UK take-home pay · 2026/27 tax year
£18,000 after tax in 2026/27
On a £18,000 salary you take home £16,480 a year after Income Tax and National Insurance, which is £1,373 a month or £317 a week. You pay £1,086 in Income Tax and £434 in National Insurance, so you keep 91.6% of what you earn. The figures use 2026/27 rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland is covered further down.
Figures checked against GOV.UK on .
Take-home pay
£16,480
per year
Per month
£1,373
after tax and NI
Income Tax
£1,086
per year
National Insurance
£434
per year
£18k take-home pay by year, month, pay period and hour
| Period | Gross pay | Income Tax | National Insurance | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | £18,000 | £1,086 | £434.40 | £16,479.60 |
| Month | £1,500 | £90.50 | £36.20 | £1,373.30 |
| 4 weeks | £1,384.62 | £83.54 | £33.42 | £1,267.66 |
| 2 weeks | £692.31 | £41.77 | £16.71 | £633.83 |
| Week | £346.15 | £20.88 | £8.35 | £316.92 |
| Day | £69.23 | £4.18 | £1.67 | £63.38 |
| Hour | £9.23 | £0.56 | £0.22 | £8.45 |
How tax and National Insurance are worked out on £18,000
- The first £12,570 is your Personal Allowance, so it is tax-free.
- £5,430 is taxed at 20% (basic rate), which is £1,086.
- National Insurance is 8% of the £5,430 you earn between £12,570 and £50,270: £434.40.
- £18,000 minus £1,086 tax and £434.40 NI leaves £16,479.60 a year.
Which tax band you are in
All of your taxable pay falls in the 20% basic-rate band. Higher-rate tax only starts at £50,270, so a pay rise of up to £32,270 is still taxed at 20%.
What a pay rise is worth
Out of the next £1,000 you earn, you would keep £720 after tax and National Insurance.
What you cost your employer
On top of your salary, your employer pays 15% National Insurance on earnings above £5,000 a year, which is £1,950 at £18,000. So employing you costs at least £19,950 a year before any workplace pension contribution. Small employers may be able to offset some of this with the Employment Allowance.
£18,000 after tax in Scotland
Scottish taxpayers on £18,000 take home £39.67 more a year, because the first £3,967 of taxable pay is charged at the 19% starter rate. Your National Insurance of £434.40 is the same wherever you live in the UK.
| England, Wales and NI | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax | £1,086 | £1,046 |
| National Insurance | £434 | £434 |
| Take-home per year | £16,480 | £16,519 |
| Take-home per month | £1,373 | £1,377 |
Student loan repayments on £18,000
| Plan | Threshold | Per year | Per month | Take-home after repayment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 (England or Wales before September 2012, or Northern Ireland) | £26,900 at 9% | £0 | £0 | £16,480 |
| Plan 2 (England or Wales between September 2012 and July 2023) | £29,385 at 9% | £0 | £0 | £16,480 |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 at 9% | £0 | £0 | £16,480 |
| Plan 5 (England from August 2023) | £25,000 at 9% | £0 | £0 | £16,480 |
| Postgraduate Loan (Master's or Doctoral loan) | £21,000 at 6% | £0 | £0 | £16,480 |
Pension contributions on £18,000
| You pay in | Into pension per year | Take-home per year | Per month | Cost to take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | £540 | £16,091 | £1,341 | £389 |
| 5% | £900 | £15,832 | £1,319 | £648 |
| 8% | £1,440 | £15,443 | £1,287 | £1,037 |
| 10% | £1,800 | £15,184 | £1,265 | £1,296 |
What a pay rise on £18k is worth
| Rise | New salary | New take-home | Extra per year | Extra per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | £18,540 | £16,868 | £389 | £32.40 |
| 5% | £18,900 | £17,128 | £648 | £54 |
| 10% | £19,800 | £17,776 | £1,296 | £108 |
How £18,000 compares with the UK average
A £18,000 salary is £21,900 less than the typical full-time wage in the UK. The Office for National Statistics measured median full-time pay at £766.60 a week in April 2025, which is roughly £39,900 over a year.
Nearby salaries after tax
- £16,000 after tax £15,040 a year
- £17,000 after tax £15,760 a year
- £19,000 after tax £17,200 a year
- £20,000 after tax £17,920 a year
- £23,000 after tax £20,080 a year
- £28,000 after tax £23,680 a year
Full salary after tax table · Calculate with your own pension and tax code
Guides and definitions
- High Income Child Benefit Charge: how it is worked out and cut
- How to read your payslip: every line explained, with an example
- National Insurance rates 2026/27: what you pay and how it works
- Emergency tax code: An emergency tax code, marked W1, M1 or X, taxes each payday on its own, as if you were paid that amount every period of the year.
- Marginal tax rate: Your marginal tax rate is the share of your next pound or dollar of income that goes in tax and deductions.
- P60: A P60 is the yearly summary of your pay and tax from one employer, due by 31 May if you work there on 5 April.
- Personal Allowance: The Personal Allowance is the income you can earn each UK tax year before Income Tax starts: £12,570 for 2026/27.
- Tax code: A UK tax code tells your employer or pension provider how much tax-free pay to give you; 1257L, meaning £12,570, is the most common.
Questions about £18k after tax
How much is £18k a month after tax?
A £18,000 salary gives you £1,373.30 a month after Income Tax and National Insurance in 2026/27, before any pension or student loan deductions. Before tax, that is £1,500 a month.
How much tax do I pay on £18,000?
You pay £1,086 in Income Tax and £434.40 in National Insurance a year, £1,520.40 in total. That is an effective rate of 8.4% of your salary.
£18k a year is how much an hour?
£9.23 an hour before tax if you work 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, or £8.65 on a 40-hour week. After tax and National Insurance it is £8.45 an hour, which is £316.92 a week.
How much is £18,000 after tax in Scotland?
In Scotland you would take home £16,519 a year, or £1,376.61 a month. Scottish Income Tax on £18,000 is £1,046.33, compared with £1,086 in the rest of the UK.
How much student loan do I repay on £18,000?
Nothing on Plan 1, 2 or 5 at £18,000, because it is below all of their thresholds. A Postgraduate Loan would take £0 a year (6% over £21,000).
How much more would I take home on £19,000?
On £19,000 you would take home £17,200 a year, £720 more than on £18,000. That is £60 extra a month.
Sources and assumptions
- Employee in England, Wales or Northern Ireland on the standard 1257L tax code, unless the Scotland section says otherwise.
- No student loan, pension contribution, benefits in kind or other deductions in the headline figures.
- Hourly figures assume 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks; daily figures assume 260 working days a year.
- Pension examples assume salary sacrifice, so contributions come off before tax and National Insurance.
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances
- Scottish Income Tax
- National Insurance: how much you pay
- Repaying your student loan: what you pay
- ONS: Employee earnings in the UK 2025
These are estimates. Your payslip can differ if your tax code, pension scheme or benefits are different.