£19,500 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £1,463 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £1,467 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.
£10 an hour is £19,500 a year on a standard 37.5-hour week, or £20,800 if you work 40 hours. After 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance you take home £17,560 a year — £1,463 a month — in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and £17,599 in Scotland.
Hourly to annual salary: £10 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £10 × 37.5 × 52 = £19,500; £10 × 40 × 52 = £20,800. 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
£19,500
£17,560
£17,599
£20,800
£18,496
Month
£1,625
£1,463
£1,467
£1,733
£1,541
Week
£375.00
£337.68
£338.45
£400.00
£355.68
Day
£75.00
£67.54
£67.69
£80.00
£71.14
How £10 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £19,500 that leaves £6,930 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £1,386 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £554 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £1,346 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £40 higher at £17,599. 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 that happens at about 24.2 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 56.5 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 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 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). £10.00 was the 18–20 rate for 2025/26, so if your employer has not updated pay since April 2026 and you are 18 or older, you may be owed arrears — HMRC enforces minimum wage claims for free.
Student loan Plan 2 and 5% pension examples
At 37.5 hours your £19,500 salary is below the £29,385 Plan 2 threshold, so a Plan 2 loan costs nothing. A 5% pension contribution (£975) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £780, 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
£17,560
£1,463
—
£1,467
+ Plan 2 student loan
£17,560
£1,463
−£0
£1,467
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£16,780
£1,398
−£780
£1,402
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£16,780
£1,398
−£780
£1,402
£10 an hour part-time: 20, 30 and 40 hours
Fewer hours mean a smaller salary, but not proportionally less take-home — the £12,570 personal allowance and NI primary threshold cover a larger slice of a part-time wage. At 20 hours £10 keeps 100% of gross pay, compared with 90% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£10,400
£0
£10,400
£867
£867
30 h/week
£15,600
£848
£14,752
£1,229
£1,232
37.5 h/week
£19,500
£1,940
£17,560
£1,463
£1,467
40 h/week
£20,800
£2,304
£18,496
£1,541
£1,545
Take-home at £10 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.
Is £10 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £10 an hour is £5,285 a year less before tax at 37.5 hours and £3,805 less after tax. Reaching the ONS full-time median of £20.81 would add £21,079 gross, about £15,177 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 £19,000 after tax.
What £10 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £10 is worth £9.00 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
23 min
21 min
A £10 fish & chips supper
67 min
60 min
A £100 weekly food shop
11.1 h
10.0 h
£1,000 rent for a month
111.1 h
100.0 h
One month at £10 an hour (£1,463 take-home) buys…
418takeaway lattes
292pints of beer
162cinema tickets
146fish & 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 an hour
Check your age band. Your minimum rate rises on your 18th and 21st birthdays — from the next pay period. Payslips must show hours if pay varies with time worked, so you can check the rate yourself.
Universal Credit and Marriage Allowance. On £1,463 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 adds about £7.20 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 £780 a year in take-home.
FAQ
£10 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £10 an hour is £19,500 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £20,800, at 30 hours £15,600 and at 20 hours £10,400.
What is £10 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £10 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £17,560 a year after £1,386 income tax and £554 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £17,599 in Scotland. That is £9.00 an hour after tax.
How much is £10 an hour per month after tax?
About £1,463 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£1,541 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £1,463; in Scotland £1,467.
Is £10 an hour above minimum wage?
£10 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 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £10 is £10,400 a year (£867 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £15,600 (£1,229 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.