Hourly Wage Calculator UK 2026/27
£15 an hour for 37.5 hours a week is £29,250 a year before tax and about £2,048.30 a month take-home in 2026/27. The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour from April 2026.
- Every rate links to its official source
- Checked against official examples on every build
- Rates reviewed 25 October 2026
From an hourly rate to a yearly salary
Multiply the hourly rate by the hours you work each week, then by 52. At 37.5 hours a week, £15 an hour is £562.50 a week and £29,250 a year. At 40 hours it is £31,200. The calculator uses 37.5 hours when you choose "per hour". Change the hours by typing your weekly pay instead, or use the pro rata calculator for part time hours.
Minimum wage rates from 1 April 2026
| Age | Per hour | 37.5 hours a week, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £12.71 | £24,784.50 |
| 18 to 20 | £10.85 | £21,157.50 |
| Under 18, and apprentices | £8.00 | £15,600.00 |
Overtime, holidays and what "per hour" leaves out
Holiday pay is already inside a salaried worker's pay. An hourly worker builds it up at 12.07% of hours worked (5.6 weeks of a 46.4-week working year). Overtime is taxed like any other pay: there is no special rate, but a big week can push a few pounds into a higher band in that pay period, which PAYE evens out over the year. Zero-hours and agency workers pay the same tax and National Insurance as everyone else. The difference is only how much work there is.
The words on this page, in plain English
- Take-home pay
- The money that reaches your bank account after tax, National Insurance and other deductions. Also called net pay.
- Gross pay
- Your pay before anything is taken off. The salary in a job advert is gross pay.
- Personal allowance
- The first £12,570 you earn each year is not taxed. Earn over £100,000 and this allowance shrinks.
- Tax code
- A short code on your payslip, such as 1257L, that tells your employer how much untaxed pay you get. The numbers times 10 is your allowance.
- PAYE
- "Pay As You Earn": your employer takes tax and National Insurance out of each payslip and sends it to HMRC for you.
- National Insurance (NI)
- A second tax on earnings that pays for the State Pension and some benefits. Most employees pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2%.
- Student loan plan
- Which repayment rules apply to your loan. It depends on when and where you studied. Plan 2 covers most English students who started after 2012. Plan 5 those who started after 2023.
- Salary sacrifice
- You give up part of your salary and your employer pays it into your pension instead. You pay less tax and less National Insurance on it.
- Scottish rates
- If you live in Scotland you pay income tax in six bands set by the Scottish Parliament instead of the three bands used in the rest of the UK.
Questions people ask
How much is £15 an hour per year?
£29,250 a year at 37.5 hours a week, or £31,200 at 40 hours, before tax.
What is the minimum wage in 2026?
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over. 18 to 20 year olds get £10.85. Under 18s and apprentices get £8.00.
Is overtime taxed more in the UK?
No. Overtime is added to your pay and taxed in the normal bands. Your payslip for a heavy month might show more tax because PAYE taxes each month on its own, but it balances out across the tax year.
How do I work out my hourly rate from a salary?
Divide the yearly salary by 52, then by your weekly hours. £30,000 at 37.5 hours is £15.38 an hour.
Sources
The calculator on this page reads its rates from the same file these links are listed in. If a rate changes, the source list changes with it.
- GOV.UK: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (checked 25 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates (checked 25 October 2026)
These figures are estimates to help you plan. Your payslip is the final word: PAYE works month by month, so a single payslip can differ a little, but the yearly totals match. See how we calculate and the accuracy tests.
More UK calculators
Take-home pay, Pro Rata Salary Calculator, Bonus Tax Calculator, National Insurance Calculator, Student Loan Repayment Calculator, Pension Salary Sacrifice Calculator, Scottish Income Tax Calculator, VAT