£18,000 after tax UK (2026/27)

On a £18,000 salary in the UK you take home £16,479.60 a year. That is £1,373.30 a month in 2026/27. You pay £1,086.00 Income Tax and £434.40 National Insurance (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, no pension or student loan).

How to read this table: each column is one pay period. Red numbers are taken out of your pay. The last row is what you actually get.

£18,000 salary in the UK, 2026/27
ItemYearMonthWeekDayHour
Gross pay£18,000.00£1,500.00£346.15£69.23£9.23
Income Tax-£1,086.00-£90.50-£20.88-£4.18-£0.56
National Insurance-£434.40-£36.20-£8.35-£1.67-£0.22
Take-home pay£16,479.60£1,373.30£316.92£63.38£8.45

Hourly figures assume 37.5 hours a week. Before tax, £18,000 is £9.23 an hour.

How your £18,000 take-home pay is worked out

  1. Personal Allowance (tax-free pay): £12,570.
  2. Pay that is taxed: £18,000 − £12,570 = £5,430.
  3. Basic rate: £5,430 × 20% = £1,086.00.
  4. National Insurance: £5,430 × 8% = £434.40.
  5. Take-home: £18,000 − £1,086.00 − £434.40 = £16,479.60.

All of your taxable income falls in the 20% basic rate band.

Pay rise tip: from every extra £100 you earn at this level, you keep about £72.

What a pay rise is worth on £18,000

Pay riseNew salaryExtra take-home a monthYou keep
+£1,000£19,000+£60.0072%
+£2,000£20,000+£120.0072%
+5%£18,900+£54.0072%
+10%£19,800+£108.0072%

£18,000 after tax: England vs Scotland

Scotland has its own six Income Tax bands. On £18,000 you take home £16,479.60 in England, Wales or NI, which is £39.67 a year less than Scotland (£16,519.27). National Insurance is the same everywhere. See £18,000 after tax in Scotland.

£18,000 with a student loan

Student loan repayments come out of your pay with your tax. Find your plan below:

PlanPaid a yearPaid a monthTake-home a month
Plan 2£0.00£0.00£1,373.30
Plan 5£0.00£0.00£1,373.30
Plan 1£0.00£0.00£1,373.30
Plan 4 (Scotland)£0.00£0.00£1,373.30
Postgraduate Loan£0.00£0.00£1,373.30

£18,000 with a pension

Pension payments come out before tax, so your take-home pay drops by less than the amount you put in. Figures are for salary sacrifice.

You pay inInto pension a yearCost to take-home a yearTake-home a month
3%£540.00£388.80£1,340.90
5%£900.00£648.00£1,319.30
8%£1,440.00£1,036.80£1,286.90
10%£1,800.00£1,296.00£1,265.30

Salaries close to £18,000

SalaryTake-home a yearA monthDifference a month
£15,000£14,320£1,193−£180
£16,000£15,040£1,253−£120
£17,000£15,760£1,313−£60
£18,000£16,480£1,373–
£19,000£17,200£1,433+£60
£20,000£17,920£1,493+£120
£21,000£18,640£1,553+£180
£22,000£19,360£1,613+£240

Add your own pension or student loan

Frequently asked questions

How much is £18,000 a month after tax in the UK?
£1,373.30 a month in 2026/27, with no student loan or pension and a standard tax code. Before tax, £18,000 is £1,500.00 a month.
How much is £18,000 a week after tax?
£316.92 a week, or £63.38 a day for a five-day week.
What tax band is £18,000 in?
The highest band you reach is the basic rate (England, Wales and NI). In total, Income Tax and NI take 8.4% of your pay.
Is £18,000 after tax different in Scotland?
Scotland has its own Income Tax rates. Here you take home £16,479.60 a year, which is £39.67 a year less than Scotland (£16,519.27).
If I get a pay rise from £18,000, how much do I keep?
About £72 of every extra £100, after Income Tax and National Insurance.

Where our numbers come from

  • GOV.UK – Income Tax rates and allowances
  • GOV.UK – Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
  • GOV.UK – National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates

Rates checked against official sources on 2026-09-28. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.