NHS Band 5 Take-Home Pay 2026/27

A 2026/27 Band 5 Agenda for Change salary runs from £32,073 at entry to £39,043 at the top of the band. This calculator applies the correct NHS pension tier, adds any London weighting (HCAS) with its floor and ceiling, and shows your true take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance — the parts generic salary calculators get wrong.

What does an NHS Band 5 salary take home in 2026/27?

Band 5 on the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay spine runs from £32,073 at entry to £39,043 at the top of the band. Typical roles include Newly qualified nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, paramedics. Your take-home depends on three NHS-specific things generic calculators miss: the tiered NHS pension, any High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) for London, and the fact that the pension is a net-pay arrangement (it cuts Income Tax but not National Insurance).

Worked example: Band 5 entry, England (national)

A Band 5 starter on £32,073 (2026/27 entry step) has all pay pensionable. The NHS pension is charged at the 8.3% tier — that is £2,662 a year, taken before Income Tax. Income Tax works out at £3,368, employee National Insurance at £1,560 (NI is charged on the full salary, as the NHS pension is a net-pay arrangement, not salary sacrifice). That leaves take-home pay of about £24,483 a year, or £2,040 a month.

Move to the top of Band 5 (£39,043) and take-home rises to about £28,570 a year — but note the NHS pension tier can step up on the way, so part of the gross rise is offset by a higher contribution rate.

Add Inner London weighting and the same entry-step nurse gains £6,415 of pensionable HCAS, lifting gross to £38,488 and take-home to about £28,213 a year. HCAS is pensionable, so it can also nudge you into a higher pension tier.

Why the NHS pension tier matters so much

The NHS Pension Scheme charges contributions in non-marginal tiers — your whole pensionable pay is charged at the single rate its total falls into, not band by band. A Band 5 entry salary sits in the 8.3% tier. Cross a tier boundary — through a pay step, a promotion, or London weighting — and the higher rate applies to all your pensionable pay, so a small rise can briefly cut your net pay. The calculator flags when you are within £300 of a boundary.

London weighting on Band 5

If your trust is in the London zones, HCAS is added to basic pay before pension, tax and NI. It is pensionable, so it can push you into a higher pension tier. Inner London is 20% (capped between £5,794 and £8,746), Outer 15% (£4,870–£6,137) and Fringe 5% (£1,346–£2,270). Select a zone in the calculator, or see the dedicated NHS London weighting calculator for the full floor/ceiling logic.

Working nights, weekends or bank holidays? Add Section 2 enhancements with the NHS unsocial hours calculator. To compare against a non-NHS salary, use the main take-home pay calculator.

Sources: NHS Employers — 2026/27 pay scales and the NHS Pension Scheme 2026/27 tier table. Figures are estimates; confirm with your trust's payroll.

Band 5 — Frequently Asked Questions

What is Band 5 take-home pay after the NHS pension in 2026/27?

A Band 5 starter on £32,073 takes home about £24,483 a year (£2,040 a month) at the national rate, after the 8.3% NHS pension tier, Income Tax of £3,368 and National Insurance of £1,560. The NHS pension is a net-pay arrangement, so it lowers your Income Tax but National Insurance is still charged on your full salary.

How much is Band 5 worth in Inner London?

Inner London weighting adds £6,415 of High Cost Area Supplement to a Band 5 entry salary, taking gross to £38,488 and take-home to roughly £28,213 a year. HCAS is pensionable and taxable, so part of it is absorbed by tax, NI and a possibly higher pension tier.

Which NHS pension tier does Band 5 fall into?

At the £32,073 entry step, a Band 5 salary sits in the 8.3% NHS pension contribution tier for 2026/27. Because the tiers are non-marginal, your whole pensionable pay is charged at that rate — and a pay rise or London weighting that crosses a tier boundary raises the rate on all of it, so watch the cliff-edge.

Is the NHS pension worth it on Band 5?

For almost everyone, yes. The NHS Pension Scheme is a defined-benefit (CARE) scheme with an employer contribution of 23.7% and guaranteed inflation-linked income in retirement — far more valuable than the headline contribution rate suggests. This calculator shows the take-home cost; the pension itself is not modelled as an investment.

Does this include unsocial hours or overtime?

This page models basic pay plus any London weighting. For nights, weekends and bank-holiday enhancements under Section 2, use the NHS unsocial hours calculator, which applies the +30% and +60% multipliers on top of your Band 5 hourly rate.