Teacher pay in England · 2026/27 tax year

M3 teacher salary after tax 2026/27

M3 pays £38,400 a year outside London from 1 September 2026. After a Teachers' Pension contribution of £3,418 (8.9%), Income Tax of £4,482 and National Insurance of £2,066, you take home £28,434 a year, which is £2,369.46 a month. In inner London M3 is £45,787, or £2,768.85 a month after deductions.

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

Salary outside London

£38,400

a year from September 2026

Take-home per month

£2,369

after pension, tax and NI

Inner London per month

£2,769

on £45,787 a year

Teachers' Pension rate

8.9%

of your salary

M3 take-home pay in each pay area, 2026/27

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

Pay area	Gross a year	Teachers' Pension	Income Tax	National Insurance	Take-home a year	Take-home a month
Rest of England	£38,400	£3,418 (8.9%)	£4,482	£2,066	£28,434	£2,369.46
London fringe	£39,979	£3,558 (8.9%)	£4,770	£2,193	£29,458	£2,454.83
Outer London	£43,403	£3,863 (8.9%)	£5,394	£2,467	£31,679	£2,639.96
Inner London	£45,787	£4,075 (8.9%)	£5,828	£2,657	£33,226	£2,768.85

M3 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.

Pay area	Plan 2 repayment a year	Plan 2 a month	Take-home a month with Plan 2	Take-home a month with Plan 5
Rest of England	£811	£67.61	£2,301.85	£2,268.96
London fringe	£953	£79.46	£2,375.38	£2,342.49
Outer London	£1,262	£105.13	£2,534.82	£2,501.93
Inner London	£1,476	£123.02	£2,645.84	£2,612.95

Your Teachers' Pension tier

On M3 outside London your salary of £38,400 falls in the 8.9% tier (£36,199 to £48,727.99), so you pay £3,418 a year. 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. On M3 the £3,418 contribution cuts your Income Tax by £684, so it really costs you £2,734 a year. NI is still charged on the full £38,400.

Moving up from M3 to M4

The next point, M4, pays £40,941 outside London. That is £2,541 more before tax, or £137.38 a month after it. Under the STPCD your school must consider each year whether to move you up once you have completed a year since your last pay review. Schools that keep performance-related pay can hold progression back only for poor performance; other schools only if you are in capability proceedings.

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. Before that, M3 was £37,101 outside London, so if you stay on M3 all year you earn about £37,859 across the 2026/27 tax year: five months at the old rate and seven at the new one.

Schools can pay differently

Only the minimum and maximum of the main and upper pay ranges are fixed. M3 is an advisory point, so a school's pay policy can set its own steps, and academies may choose whether to follow the national scales. Check your contract or your school's pay policy.

TLR and SEN payments on top

A teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payment adds to your salary if you take on a lasting extra responsibility. From September 2026 TLR2 is £3,651 to £8,913 a year and TLR1 £10,531 to £17,819. A SEN allowance of £2,885 to £5,690 is paid for some special needs roles. Neither is included in the figures above.

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

M1 teacher pay (£2,169 a month outside London)
M2 teacher pay (£2,278 a month outside London)
M4 teacher pay (£2,507 a month outside London)
M5 teacher pay (£2,647 a month outside London)

Every teacher pay point compared · £38,000 after tax · Add your own hours, tax code and student loan

Common questions

How much is M3 after tax?

£28,434 a year outside London in 2026/27. M3 pays £38,400, and you lose £3,418 to the Teachers' Pension, £4,482 to Income Tax and £2,066 to National Insurance.

What is M3 per month?

£3,200 a month before tax outside London and £2,369.46 after the Teachers' Pension, tax and NI. In inner London it is £3,815.58 before tax and £2,768.85 after, with no student loan.

How much is M3 in London?

£45,787 in inner London, £43,403 in outer London and £39,979 in the fringe from September 2026. In inner London that leaves £2,768.85 a month after the Teachers' Pension, Income Tax and National Insurance.

How much Teachers' Pension do I pay on M3?

8.9% of your salary outside London, which is £3,418 a year. Because it comes off before Income Tax, it really costs £2,734 after tax relief.

How do I move from M3 to M4?

Your school must consider moving you up each year once you have completed a year since your last pay review. It can only hold you back for poor performance or capability proceedings, depending on its pay policy. M4 adds £137.38 a month after tax outside London.

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.