Every Agenda for Change band from entry to top of band, what the step points are worth, and the NHS pension tier that follows from pensionable pay.
Agenda for Change runs from Band 2 at £25,272 to Band 9 at £129,783. Within a band you join at the bottom step and move up with service, so the band alone does not tell you the salary. The table below is every band's entry and top pay for 2026/27, and the calculator works any of them down to take-home after the NHS pension.
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. |
|---|
The figures on this page are worked from NHS pay, using the values below. Open the calculator if your example salary differs.
Band 2 is a spot point — one pay figure, no progression. Every other band has an entry step and a top, and the gap between them is what service is worth without changing band.
The pay scales come from NHS Employers, which publishes the Agenda for Change rates, rather than from GOV.UK, which does not. The base pay figures and pension contribution tiers across this hub and the band pages were last verified against the published NHS Employers scales and the NHSBSA tiers on 2026-08-28.
| Band | Entry pay | Top of band | Years to the top |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | £25,272 | Spot point | No progression |
| Band 3 | £25,760 | £27,476 | 2 years |
| Band 4 | £28,392 | £31,157 | 3 years |
| Band 5 | £32,073 | £39,043 | 4 years |
| Band 6 | £39,959 | £48,117 | 5 years |
| Band 7 | £49,387 | £56,515 | 5 years |
| Band 8A | £57,528 | £64,750 | 5 years |
| Band 8B | £66,582 | £77,368 | 5 years |
| Band 8C | £79,504 | £91,609 | 5 years |
| Band 8D | £94,356 | £108,814 | 5 years |
| Band 9 | £112,782 | £129,783 | 5 years |
A job advert says Band 5. That is a range, not a figure: £32,073 on the day you start and £39,043 once you reach the top, 4 years later. Everyone quoting "Band 5 pay" as one number is quoting one end of that.
Step points also move the NHS pension. The contribution tier is set by pensionable pay, so crossing a tier boundary applies a higher percentage to the whole of it. A step rise can therefore cost more in contributions than the rise itself suggests, which is the part people notice on the payslip and not in the advert.
Base pay is the start of an NHS payslip, not the whole of it.
A high cost area supplement applies in and around London, as a percentage of base pay with a cash floor and ceiling. Unsocial hours enhancements apply to work at nights, at weekends and on public holidays, at percentages set by band. Overtime, on-call and bank shifts are separate again.
Each of those has its own page here, because each is worked out differently and none of them is a flat uplift on the salary.
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 2026-08-28. 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.