£20,475 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £1,522 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £1,525 in Scotland.
ESTIMATE
Estimates for tax year 2026/27, 37.5-hour week × 52 paid weeks unless stated. Tax code 1257L, NI category A, no other income. For exact payslips use the UK take-home pay calculator.
Paid £10.50 per hour? Over a full year of 37.5-hour weeks that is an annual salary of £20,475 (£21,840 at 40 hours). Once income tax and Class 1 National Insurance come off, £1,522 a month (£18,262 a year) lands in your account in England, Wales and NI; in Scotland it is £1,525 a month.
Hourly to annual salary: £10.50 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £10.50 × 37.5 × 52 = £20,475; £10.50 × 40 × 52 = £21,840. Daily figures assume a 7.5-hour or 8-hour day, five days a week (260 days). Holiday is paid, so it is already inside the 52 weeks.
Period
37.5h gross
Net E/W/NI
Net Scotland
40h gross
Net 40h
Year
£20,475
£18,262
£18,301
£21,840
£19,244
Month
£1,706
£1,522
£1,525
£1,820
£1,604
Week
£393.75
£351.18
£351.95
£420.00
£370.08
Day
£78.75
£70.24
£70.39
£84.00
£74.02
How £10.50 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £20,475 that leaves £7,905 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £1,581 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £632 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £1,541 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £40 higher at £18,301. The marginal rate on your next pound is 28% in England, Wales and NI.
Income tax and NI only start once annual pay passes £12,570 — at £10.50 that happens at about 23.0 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 53.8 hours a week (£29,385 a year), so full-timers on this rate never repay unless they do overtime. The 40% higher rate (from £50,270) is out of reach at any realistic number of hours.
Is £10.50 an hour legal? Since 1 April 2026 the National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds is £10.85 and the National Living Wage for anyone 21 or over is £12.71. That means £10.50 an hour is only a lawful rate for workers aged 16–17 or for apprentices (both have a £8.00 minimum, and the apprentice rate covers apprentices under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship). If you are 18 or older and paid this rate after April 2026, check whether you are owed arrears; you can complain to HMRC or call the Acas helpline.
£10.50 an hour part-time: 20, 30 and 40 hours
Here is how the same hourly rate plays out across common contracts. At 20 hours £10.50 keeps 100% of gross pay, compared with 89% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£10,920
£0
£10,920
£910
£910
30 h/week
£16,380
£1,067
£15,313
£1,276
£1,279
37.5 h/week
£20,475
£2,213
£18,262
£1,522
£1,525
40 h/week
£21,840
£2,596
£19,244
£1,604
£1,607
Take-home at £10.50 an hour by weekly hours
Take-home (shown)Tax & deductions
England, Wales & NI, 2026/27, no pension or student loan. Bar length = gross pay; green = take-home.
Student loan Plan 2 and 5% pension examples
At 37.5 hours your £20,475 salary is below the £29,385 Plan 2 threshold, so a Plan 2 loan costs nothing. A 5% pension contribution (£1,024) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £819, because it comes out before income tax. Auto-enrolment minimums are worked out on qualifying earnings above £6,240, so your scheme may deduct slightly less.
37.5 h/week
E, W & NI / yr
/ month
Change
Scotland / month
Salary only
£18,262
£1,522
—
£1,525
+ Plan 2 student loan
£18,262
£1,522
−£0
£1,525
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£17,443
£1,454
−£819
£1,457
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£17,443
£1,454
−£819
£1,457
Is £10.50 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £10.50 an hour is £4,310 a year less before tax at 37.5 hours and £3,103 less after tax. Reaching the ONS full-time median of £20.81 would add £20,104 gross, about £14,475 after tax. For context, median weekly pay for full-time employees was £811.20 in April 2026. A £1 an hour pay rise from here is worth £1,404 a year after tax.
37.5 hours a week, England, Wales & NI, 2026/27. For the full band-by-band breakdown see £20,000 after tax.
What £10.50 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £10.50 is worth £9.36 in your pocket. Here is how long you would work for everyday costs — in take-home terms and in gross terms.
Item (example price)
Work time after tax
Work time gross
A £3.50 latte
22 min
20 min
A £10 fish & chips supper
64 min
57 min
A £100 weekly food shop
10.7 h
9.5 h
A £1,000 holiday
106.8 h
95.2 h
One month at £10.50 an hour (£1,522 take-home) buys…
434takeaway lattes
304pints of beer
169cinema tickets
152fish & chips suppers
Monthly take-home on 37.5 hours, England, Wales & NI, divided by each price and rounded down. Example prices (rounded 2026 estimates, not official statistics): latte £3.50 · pint £5 · cinema ticket £9 · fish & chips £10.
Tips to keep more of £10.50 an hour
Universal Credit and Marriage Allowance. On £1,522 a month you may qualify for Universal Credit top-ups (especially with children or rent). If your partner earns under £12,570, Marriage Allowance can transfer £1,260 of allowance and save up to £252 a year.
Overtime vs extra hours. There is no legal overtime premium in the UK, so check your contract. Each extra hour at £10.50 adds about £7.56 after tax and NI.
Check your tax code. Most employees should be on 1257L. An emergency code (1257L W1/M1 or 0T/BR) on a second job or new starter form can over-tax you for months — HMRC’s app shows your code and refunds overpayments.
Make the pension match count. Auto-enrolment means at least 8% of qualifying earnings goes into your pension (at least 3% from the employer). Opting out gives up the employer’s money; at this rate a 5% contribution costs you only £819 a year in take-home.
Use the full calculator for your payslip. Bonuses, Plan 1/4/5 or postgraduate loans, different pension percentages and Scotland are all handled in the take-home pay calculator.
FAQ
£10.50 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £10.50 an hour is £20,475 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £21,840, at 30 hours £16,380 and at 20 hours £10,920.
What is £10.50 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £10.50 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £18,262 a year after £1,581 income tax and £632 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £18,301 in Scotland. That is £9.36 an hour after tax.
How much is £10.50 an hour per month after tax?
About £1,522 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£1,604 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £1,522; in Scotland £1,525.
Is £10.50 an hour above minimum wage?
£10.50 is below the £12.71 National Living Wage for workers aged 21+ from April 2026. It only meets the legal minimum for 16–17-year-olds and apprentices (£8.00).
How much is £10.50 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £10.50 is £10,920 a year (£910 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £16,380 (£1,276 a month), in England, Wales and NI for 2026/27.
How do I convert hourly pay to an annual salary in the UK?
Multiply the hourly rate by hours per week, then by 52. For a 37.5-hour week that is the rate × 1,950; for 40 hours, × 2,080. Paid holiday is included because the 52 weeks assume holiday is paid at your normal rate.
Estimates for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 – 5 April 2027): tax code 1257L, NI category A, under State Pension age, 52 paid weeks, no other income. Payslips are calculated each pay period and may differ by a few pounds.
Income tax, NI and student loan thresholds: GOV.UK “Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027”; Scottish bands: gov.scot Scottish Income Tax 2026 to 2027.
Minimum wage: GOV.UK “National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates” (from 1 April 2026: 21+ £12.71, 18–20 £10.85, under 18 and apprentice £8.00).
Median pay: ONS “Employee earnings in the UK: 2026” (ASHE, provisional, published 22 October 2026) — full-time median hourly pay excluding overtime £20.81, median weekly £811.20.
Prices in “what it buys” are rounded illustrative examples, not official statistics. Data as of 2026-11-03.
Got a different rate, bonus or pension?
Put your exact pay, student loan plan and pension into the UK take-home pay calculator for 2026/27.