How we calculate

The method and sources behind every calculator on the site, in plain English.

Last updated 12 October 2026

Our approach

Every calculator follows the published rules for the year shown on it, using official figures. We test each one against worked examples, show the steps on the calculator page, and say what is left out. Results are estimates to help you plan, not advice.

Sources we use

NHS pay: Agenda for Change pay scales and the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook from NHS Employers, currently for 2026/27
Tax, National Insurance and student loans: HMRC and GOV.UK rates and thresholds for 2026/27
NHS Pensions: contribution tiers and scheme rules from the NHS Business Services Authority
Teachers: the School Teachers' Review Body report and published 2026 pay award, and Teachers' Pensions contribution tiers
Property and capital taxes: GOV.UK rates for Stamp Duty Land Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax and dividends
Inflation: the Consumer Prices Index (series D7BT) from the Office for National Statistics
University entry: the UCAS Tariff tables

When official figures change, usually each April, we update the calculators first and then the guides. If you think something is wrong, please tell us.

Pay

NHS Take-Home Pay Calculator

We start from the full-time salary for your band and pay point, then scale it to your weekly hours.
Your NHS Pension contribution comes off first. It is taken before income tax, so it lowers your tax bill.
Income tax and National Insurance are then worked out on the standard tax code, followed by any student loan repayment.

NHS Band Salary Comparison

Pick the band you are on now and the one you are thinking about.
Both are run through the same take-home calculation, so the gap you see is the gap after deductions.

NHS Unsocial Hours and Overtime Calculator

Your hourly rate is your annual salary divided by 52.143 weeks of 37.5 hours.
Saturdays and weekday nights (8pm to 6am) earn one enhancement. Sundays and public holidays earn a higher one. The rates depend on your band.
Overtime for bands 2 to 7 is paid at time and a half, or double time on public holidays.

NHS London Weighting (HCAS) Calculator

The supplement is a percentage of your basic salary: 20% in Inner London, 15% in Outer London and 5% in the fringe.
Each zone has a minimum and maximum yearly amount, so low earners get a floor and high earners a cap.
Part-time staff get the full-time amount scaled to their hours.

NHS Back Pay Calculator

Back pay is the gap between your old salary and the new one, for every month the award should already have been paid.
We take your current pay point and work back to last year's figure using the headline award, so the two always line up.
The arrears are taxed in the month they are paid, alongside your normal salary, so the after-tax figure is an estimate.

NHS Pay Rise Calculator

We compare last year's salary with this year's for the same band and pay point.
Both are run through the full take-home calculation, so you see the rise after tax, National Insurance and pension.

NHS Pay Progression Calculator

Most bands have an entry, middle and top pay point. Band 5 moves after 2 years and then 2 more. Bands 6 to 9 move after 2 years and then 3 more.
Band 3 has one step after 2 years and Band 4 one step after 3 years. Band 2 has a single rate.
Enter the date you started on your current pay point and we add the time needed for the next step.

NHS Hourly Rate Calculator

NHS hourly rates are worked out by dividing the yearly salary by 52.143 weeks of 37.5 hours.
Overtime for bands 2 to 7 is time and a half, and double time on public holidays.

NHS Part-Time Pay Calculator

Part-time pay is the full-time salary multiplied by your hours divided by 37.5.
Leave and public holidays are given in hours in the same proportion.
Your pension tier is based on what you actually earn, so part-time staff often pay a lower rate.

NHS Shift Pay Calculator

Each minute of the shift is checked against the Agenda for Change unsocial hours periods: weekday nights from 8pm to 6am, all of Saturday, and all of Sunday or a public holiday.
If a shift runs past midnight, the hours after midnight are paid at the rate for the next day. A Friday night that runs into Saturday earns the Saturday rate after 12am.
If more than half of a shift falls between 8pm and 6am, the whole weekday part of the shift is paid at the night rate.
Any unpaid break is spread evenly across the shift.

NHS Overtime Take-Home Calculator

Overtime is added on top of your yearly salary, so it is taxed at your highest rate of tax.
We compare your take-home pay with and without the overtime. The difference is what you keep.
Overtime for full-time staff is not pensionable, so no pension contribution is taken from it.

NHS Bank Job and Second Job Tax Calculator

Your main job uses your personal allowance, so a second job is usually taxed on code BR: 20% on every pound.
National Insurance is worked out separately for each job, so a small second job may pay no NI at all.
We also work out the tax you really owe on your combined income, so you can see if the BR code takes too much or too little.

Resident Doctor Pay Calculator

Basic pay is set by grade under the 2016 contract and covers a 40-hour week.
Less than full time trainees are paid in proportion to their hours.
Tax, National Insurance, student loan and NHS Pension are worked out the same way as for other NHS staff.

