United Kingdom Tax year 2026/27
Rules checked against GOV.UK · updated 18 September 2026MethodologyReport a mistake

£15 an hour after tax 2026/27

£15 an hour over a 37.5-hour week is £29,250 a year, which takes home £24,580.08 a year, or £2,048.34 a month, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. You pay £3,336.00 income tax and £1,333.92 National Insurance.You take home £2,048.34 a month at £15 an hour over a 37.5-hour week.

Adjust for your situation
ScotlandStudent loanPensionTax code
Open in the calculator
Year£24,580.08
Month£2,048.34
4 weeks£1,890.78
Week£472.69
Day£94.54
Hour£12.61
Tax code 1257L · no pension · no student loan · 37.5 hours a week · 2026/27 Same as 2025/26: the thresholds are frozen
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Where £15 an hour goes

Take-home 84.0%Income tax 11.4%National Insurance 4.6%
YearMonthWeek
Gross pay£29,250.00£2,437.50£562.50
Income tax−£3,336.00−£278.00−£64.15
National Insurance−£1,333.92−£111.16−£25.65
Take-home pay£24,580.08£2,048.34£472.69
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What a pay rise is worth at £15 an hourA pay rise at £15 an hour

Marginal rate28%Tax and NI on your next £1
A £1,000 rise adds£1,000 rise adds£719.96£60.00 a month
A 5% rise (£1,463) adds£1,053.10£87.76 a month
You’re £21,020 below the higher-rate threshold. The next £21,018 you earn keeps 72p in every pound — National Insurance changes first, at £4,189 a month. Pay rise calculator
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£15 an hour after tax in ScotlandIn Scotland

England, Wales, NI£24,580.08£2,048.34 a month
ScotlandTake-home a month£24,619.75£2,051.65£2,051.65 a month£39.67 more a year
Difference£39.67a year more in Scotland

At £29,250 the Scottish 19% starter band on the first £3,967.00 of taxable pay is the only difference, so you pay £39.67 less income tax than in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

With a student loan

PlanRepaid a yearTake-home a month
Plan 1£211.00£2,030.76
Plan 2£0.00£2,048.34
Plan 4£0.00£2,048.34
Plan 5£382.00£2,016.51
Postgraduate Loan£495.00£2,007.09

Paying into a pension by salary sacrifice

You sacrificeInto your pensionCost to take-homeTake-home a month
3%£877.50£631.70£1,995.70
5%£1,462.50£1,052.90£1,960.60
8%£2,340.00£1,684.80£1,907.94

Every £1 you sacrifice costs you 72p in take-home pay, because you save 20.0% tax and 8% NI.

Compared with othersBelow the UK median

The median full-time salary was £39,039 in April 2025 (ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings).

Cost to your employer£32,887.50 a year

Your salary plus £3,637.50 employer NI at 15% above £5,000, before any employer pension.

What £15 an hour took home in earlier years

2010/11£22,106.15
2015/16£22,977.20
2020/21£23,530.00
2026/27£24,580.08

The same £15 an hour now takes home more a year than in 2010/11. None of these figures is adjusted for inflation.

The sum, step by step

Worked calculationrules v2026.10 · yearly tax, monthly National Insurance
Gross salary£29,250.00
Personal Allowance (tax code 1257L)−£12,570.00Tax-free
Taxable pay£16,680.00
Basic rate 20% on £16,680.00£3,336.00Income tax
National Insurance 8% on £1,389.50 a month, £111.16 × 12£1,333.92Above £1,048
Take-home pay£24,580.08

Questions about £15 an hour

How much is £15 an hour after tax a month?

£2,048.34 a month in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £2,051.65 in Scotland, over a 37.5-hour week with tax code 1257L and no student loan or pension.

What is £15 an hour a year?

£29,250 a year before tax over a 37.5-hour week for every week of the year, which takes home £24,580.08 after income tax and National Insurance. Working fewer hours means a smaller yearly figure and, below the thresholds, less tax with it.

What is £15 an hour a week after tax?

A 37.5-hour week at £15 an hour is £562.50 before tax and £472.69 after income tax and National Insurance, spread evenly across the year. £12.61 of every hour reaches you.

Is £15 an hour a good wage in the UK?

That depends on where you live and what you spend, which is yours to judge. What we can tell you is that £15 an hour over a 37.5-hour week comes to £29,250 a year, which is below the UK median full-time salary of £39,039 for April 2025, and leaves about £2,048 a month in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — £2,048.34 to the penny.

Rules v2026.10 · checked against GOV.UK on 18 September 2026Two independent checks on every rate · 83 hand-verified cases, all passing, beside 19,925 generated · How we calculate · Changelog
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