pension rate at entry10.7%

Employer adds a year£13,634

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	£57,528	10.7%	£512.96	£665.08	£263.43	£3,352.53
After 2 years	£60,417	10.7%	£538.72	£751.08	£268.25	£3,476.71
After 5 years	£64,750	10.7%	£577.35	£880.06	£275.47	£3,662.95

How it's worked out at entry

Basic pay: £57,528 a year.
NHS Pension: 10.7% of £57,528 = £6,155.50, taken before tax.
Taxable pay: £57,528 − £6,155.50 − £12,570 tax-free allowance = £38,802.50.
Income tax: £37,700.00 × 20% = £7,540.00, plus £1,102.50 × 40% = £441.00 = £7,981.00.
National Insurance: worked out on the full £57,528, because the pension doesn't reduce NI = £3,161.16.
Take-home: £40,230.34 a year, or £3,352.53 a month.

Band 8a 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	£66,274 £3,728.46 a month	£63,665 £3,616.32 a month	£59,798 £3,450.10 a month
After 2 years	£69,163 £3,790.39 a month	£66,554 £3,740.50 a month	£62,687 £3,574.28 a month
After 5 years	£73,496 £3,972.74 a month	£70,887 £3,862.94 a month	£67,020 £3,760.53 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 8a

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	£23,011.20	6.5%	£1,574.26
22.5 hours	£34,516.80	8.3%	£2,173.32
30 hours	£46,022.40	9.8%	£2,753.96
37.5 hours	£57,528.00	10.7%	£3,352.53

Worth knowing

You move from entry to the middle pay point after 2 years, and to the top after 5 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 8a, that's £15,346 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.