Editorial policy

How our calculators and guides are researched, checked, updated and corrected.

Last updated

Our aim

Every page on NHS Pay Calculator should help someone who works in the NHS understand their pay a little better, using numbers they can check for themselves. We would rather explain a rule clearly than cover every possible exception badly, and we say so when a situation needs a personal answer from payroll or NHS Pensions.

Sources we use

Calculators and guides are built from primary, official sources wherever possible:

  • NHS Employers: Agenda for Change pay scales, pay circulars and the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook
  • HMRC and GOV.UK: income tax and National Insurance rates and thresholds, student loan thresholds, and statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and sick pay
  • NHS Business Services Authority (NHS Pensions): pension contribution tiers, scheme rules and retirement options
  • BMA and NHS Employers guidance for resident doctors' pay
  • Bank of England and published lender information for the mortgage tools.

When a guide relies on a figure, it uses the official figure for the tax year shown on the page. We do not use other calculator websites as sources.

How a calculator is built and checked

  1. We write down the rule from the official source, including the edge cases, such as part weeks, pay protection or tier boundaries.
  2. We build the calculation and test it against worked examples from the source documents, where they exist, and against hand-worked examples.
  3. The calculator page explains what it assumes, so you can see when your situation is different.

How guides are written

Guides are written in plain English for NHS staff, not for payroll specialists. Each one explains the rule, works through realistic examples using current figures, and links to the matching calculator. Before a guide is published it is checked against the sources above. Guides show the date they were last updated, and where an author or reviewer is named, that person is responsible for the content.

Keeping things up to date

Most NHS pay and tax figures change each April, and pay awards are sometimes confirmed later in the year. When new figures are confirmed we update the calculators first, then review every guide that uses them. The current figures are for 2026/27.

Corrections

If you think something is wrong, please contact us and choose "Report an error". We check every report against the official source. When we confirm a mistake, we fix it promptly and update the page date.

Independence

The site is funded by advertising. Advertisers, lenders and other organisations have no influence over what we cover, how calculators work or what guides say. We do not accept payment to feature or rank any lender or product. Adverts are always kept separate from calculator results and guide content.

What we will not do

  • present estimates as guarantees
  • give personal financial, tax, pension or mortgage advice
  • suggest that we are part of, or approved by, the NHS.