Plan NHS Agenda for Change pay bands, step points, HCAS, pension, tax, National Insurance, and take-home pay.
Agenda for Change is the pay system covering most NHS staff outside medical and dental roles. The band is set by the job, and within a band you move up step points with service, so two people in the same band can sit on different salaries. Where you work can add a high cost area supplement on top, and the NHS pension contribution is charged at a tier that follows from pensionable pay.
On £35,000 a year with a standard 2026/27 tax code, no pension, no student loan, the figures work out like this. Open a calculator to put your own numbers in.
| Tax/source year | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Region | England/Wales/Northern Ireland |
| Tax code basis | 1257L where the page uses PAYE defaults |
| Pension basis | No pension deduction unless this example says otherwise |
| Student loan basis | No student loan unless selected in this example |
| What is not decided here | PayBreakdown does not decide payroll correctness, lender approval, benefit entitlement or employer compliance, and does not give regulated financial, mortgage, debt, tax, payroll or legal advice. |
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The figures on this page are worked from agenda for change, using the values below. Open the calculator if your example salary differs.
This estimate is worked out on £35,000 annual gross. Change any of those and the take-home figure moves; pension method and student loan plan usually move it most. A payslip can differ from any calculator because payroll works pay period by pay period, so a tax-code change, a bonus, arrears or a refund can land in one month and not the next. See how each deduction is worked out.
No. It is an estimate worked from published HMRC and GOV.UK figures for the current tax year, using the assumptions shown on this page. It cannot see your tax code history, benefits in kind or employer payroll rules, so check important decisions against your payslip, official guidance or a qualified adviser.
Yes. Open the linked calculator to change the salary, pension, tax code, region or student loan plan and the figures update as you type.
Last updated 2026-08-27. Checked by Sean Elsmore. Rates last checked against GOV.UK on 2026-08-07. Estimates are for planning and should be checked against official records where the decision matters.