Teacher Take-Home Pay Calculator (England)

Choose your pay area and point on the main or upper pay range. Salaries are the September 2026 figures for maintained schools.
Part-time pay is the full-time salary multiplied by your working pattern as a percentage.
Teachers' Pension contributions are taken before tax, at the tier for your actual salary, from 7.4% to 12%.
Income tax, National Insurance and student loan repayments use 2026/27 rates.

NHS Scotland Pay Calculator 2026/27

Choose your band and pay point on the NHS Scotland Agenda for Change scales from 1 April 2026.
Full time in NHS Scotland is 36 hours a week from April 2026. Part-time pay is the full-time salary multiplied by your hours divided by 36.
NHS Pension Scheme (Scotland) contributions come off before tax, at one of nine tiers from 5.7% to 12.7% based on your actual pay.
Income tax uses the six Scottish bands for 2026/27, from the 19% starter rate to the 48% top rate. National Insurance and student loans use UK-wide rules.

Salary Calculator for Care Workers, Nurses and NHS Staff

Step 1: choose your pay period, your usual hours on a working day and your usual days off. Every day in the period is filled in for you.
Then change any day to worked or off in the timesheet, and type the exact hours, such as a 14.5-hour double shift. Gross pay for each day is hours × hourly rate.
Step 2: enter your hourly rate and how often you are paid. Step 3: add your tax code, pension and any student loan.
Income tax uses your tax code on the whole period as one payslip, including BR, D0, D1, 0T, NT, K codes and Scottish (S) and Welsh (C) codes. National Insurance and student loan use the matching payslip thresholds.
NHS Pension uses the 2026/27 member tiers and comes off before tax. Workplace pensions such as NEST take 5% of pay between £6,240 and £50,270 a year, paid as 4% from you plus 1% tax relief.

Leave and family

NHS Annual Leave Calculator

Full-time staff get 27 days a year, rising to 29 days after five years of NHS service and 33 days after ten.
On top of that come 8 public holidays.
Leave is held in hours. A full day counts as 7.5 hours, and part-time staff get a share in line with their weekly hours.

NHS Maternity Pay Calculator

With 12 months of continuous NHS service by the 11th week before your due date, you qualify for NHS occupational maternity pay.
That gives 8 weeks on full pay, then 18 weeks on half pay plus Statutory Maternity Pay, then 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay alone.
Without that service, you may still get Statutory Maternity Pay for 39 weeks if you earn above the lower earnings limit.

NHS Pregnancy Calculator: Due Date and Key Dates

Pregnancy is counted from the first day of your last period. Your due date is 40 weeks (280 days) after it, for a 28-day cycle.
For a longer or shorter cycle, the due date moves by the difference from 28 days. From a conception date we add 266 days. From an IVF transfer we add 261 days for a day 5 embryo or 263 days for a day 3 embryo.
Appointment and scan dates use the usual NHS timings. Maternity leave dates use the expected week of childbirth, which runs Sunday to Saturday and includes your due date.

NHS Sick Pay Calculator

Entitlement grows with service, from one month on full pay and two on half pay in your first year, up to six months of each after five years.
It works on a rolling 12 months: sickness already taken in the last year is taken off what you have left.

NHS Paternity Pay Calculator

With 12 months of continuous NHS service by the week the baby is due, you get two weeks on full pay.
Without that, you may get Statutory Paternity Pay for two weeks if you have 26 weeks' service and earn above the lower earnings limit.

NHS Adoption Pay Calculator

Statutory Adoption Pay is paid for 39 weeks: 90% of your usual pay for 6 weeks, then a flat weekly rate or 90% if lower.
Most NHS employers also pay occupational adoption pay on the same basis as NHS maternity pay, for staff with a year's service.

NHS Shared Parental Pay Calculator

Up to 39 weeks of statutory pay can be shared. Weeks the birth parent has already had as maternity pay come off the total.
Each parent is paid at the statutory weekly rate, or 90% of their own earnings if that is lower.
NHS staff who qualify for occupational maternity pay can get occupational shared parental pay at the same level instead.

Neonatal Care Pay Calculator

If your baby is in neonatal care for 7 days or more in their first 28 days, you can take one extra week of leave for each week of care, up to 12 weeks.
This leave is on top of maternity, paternity or shared parental leave.
With 26 weeks' service and earnings above the lower limit, you get statutory neonatal care pay for those weeks.

Pension

NHS Pension Contribution Calculator

Your tier is set by your actual pensionable pay, so part-time staff are placed on what they really earn, not the full-time rate.
Contributions are taken before income tax. The tax you would otherwise have paid on that money is your tax relief.
The real cost is your contribution minus that tax relief.

