What these jobs actually take home in 2026/27
Published 2026-09-20, checked against current rates 2026-08-28 by Hadi. How we check figures Corrections log
Most "average salary" figures are a survey of whoever answered. These are not. Every job below has a pay scale somebody publishes and an employer is contractually bound to, so the gross number is a fact rather than an estimate — which means the net number can be one too.
All figures are 2026/27, England, on the standard 1257L code with no pension contribution and no student loan, so the columns are comparable. Each section says what happens once those are added back.
| Job | Scale starts | Take-home | Scale tops | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nurse | £32,073 | £26,612 | £56,515 | £43,336 |
| paramedic | £32,073 | £26,612 | £48,117 | £38,164 |
| midwife | £32,073 | £26,612 | £56,515 | £43,336 |
| physiotherapist | £32,073 | £26,612 | £56,515 | £43,336 |
| healthcare assistant | £25,272 | £21,715 | £27,476 | £23,302 |
| teacher | £34,069 | £28,049 | £52,835 | £41,202 |
Annual take-home after income tax and National Insurance. 2026/27 England rates, standard 1257L code, no pension and no student loan.
Your scale point, your tax code, your pension and your loan plan, on the same engine as every figure above.
Run your own salarynurse take-home pay 2026/27
Newly qualified nurses start at Band 5. Band 6 is a senior or specialist post and Band 7 a ward manager or advanced practitioner, so the top here is a career ceiling rather than a starting expectation.
- Band 5 entry
- £32,073
- Take-home
- £26,612
- £2,217.68 a month
- Band 7 top
- £56,515
- Take-home
- £43,336
- £3,611.34 a month
Climbing that scale is a £24,442 rise on paper and £16,724 in the bank, so 68% of it survives. Scale published by NHS Employers, Agenda for Change pay scales.
paramedic take-home pay 2026/27
Newly qualified paramedics start at Band 5 and move to Band 6 once they complete their consolidation period, which is usually two years.
- Band 5 entry
- £32,073
- Take-home
- £26,612
- £2,217.68 a month
- Band 6 top
- £48,117
- Take-home
- £38,164
- £3,180.32 a month
Climbing that scale is a £16,044 rise on paper and £11,552 in the bank, so 72% of it survives. Scale published by NHS Employers, Agenda for Change pay scales.
midwife take-home pay 2026/27
The same Agenda for Change ladder as nursing: Band 5 on qualifying, Band 6 as a specialist, Band 7 for a team lead.
- Band 5 entry
- £32,073
- Take-home
- £26,612
- £2,217.68 a month
- Band 7 top
- £56,515
- Take-home
- £43,336
- £3,611.34 a month
Climbing that scale is a £24,442 rise on paper and £16,724 in the bank, so 68% of it survives. Scale published by NHS Employers, Agenda for Change pay scales.
physiotherapist take-home pay 2026/27
Band 5 on qualifying, Band 6 for a specialist rotation, Band 7 for an advanced or highly specialist post.
- Band 5 entry
- £32,073
- Take-home
- £26,612
- £2,217.68 a month
- Band 7 top
- £56,515
- Take-home
- £43,336
- £3,611.34 a month
Climbing that scale is a £24,442 rise on paper and £16,724 in the bank, so 68% of it survives. Scale published by NHS Employers, Agenda for Change pay scales.
healthcare assistant take-home pay 2026/27
Band 2 for most HCA posts, Band 3 for senior HCAs and emergency care assistants. The Band 2 point sits close to the National Living Wage, so the tax picture is mostly National Insurance.
- Band 2 entry
- £25,272
- Take-home
- £21,715
- £1,809.62 a month
- Band 3 top
- £27,476
- Take-home
- £23,302
- £1,941.86 a month
Climbing that scale is a £2,204 rise on paper and £1,587 in the bank, so 72% of it survives. Scale published by NHS Employers, Agenda for Change pay scales.
teacher take-home pay 2026/27
M1 to M6 is the main range a classroom teacher climbs, then U1 to U3 after crossing the threshold. Figures are England excluding London and the Fringe, which run higher scales of their own.
- M1, first year
- £34,069
- Take-home
- £28,049
- £2,337.44 a month
- U3, upper range
- £52,835
- Take-home
- £41,202
- £3,433.48 a month
Climbing that scale is a £18,766 rise on paper and £13,152 in the bank, so 70% of it survives. Scale published by National Education Union pay scales, England.
What the table leaves out
The student loan. Almost everyone on these scales has one, and it is the single biggest thing missing above. A nurse starting on £32,073 with a Plan 2 loan takes home £26,370 rather than £26,612 — £242 a year, or £20.16 a month. Run yours on the student loan calculator.
The pension. The NHS and Teachers' schemes are both contributory and tiered by salary, so the deduction rises as you climb. It comes off before tax, which softens it — see how that works.
London. Every figure here is England excluding London and the Fringe. Both the NHS and teaching run higher scales inside them, and the supplement is not the flat percentage it looks like: London weighting explained.
Police and firefighters. Deliberately absent. Both publish real scales, but on 20 September 2026 the constable entry point was quoted as £31,335 by some sources and £28,551 by others, and the Police Federation's own pay-scales page returned a 404. A contested number on a page about take-home pay is worse than an absent one, so they go in when a pay circular can be read directly.
Sources
- NHS Employers, Agenda for Change pay scales 2026/27
- National Education Union pay scales, England
- HMRC, gov.uk and gov.scot, 2026/27
Every figure on this page is computed from those tables at build time, checked 28 August 2026. 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.
Related guides
What is a good salary in the UK in 2026?
Answered with the HMRC income distribution instead of vibes. Where each salary ranks, and what it leaves per month.
London weighting: what it is and how much you get
An allowance that is 20% of salary only in the middle of the range: a cash floor and ceiling flatten it at both ends. What the NHS pays, and what survives tax.
All 17 guides are listed on the guides index, and every calculator on the home page.