Teacher pay in England · 2026/27 tax year

Headteacher and leadership pay after tax 2026/27

Leadership group pay runs from £53,586 to £148,829 a year outside London from 1 September 2026. At the minimum, after a Teachers' Pension contribution of £5,305 (9.9%), Income Tax of £7,142 and National Insurance of £3,082, you take home £38,056 a year, which is £3,171.37 a month. At the top of the range take-home is £6,736.92 a month.

Pay scales and pension tiers checked against the DfE, the STRB report and Teachers' Pensions on 25 September 2026.

Minimum salary

£53,586

outside London

Take-home per month

£3,171

at the minimum

Top of range per month

£6,737

on £148,829 a year

Teachers' Pension rate

9.9% to 12%

of your salary

Leadership and headteacher take-home pay outside London, 2026/27

Full-time pay in England outside the London area from 1 September 2026. Take-home is after the Teachers' Pension, Income Tax and National Insurance, with no student loan.

Point	Gross a year	Teachers' Pension	Income Tax	National Insurance	Take-home a year	Take-home a month
Leadership group minimum	£53,586	£5,305 (9.9%)	£7,142	£3,082	£38,056	£3,171.37
Leadership group maximum	£148,829	£17,859 (12%)	£45,139	£4,987	£80,843	£6,736.92

Leadership and headteacher pay in London and the fringe, 2026/27

Teachers in London are paid on separate, higher scales rather than getting a percentage on top. The fringe covers parts of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and West Sussex, and all of Surrey.

Point	Fringe gross	Fringe take-home a month	Outer London gross	Outer take-home a month	Inner London gross	Inner take-home a month
Leadership group minimum	£55,060	£3,257.45	£57,837	£3,371.59	£63,709	£3,624.58
Leadership group maximum	£150,301	£6,793.84	£153,042	£6,899.82	£158,863	£7,124.90

Headteacher pay by group, 2026/27

Headteacher group ranges from 1 September 2026. Take-home is for the rest of England, after the Teachers' Pension, Income Tax and National Insurance.

Group	Unit score	Rest of England range	Take-home a month at minimum	Take-home a month at maximum	Inner London range
Group 1	up to 1,000	£60,619 to £80,652	£3,491.45	£4,310.18	£70,754 to £90,686
Group 2	1,001 to 2,200	£63,688 to £86,796	£3,623.67	£4,571.51	£73,824 to £96,831
Group 3	2,201 to 3,500	£68,691 to £93,414	£3,839.22	£4,852.99	£78,820 to £103,450
Group 4	3,501 to 5,000	£73,827 to £100,536	£4,060.50	£5,155.91	£83,960 to £110,562
Group 5	5,001 to 7,500	£81,457 to £110,881	£4,344.42	£5,573.75	£91,594 to £120,916
Group 6	7,501 to 11,000	£87,664 to £122,305	£4,608.43	£5,930.23	£97,799 to £132,339
Group 7	11,001 to 17,000	£94,349 to £134,834	£4,892.76	£6,276.89	£104,485 to £144,864
Group 8	17,001 and over	£104,059 to £148,829	£5,305.76	£6,736.92	£114,189 to £158,863

Leadership and headteacher take-home pay with a student loan

Plan 2 takes 9% of pay over £29,385 a year and Plan 5 takes 9% over £25,000. Both are worked out on gross pay, so the Teachers' Pension does not reduce them.

Point	Plan 2 repayment a year	Plan 2 a month	Take-home a month with Plan 2	Take-home a month with Plan 5
Leadership group minimum	£2,178	£181.51	£2,989.87	£2,956.98
Leadership group maximum	£10,750	£895.83	£5,841.09	£5,808.20

Your Teachers' Pension tier

At the minimum of leadership and headteacher pay outside London you pay 9.9% (£5,305 a year), and at the top 12% (£17,859). The rate applies to all of your pay, not just the part above a tier line. Tiers are set from 1 April 2026 and use your actual salary rate, not the full-time equivalent, so part-time teachers are placed on what they earn.

Why the pension saves tax but not NI

Teachers' Pension contributions come off your gross pay before Income Tax, but HMRC charges National Insurance on pay before any pension contribution. At the leadership and headteacher minimum the £5,305 contribution cuts your Income Tax by £1,724, so it really costs you £3,581 a year. NI is still charged on the full £53,586.

How a headteacher's pay range is set

Each school is placed in one of eight headteacher groups by its size, using a unit score based on pupil numbers and key stages. Governors set the head's pay range within that group, and it should not normally go above the group maximum. Deputy and assistant heads are paid within the leadership range, with ranges set by the school.

The pay year starts in September

Teachers' pay is reviewed each year from 1 September, so the 3.5% award applies from 1 September 2026 and is backdated if your school pays it later. The 2026 pay document is due in mid-October, and a further 3% is planned from September 2027.

The £100,000 tax trap

At the top of the range outside London your pay after the pension is £130,970, over £100,000, so you lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 above it. The pension is taken before tax, which cuts the amount over the line and so the allowance you lose. Outside London, the top of headteacher group 6 and above reaches this level.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

These are England rates. Since 2018 the Welsh Government has set teachers' pay in Wales, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own teacher pay arrangements, so the scales there are different. Teachers in Scotland also pay Scottish Income Tax.

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.)

Add your own hours, tax code and student loan

Other teacher pay points

UPS3 teacher pay (£3,128 a month outside London)
Leading practitioner pay (£3,187 a month at the minimum)

Every teacher pay point compared · £54,000 after tax · Add your own hours, tax code and student loan

Common questions

How much does a headteacher earn after tax?

It depends on the school's size. Outside London a group 1 head on the minimum of £60,619 takes home £3,491.45 a month, while the group 8 maximum of £148,829 leaves £6,736.92 after pension, tax and NI.

What is the leadership pay range per month?

From £4,465.50 before tax, or £3,171.37 after, outside London, up to £12,402.42 before tax and £6,736.92 after at the top of the leadership range.

How much is leadership and headteacher pay in London?

Inner London runs from £63,709 to £158,863, which leaves £3,624.58 to £7,124.90 a month after pension, tax and NI. The outer London minimum is £57,837 and the fringe minimum £55,060.

How much Teachers' Pension do I pay as a headteacher?

Outside London you pay 9.9% of your salary at the minimum and 12% at the top, which is £5,305 to £17,859 a year. The rate applies to all of your pay and comes off before Income Tax.

How is a headteacher's pay range set?

The school is placed in one of eight headteacher groups by a unit score based on pupil numbers. Governors then set the head's pay range within that group, and it should not normally go above the group maximum.

Sources and assumptions

Full-time pay in England from 1 September 2026 after the 3.5% award, shown as a full year at that rate. Schools set their own pay policies, and academies may choose whether to follow the national scales.
Teachers' Pension contributions use the tier for your actual annual salary rate from 1 April 2026, charged on all of that pay, and come off before Income Tax but not National Insurance.
Income Tax and National Insurance use 2026/27 rates for England and the standard 1257L tax code. Student loans are left out unless a figure says otherwise.
TLR payments, SEN allowances and other extra pay are not included. Payroll works deductions out each month, so your payslip can differ by a few pounds.

These are estimates, not financial advice. Your payslip depends on your school's pay policy, your hours, tax code, pension tier and any allowances.