NHS Pension at Retirement Estimate

Each year in the 2015 scheme you build up 1/54 of that year's pensionable pay.
While you are still a member, the pension you have built up grows by inflation plus 1.5% each year.
We show the result in today's money, so you can compare it with what things cost now.

NHS Pension Lump Sum Calculator

For every £1 of yearly pension you give up, you get £12 as a tax-free lump sum.
In the 1995 section you automatically get a lump sum of three times your yearly pension, and can swap more pension for cash on top.
The total lump sum is limited to about a quarter of the value of your benefits, which works out at roughly 4.3 times your yearly pension.

NHS Pension Age Calculator

State Pension age is 66 for most people born before April 1960, rises a month at a time for people born between April 1960 and March 1961, and is 67 for those born after.
In the NHS 2015 scheme, your normal pension age is your State Pension age, or 65 if that is later.
The older 1995 section has a normal pension age of 60, and the 2008 section 65.

Money and home

NHS Student Loan Repayment Calculator

Repayments are a fixed percentage of what you earn above your plan's threshold: 9% for undergraduate plans and 6% for postgraduate loans.
If you have both an undergraduate and a postgraduate loan, both are taken at the same time.
Repayments are based on gross pay before your pension contribution is deducted.

Mortgage Calculator for NHS Staff

Repayments use the standard formula lenders use: the loan is paid off in equal monthly amounts over the term, with interest charged on the balance each month.
Overpayments go straight off the balance, which cuts the interest you pay and can shorten the term.
Stamp duty is worked out slice by slice using the England and Northern Ireland bands, with first-time buyer relief on homes up to £500,000.
The borrowing estimate multiplies your income by 4 to 5 times, which is where most lenders start before their own checks.

NHS Mileage Allowance Calculator

Business miles are paid at a higher rate for the first 3,500 miles in the year and a lower rate after that.
Enter the miles you have already claimed this year so we know which rate applies to this claim.
The rates are reviewed during the year, so you can change them to match your employer's current rates.

NHS Redundancy Pay Calculator

You get one month's pay for each full year of continuous NHS service, up to a maximum of 24 months.
A month's pay is the better of one twelfth of your yearly salary or 4.35 weeks' pay.
Salaries are counted as at least £23,000 and at most £80,000 a year, scaled down for part-time hours.

NHS Salary Sacrifice Calculator

Salary sacrifice swaps part of your salary for a benefit, so you pay tax, National Insurance and pension on a lower salary.
We work out your take-home pay with and without the sacrifice. The difference is what it really costs you.

How Much Can I Borrow? Mortgage Calculator

Most lenders start by multiplying your yearly income, or your combined income if buying together, by about 4 to 4.5.
Adding your deposit gives a rough maximum price.
The monthly cost is a repayment mortgage over 25 years at the interest rate you choose, and stamp duty uses England and Northern Ireland rates.

Mortgage Overpayment Calculator

Your normal monthly payment is worked out from the balance, rate and years left.
Extra payments go straight off the balance, so less interest builds up each month and the mortgage ends sooner.
A one-off payment is taken off the balance now, and your monthly payment stays the same.

Compare Two Mortgages

Each deal's monthly payment is worked out from the loan, rate and full mortgage term.
The true cost over the deal adds the fees, every payment in the deal period and the balance still owed at the end.
Including the balance means a deal that pays off more of the loan gets the credit for it.

Stamp Duty Calculator

Stamp duty is charged in slices. Each portion of the price is taxed at the rate for its band.
First-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% on the part up to £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief does not apply.
Additional homes pay 5 percentage points more in every band, and buyers who are not UK resident pay a further 2 points.

Tax and savings

Tax Code Checker

The number in most codes is your tax-free allowance divided by ten, so 1257L means £12,570 a year.
The letter after the number says how the allowance is set, for example L for the standard allowance or M for Marriage Allowance.
Codes like BR, D0 and 0T, and codes starting with K, follow special rules that the checker explains.
W1, M1 or X at the end means an emergency basis, where each payslip is taxed on its own.

Salary After Tax Table

Pick a salary range and a step. The table works out take-home pay for each salary in that range.
Pension contributions are treated as coming off before tax, which is how most workplace schemes work.
Income tax, National Insurance and student loan repayments use 2026/27 rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

UK Inflation Calculator

The calculator uses the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) published by the Office for National Statistics.
The value in the later year is the amount multiplied by the later CPI and divided by the earlier CPI.
The average yearly rate spreads the total change evenly over the years between the two dates.

Personal Loan Calculator

The APR is turned into a monthly rate, then the standard loan formula works out an equal monthly payment.
Total interest is everything you repay minus the amount borrowed.

