£23,810 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £1,722 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £1,725 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.
£12.21 an hour is £23,810 a year on a standard 37.5-hour week, or £25,397 if you work 40 hours. After 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance you take home £20,662 a year — £1,722 a month — in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and £20,702 in Scotland.
Hourly to annual salary: £12.21 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £12.21 × 37.5 × 52 = £23,810; £12.21 × 40 × 52 = £25,397. 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
£23,810
£20,662
£20,702
£25,397
£21,805
Month
£1,984
£1,722
£1,725
£2,116
£1,817
Week
£457.88
£397.35
£398.12
£488.40
£419.33
Day
£91.58
£79.47
£79.62
£97.68
£83.87
How £12.21 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £23,810 that leaves £11,240 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £2,248 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £899 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £2,208 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £40 higher at £20,702. 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 £12.21 that happens at about 19.8 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 46.3 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 £12.21 an hour legal? £12.21 was the National Living Wage from April 2025 to March 2026. It rose to £12.71 on 1 April 2026, so anyone aged 21 or over still on £12.21 is being underpaid by 50p an hour — about £975 a year at 37.5 hours. Workers aged 21 or over must be paid at least £12.71 for every hour worked, including time on training and some travel between jobs.
Student loan Plan 2 and 5% pension examples
At 37.5 hours your £23,810 salary is below the £29,385 Plan 2 threshold, so a Plan 2 loan costs nothing. A 5% pension contribution (£1,190) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £952, 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
£20,662
£1,722
—
£1,725
+ Plan 2 student loan
£20,662
£1,722
−£0
£1,725
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£19,710
£1,643
−£952
£1,646
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£19,710
£1,643
−£952
£1,646
£12.21 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 £12.21 keeps 100% of gross pay, compared with 87% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£12,698
£36
£12,662
£1,055
£1,055
30 h/week
£19,048
£1,814
£17,234
£1,436
£1,439
37.5 h/week
£23,810
£3,147
£20,662
£1,722
£1,725
40 h/week
£25,397
£3,592
£21,805
£1,817
£1,820
Take-home at £12.21 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 £12.21 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £12.21 an hour is £975 a year less before tax at 37.5 hours and £702 less after tax. Reaching the ONS full-time median of £20.81 would add £16,770 gross, about £12,074 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 £24,000 after tax.
What £12.21 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £12.21 is worth £10.60 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
20 min
17 min
A £10 fish & chips supper
57 min
49 min
A £100 weekly food shop
9.4 h
8.2 h
£1,000 rent for a month
94.4 h
81.9 h
One month at £12.21 an hour (£1,722 take-home) buys…
492takeaway lattes
344pints of beer
191cinema tickets
172fish & 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 £12.21 an hour
Overtime vs extra hours. There is no legal overtime premium in the UK, so check your contract. Each extra hour at £12.21 adds about £8.79 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 £952 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.
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.
FAQ
£12.21 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £12.21 an hour is £23,810 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £25,397, at 30 hours £19,048 and at 20 hours £12,698.
What is £12.21 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £12.21 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £20,662 a year after £2,248 income tax and £899 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £20,702 in Scotland. That is £10.60 an hour after tax.
How much is £12.21 an hour per month after tax?
About £1,722 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£1,817 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £1,722; in Scotland £1,725.
Is £12.21 an hour above minimum wage?
£12.21 is below the £12.71 National Living Wage for workers aged 21+ from April 2026. It meets the £10.85 minimum for 18 to 20-year-olds.
How much is £12.21 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £12.21 is £12,698 a year (£1,055 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £19,048 (£1,436 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.