Salary after tax · 2026/27
£21,000 after tax: take-home pay in 2026/27.
Per pay period
£21,000 a year is £1,553 a month.
National Insurance is worked out on monthly pay, as most payrolls do. Daily figures assume 260 working days.
| Per | Gross | Take-home |
|---|---|---|
| Year | £21,000.00 | £18,640.08 |
| Month | £1,750.00 | £1,553.34 |
| 4 weeks | £1,615.38 | £1,433.85 |
| Week | £403.85 | £358.46 |
| Day (5-day week) | £80.77 | £71.69 |
| Per | Gross | Take-home |
|---|---|---|
| Year | £21,000.00 | £18,679.75 |
| Month | £1,750.00 | £1,556.65 |
| 4 weeks | £1,615.38 | £1,436.90 |
| Week | £403.85 | £359.23 |
| Day (5-day week) | £80.77 | £71.85 |
Have a different tax code, a pension, a bonus or a student loan? Open the calculator with £21,000 already filled in and add your own deductions.
Calculate my take-homeWhere the money goes
Tax and National Insurance on £21,000.
Total deductions are 11.2% of gross pay in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 11% in Scotland. A Scottish taxpayer on £21,000 takes home £40 a year more, because the 19% starter rate saves more than the 21% intermediate rate costs at this salary.
| Per year | England, Wales, NI | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | £21,000.00 | £21,000.00 |
| Tax-free personal allowance | £12,570.00 | £12,570.00 |
| Income Tax | -£1,686.00 | -£1,646.33 |
| National Insurance | -£673.92 | -£673.92 |
| Take-home pay | £18,640.08 | £18,679.75 |
England, Wales and NI Income Tax bands
- Basic rate (20%) on £8,430£1,686.00
Scottish Income Tax bands
- Starter rate (19%) on £3,967£753.73
- Basic rate (20%) on £4,463£892.60
With common deductions
Monthly take-home with a pension or student loan.
Most employees pay into a workplace pension, and many repay a student loan. These change the monthly figure more than the tax year does.
| Deduction | England, Wales, NI | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| None | £1,553 | £1,557 |
| 5% workplace pensionAuto-enrolment minimum, on qualifying earnings | £1,504 | £1,507 |
| Plan 2 student loanEngland and Wales, courses from 2012 to 2023 | £1,553 | — |
| Plan 5 student loanEngland, courses from August 2023 | £1,553 | — |
| Plan 4 student loanScottish students (SAAS) | — | £1,557 |
| 5% pension and student loanPlan 2 in England and Wales, Plan 4 in Scotland | £1,504 | £1,507 |
In context
A pay rise, the hourly rate and the cost to your employer.
- Kept from a £1,000 rise
- £720
- £720 in Scotland. Your marginal rate here is 28% (28% in Scotland).
- Hourly equivalent
- £10.77
- Before tax, on 37.5 hours a week; £9.56 an hour after tax. Paid by the hour? Try the hourly to salary calculator.
- Cost to your employer
- £23,843
- Salary plus £2,400 employer NI (15% above £5,000) and £443 minimum 3% pension. Employing someone? See the employer cost calculator.
Compare
Salaries near £21,000.
- £18,000 after tax
- £19,000 after tax
- £20,000 after tax
- £22,000 after tax
- £23,000 after tax
- £24,000 after tax
- All salaries
Comparing Scotland with the rest of the UK across every band? See Scottish vs UK tax. Short of the monthly figure you want? The salary-needed table works backwards from take-home pay.
How these figures are worked out
Every figure on this page comes from the same engine as the take-home pay calculator, using 2026/27 rates: a £12,570 personal allowance (tapered above £100,000), the rest-of-UK or Scottish Income Tax bands, and employee Class 1 National Insurance at 8% and 2% on monthly pay. It assumes one job, the standard 1257L tax code and no taxable benefits. A payslip can differ because of payroll rounding, a non-standard tax code or pay that changes month to month.
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 — HM Revenue & Customs
- Income Tax in Scotland — HM Revenue & Customs
- Tax codes — HM Revenue & Customs
- Tax on your private pension: pension tax relief — HM Revenue & Customs
- Repaying your student loan: what you pay — Student Loans Company
£21k salary questions
How much is £21,000 a year after tax per month?
£21,000 a year is £1,553 a month after tax in England, Wales or Northern Ireland in 2026/27, and £1,557 a month in Scotland. That assumes the standard 1257L tax code, monthly pay, and no pension or student loan.
How much tax do I pay on £21,000?
In 2026/27 a £21,000 salary pays £1,686 Income Tax and £674 employee National Insurance in England, Wales or Northern Ireland: 11.2% of gross pay in total. In Scotland the Income Tax is £1,646, so a Scottish taxpayer takes home £40 a year more. National Insurance is the same across the UK.
How much of a pay rise above £21,000 would I keep?
Of a £1,000 rise from £21,000, you would keep about £720 in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £720 in Scotland, after Income Tax and National Insurance on the extra pay.
What is £21,000 a year as an hourly rate?
On a 37.5-hour week for 52 weeks, £21,000 is £10.77 an hour before tax and about £9.56 an hour after Income Tax and National Insurance (England, Wales and NI).
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