Dividend Tax Calculator 2026/27

Your other income uses up your Personal Allowance and tax bands first, and dividends sit on top.
The first £500 of dividends is taxed at 0%, but still uses up band space.
Dividends in the basic rate band are taxed at 10.75%, in the higher rate band at 35.75%, and above that at 39.35%.

Capital Gains Tax Calculator 2026/27

The gain is the sale price minus what you paid and the costs of buying, selling and improving the asset.
The first £3,000 of gains in the tax year is tax free, after losses are taken off.
Gains are added on top of your income: the part within your basic rate band is taxed at 18%, and the rest at 24%.
Business Asset Disposal Relief, where it applies, taxes qualifying gains at 18%.

Inheritance Tax Calculator

Debts and funeral costs come off the estate first. Anything left to a spouse, civil partner or charity is exempt.
The first £325,000 is covered by the nil-rate band, plus up to £175,000 more when a home passes to direct descendants.
Unused bands from a late spouse can be added. The residence band shrinks by £1 for every £2 the estate is over £2 million.
Tax is 40% on the rest, or 36% if at least 10% of the baseline amount goes to charity.

NHS Staff Savings and Interest Calculator

Interest is added every month at the rate equal to the AER you enter.
Monthly deposits are added at the end of each month.
The result shows your balance, how much you paid in and how much came from interest.

Training and careers

NMC Revalidation Hours Tracker

Nurses, midwives and nursing associates revalidate with the NMC every three years.
You need 450 practice hours for each registration, so 900 if you are both a nurse and a midwife.
You also need 35 hours of CPD (20 of them participatory), 5 pieces of practice-related feedback, 5 written reflective accounts and a reflective discussion.

NHS Learning Support Fund Calculator

Eligible students get a £5,000 training grant for each year of their course, which does not need to be paid back.
Students with a child under 15 can get £2,000 a year in parental support.
Courses that are hard to recruit to, such as mental health and learning disability nursing, get an extra £1,000 a year.
Part-time students get a share in line with their study pattern.

UCAS Tariff Points Calculator

Each qualification and grade has a set number of UCAS Tariff points.
Add each qualification you have or expect, and the total updates as you go.

NHS Nursing Student Grade Calculator

Add each module with its credits, mark and year of study.
Marks are averaged by credits within each year, then combined using how much each year counts.
The average is matched to the usual UK boundaries: 70% first, 60% 2:1, 50% 2:2 and 40% third.

Everyday tools

NHS Everyday Calculator

Tap the keys or type your sum with your keyboard. The answer updates as you go.
Brackets are worked out first, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction.
The % key divides by 100, so 15% × 240 gives 36.

NHS Healthcare Scientific Calculator

Type or tap an expression, for example log(1000) or 2^10. The answer updates as you type.
Trig functions use degrees by default. Switch to radians if your formula needs them.
Ans reuses the last answer, so you can build up a calculation in steps.

NHS Audit Percentage Calculator

Enter how many results met the standard and how many did not. Not applicable results are left out.
Compliance is compliant ÷ (compliant + not compliant) × 100.
Set your own green and amber cut-offs to match your audit, and see how many more compliant results you need for green.

NHS Age and Date Calculator

Age: enter a date of birth to see the exact age today, or on any other date.
Days between dates: see calendar days, weekdays and weeks between two dates.
Add or take away days: find the date 28, 90 or any number of days before or after another date.

NHS Medical Unit Converter

Choose what you are converting, enter a value and pick the units. Every other unit in the group is shown too.
Weight, length, volume and temperature use exact standard factors.
Lab values use the standard factors: glucose 18.016, cholesterol 38.67 and creatinine 88.42. HbA1c uses the IFCC-DCCT equation.

NHS International Staff Currency Converter

Pick a currency and an amount. We use the latest daily mid-market rate against the pound.
Switch direction to convert another currency into pounds.
The table shows common amounts, so you can see what your pay or a transfer is worth at home.

NHS BMI and Calorie Calculator

BMI is your weight in kg divided by your height in metres squared, matched to the NHS adult ranges.
Lower thresholds (23 and 27.5) can be used for groups with a higher risk at a lower BMI, as NHS guidance recommends.
Calories use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for resting energy, multiplied by your activity level.

NHS Shift and Working Hours Calculator

Enter the start and finish time of each shift and any unpaid break.
A finish time earlier than the start counts as a night shift that runs past midnight.
The total is compared with your contracted hours to show any extra or missing hours.

What our calculators do not do

They do not see your payslip, tax record or pension record, so they cannot account for everything that is personal to you.
They do not give financial, tax, pension, mortgage or legal advice. See our disclaimer.
Figures you enter stay in your browser. They are not sent to us. See our privacy policy.