UK take-home pay · 2026/27 tax year
£48,000 after tax in 2026/27
On a £48,000 salary you take home £38,080 a year after Income Tax and National Insurance, which is £3,173 a month or £732 a week. You pay £7,086 in Income Tax and £2,834 in National Insurance, so you keep 79.3% 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
£38,080
per year
Per month
£3,173
after tax and NI
Income Tax
£7,086
per year
National Insurance
£2,834
per year
£48k take-home pay by year, month, pay period and hour
| Period | Gross pay | Income Tax | National Insurance | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | £48,000 | £7,086 | £2,834.40 | £38,079.60 |
| Month | £4,000 | £590.50 | £236.20 | £3,173.30 |
| 4 weeks | £3,692.31 | £545.08 | £218.03 | £2,929.20 |
| 2 weeks | £1,846.15 | £272.54 | £109.02 | £1,464.60 |
| Week | £923.08 | £136.27 | £54.51 | £732.30 |
| Day | £184.62 | £27.25 | £10.90 | £146.46 |
| Hour | £24.62 | £3.63 | £1.45 | £19.53 |
How tax and National Insurance are worked out on £48,000
- The first £12,570 is your Personal Allowance, so it is tax-free.
- £35,430 is taxed at 20% (basic rate), which is £7,086.
- National Insurance is 8% of the £35,430 you earn between £12,570 and £50,270: £2,834.40.
- £48,000 minus £7,086 tax and £2,834.40 NI leaves £38,079.60 a year.
Which tax band you are in
All of your taxable pay falls in the 20% basic-rate band. You are £2,270 below the point where 40% tax starts. If a pay rise would take you over it, paying more into a pension through salary sacrifice keeps the extra in the basic-rate band and saves National Insurance too.
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 £6,450 at £48,000. So employing you costs at least £54,450 a year before any workplace pension contribution. Small employers may be able to offset some of this with the Employment Allowance.
£48,000 after tax in Scotland
Scottish taxpayers on £48,000 take home £1,056.05 less a year, or £88 a month. The gap comes from Scottish Income Tax: £4,338 of your pay falls in the 42% higher-rate band, which starts at £43,663 in Scotland rather than £50,271. Your National Insurance of £2,834.40 is the same wherever you live in the UK.
| England, Wales and NI | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax | £7,086 | £8,142 |
| National Insurance | £2,834 | £2,834 |
| Take-home per year | £38,080 | £37,024 |
| Take-home per month | £3,173 | £3,085 |
Student loan repayments on £48,000
| 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% | £1,899 | £158.25 | £36,181 |
| Plan 2 (England or Wales between September 2012 and July 2023) | £29,385 at 9% | £1,675 | £139.61 | £36,404 |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 at 9% | £1,278 | £106.54 | £36,801 |
| Plan 5 (England from August 2023) | £25,000 at 9% | £2,070 | £172.50 | £36,010 |
| Postgraduate Loan (Master's or Doctoral loan) | £21,000 at 6% | £1,620 | £135 | £36,460 |
Pension contributions on £48,000
| You pay in | Into pension per year | Take-home per year | Per month | Cost to take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | £1,440 | £37,043 | £3,087 | £1,037 |
| 5% | £2,400 | £36,352 | £3,029 | £1,728 |
| 8% | £3,840 | £35,315 | £2,943 | £2,765 |
| 10% | £4,800 | £34,624 | £2,885 | £3,456 |
What a pay rise on £48k is worth
| Rise | New salary | New take-home | Extra per year | Extra per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | £49,440 | £39,116 | £1,037 | £86.40 |
| 5% | £50,400 | £39,789 | £1,710 | £142.48 |
| 10% | £52,800 | £41,181 | £3,102 | £258.48 |
How £48,000 compares with the UK average
A £48,000 salary is £8,100 more 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
- £43,000 after tax £34,480 a year
- £46,000 after tax £36,640 a year
- £47,000 after tax £37,360 a year
- £49,000 after tax £38,800 a year
- £50,000 after tax £39,520 a year
- £53,000 after tax £41,297 a year
- £58,000 after tax £44,197 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 £48k after tax
How much is £48k a month after tax?
A £48,000 salary gives you £3,173.30 a month after Income Tax and National Insurance in 2026/27, before any pension or student loan deductions. Before tax, that is £4,000 a month.
How much tax do I pay on £48,000?
You pay £7,086 in Income Tax and £2,834.40 in National Insurance a year, £9,920.40 in total. That is an effective rate of 20.7% of your salary.
£48k a year is how much an hour?
£24.62 an hour before tax if you work 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, or £23.08 on a 40-hour week. After tax and National Insurance it is £19.53 an hour, which is £732.30 a week.
How much is £48,000 after tax in Scotland?
In Scotland you would take home £37,024 a year, or £3,085.30 a month. Scottish Income Tax on £48,000 is £8,142.05, compared with £7,086 in the rest of the UK.
How much student loan do I repay on £48,000?
On £48,000 you repay £1,675.35 a year on Plan 2 (£139.61 a month): 9% of everything you earn over £29,385. Plan 1 would take £1,899 and Plan 5 £2,070, because their thresholds are lower.
Will a pay rise put me in the 40% tax band?
Only the part of your salary above £50,270 is taxed at 40%. At £48,000 you have £2,270 of headroom, and a bigger rise would only lose extra tax on the amount over the line, never on your whole salary.
How much more would I take home on £49,000?
On £49,000 you would take home £38,800 a year, £720 more than on £48,000. 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.