Take-home to salary · 2026/27 tax year
What salary is £1,000 a month after tax?
To take home £1,000 a month after Income Tax and National Insurance, you need a salary of about £12,000 a year in 2026/27. That is £1,000 a month before tax, and roughly £6.15 an hour on a 37.5-hour week.
Figures checked against GOV.UK on .
Salary needed
£12,000
per year before tax
Gross per month
£1,000
before tax
Take-home
£1,000
per month
Tax and NI
£0
per year
Salary needed for £1,000 a month in different situations
Pension examples assume salary sacrifice. Student loan figures use the Plan 2 threshold of £29,385.
| Situation | Salary needed | Per month before tax |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales or NI | £12,000 | £1,000 |
| Scotland | £12,000 | £1,000 |
| With a Plan 2 student loan | £12,000 | £1,000 |
| Paying 5% into a pension | £12,632 | £1,053 |
| Plan 2 loan and 5% pension | £12,632 | £1,053 |
If £1,000 is your pay before tax
Some people search for this when £1,000 a month is their gross pay. In that case your salary is £12,000 a year and you take home £1,000 a month after tax, or £12,000 a year.
Where the difference goes
Out of £12,000 you would pay £0 in Income Tax and £0 in National Insurance a year, so you keep 100% of it. All of the taxable part is in the 20% basic-rate band, so each extra pound of take-home costs about £1.39 of salary.
How that salary compares
The ONS put median full-time pay at about £39,863 a year in April 2025. A salary of £12,000 is 70% below it, and it works out at £230.77 a week in your pocket.
Hours at the minimum wage
At the £12.71 National Living Wage you would need to work about 18.2 hours a week to earn £12,000 a year.
Below the Personal Allowance
The salary you need is £570 below the £12,570 Personal Allowance, so all of it is free of Income Tax and National Insurance. You would reach that line at a take-home of about £1,048 a month. A pay rise of a few hundred pounds would cross it, and only the part above the line is taxed at 28p in the pound (20% tax and 8% NI). Raising your target to £1,100 a month needs £1,445 more salary a year, and that step crosses the Personal Allowance.
A Plan 2 loan makes no difference here
The salary you need stays under the £29,385 Plan 2 repayment threshold, so a Plan 2 student loan takes nothing and the figure is the same with or without one.
Guides and definitions
- High Income Child Benefit Charge: how it is worked out and cut (Guide)
- How to read your payslip: every line explained, with an example (Guide)
- National Insurance rates 2026/27: what you pay and how it works (Guide)
- 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.)
Other monthly take-home amounts
- £1,100 a month (needs about £13,445)
- £1,200 a month (needs about £15,112)
- £1,300 a month (needs about £16,779)
- £1,400 a month (needs about £18,445)
- £1,500 a month (needs about £20,112)
- £1,600 a month (needs about £21,779)
Common questions
What salary is £1,000 a month after tax in the UK?
About £12,000 a year in 2026/27, if you have no pension or student loan deductions. In Scotland you would need about £12,000.
How much is £1,000 a month after tax as a yearly amount?
£1,000 a month of take-home pay is £12,000 a year. To end up with that you need to earn about £12,000 before tax.
What hourly rate gives £1,000 a month after tax?
About £6.15 an hour on a 37.5-hour week, or £5.77 on 40 hours a week, before tax.
What salary gives £1,000 a month with a student loan?
With a Plan 2 student loan you would need about £12,000, because 9% of pay above £29,385 goes on repayments.
Sources and assumptions
- Salaries are rounded up to the nearest pound so the monthly take-home is at least £1,000.
- 2026/27 Income Tax and National Insurance, standard 1257L tax code, no benefits in kind.
- 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.