London weighting: what it is and how much you get
Published 2026-09-18, checked against current rates 2026-09-18 by Hadi. How we check figures Corrections log
London weighting is extra pay added to a salary because the job is in or near London. There is no single national rate: each employer sets its own, and the term covers everything from a flat cash allowance to a percentage of salary. The published scale most people mean is the NHS one, called a high cost area supplement, which pays 20% of basic salary in inner London, 15% in outer London and 5% on the fringe, each with a cash minimum and maximum. Those floors and ceilings matter more than the percentage: outside the middle of each range the percentage is not what you get. Figures below apply from 1 April 2026 and were checked 2026-09-18.
A supplement is taxed like the rest of your salary, so a £5,794 allowance is not £5,794 in your account. Put your salary in with and without it to see the real difference.
See it after taxHow much is London weighting in the NHS?
| Zone | Rate | Minimum | Maximum | Rate applies between |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inner London | 20% | £5,794 | £8,746 | £28,970 to £43,730 |
| Outer London | 15% | £4,870 | £6,137 | £32,467 to £40,913 |
| Fringe | 5% | £1,346 | £2,270 | £26,920 to £45,400 |
The last column is the arithmetic consequence of the other three, and it is the part people are surprised by. Below the start of that range the cash minimum takes over, so you receive more than the headline percentage. Above the end of it the maximum takes over, so you receive less, and every further pound of salary adds nothing to the supplement at all. On inner London the 20% figure is therefore only literally true between £28,970 and £43,730.
What it is worth after tax
The supplement is ordinary pay for tax purposes, so income tax and National Insurance come off it like everything else. Inner London, 2026/27 England bands, no pension contribution and no student loan:
| Basic salary | Supplement | Effective rate | You keep | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £5,794 | 23.2% | £4,172 | £348 |
| £30,000 | £6,000 | 20.0% | £4,320 | £360 |
| £37,000 | £7,400 | 20.0% | £5,328 | £444 |
| £45,000 | £8,746 | 19.4% | £5,810 | £484 |
| £55,000 | £8,746 | 15.9% | £5,073 | £423 |
The effective rate column shows the floor and ceiling at work: it starts above 20% on the lowest salary here and falls away on the highest. Salaries are round illustrations, not pay points. Run your own figure through the take-home pay calculator twice, once with the supplement and once without, and the gap is your answer. If you are on an NHS band, the NHS band pages start from the band salary instead.
Things the supplement does and does not count for
- It is pensionable. The NHS terms treat high cost area supplements as pensionable pay, so contributions are taken from it and it counts towards the pension it builds.
- It is not part of basic pay for enhancements. The supplement is excluded when working out overtime, unsocial hours and on-call availability payments, which are calculated on basic salary. Sick pay is the exception.
- It still counts as income everywhere else. For the £100,000 personal allowance taper, the Child Benefit charge and student loan repayments, it is simply part of your pay.
- Which zone you are in follows the employer. It is set by the location of the post, not where you live, and the zone boundaries are defined by employer rather than by postcode rules you can look up yourself.
Outside the NHS
There is no statutory London weighting and no legal obligation on any employer to pay one. Teachers, the civil service, police and private employers all run their own arrangements, some as a percentage and some as a flat cash allowance, and a great many employers pay nothing extra and simply set higher salaries for London roles instead. That is why a job advert quoting a salary “plus London weighting” tells you less than it seems to: ask for the cash figure. To compare two offers properly, add the allowance to the salary and compare take-home, since a percentage allowance on a lower salary can lose to a flat allowance on a higher one. The salary comparison calculator does that side by side.
We publish the arithmetic, not advice on your contract. The zone your post sits in, and whether a supplement applies to you at all, is a question for your employer or your union rather than a web page, and the cash floors and ceilings are re-set with each pay award.
Common questions
What does London weighting mean?
London weighting is extra pay added to a salary because the job is in or near London, intended to offset the higher cost of living there. It is a contractual arrangement rather than a legal one, and the NHS version is formally called a high cost area supplement.
Is London weighting taxed?
Yes. It is ordinary earnings, so income tax and National Insurance are charged on it exactly as on the rest of your salary; there is no separate allowance or relief for it. In the NHS it is pensionable too, so employee pension contributions come out of it as well.
Who is entitled to London weighting?
Entitlement comes from your contract, not from law. In the NHS the supplement follows the location of your workplace rather than where you live, so two people doing the same job at different sites can be paid differently. Outside the NHS no employer is obliged to pay one at all.
How much is the London weighting allowance?
In the NHS from 1 April 2026, Inner London pays 20% of basic salary between £5,794 and £8,746 a year, Outer London 15% between £4,870 and £6,137, and the fringe zone 5% between £1,346 and £2,270. Those cash floors and ceilings are why the headline percentage is only literally true in the middle of each range.
Sources
- NHS Employers: pay scales and high cost area supplements from 1 April 2026
- NHS terms and conditions handbook, annex 9: high cost area supplements
Every figure on this page is computed from those tables at build time, checked 2026-09-18. If a number here ever disagrees with gov.uk, gov.uk is right and this is a bug worth telling us about. See our corrections policy.
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