Hourly to annual salary: £12.71 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £12.71 × 37.5 × 52 = £24,785; £12.71 × 40 × 52 = £26,437. 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 | £24,785 | £21,364 | £21,404 | £26,437 | £22,554 |
| Month | £2,065 | £1,780 | £1,784 | £2,203 | £1,880 |
| Week | £476.63 | £410.85 | £411.62 | £508.40 | £433.73 |
| Day | £95.33 | £82.17 | £82.32 | £101.68 | £86.75 |
How £12.71 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £24,785 that leaves £12,215 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £2,443 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £977 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £2,403 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £40 higher at £21,404. 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 £12.71 that happens at about 19.0 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 44.5 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.
The legal floor. £12.71 is the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026, a 4.1% rise on £12.21. A full-time NLW worker on 37.5 hours earns £24,785 a year before tax — about £975 more than a year earlier. The Low Pay Commission’s target is for the NLW to stay at two-thirds of median hourly earnings.Student loan Plan 2 and 5% pension examples
At 37.5 hours your £24,785 salary is below the £29,385 Plan 2 threshold, so a Plan 2 loan costs nothing. A 5% pension contribution (£1,239) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £991, 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 | £21,364 | £1,780 | — | £1,784 |
| + Plan 2 student loan | £21,364 | £1,780 | −£0 | £1,784 |
| + 5% pension (net pay) | £20,373 | £1,698 | −£991 | £1,701 |
| + Plan 2 and 5% pension | £20,373 | £1,698 | −£991 | £1,701 |
£12.71 an hour part-time: 20, 30 and 40 hours
Part-time hours change more than the gross figure: because the first £12,570 is tax- and NI-free, shorter weeks keep a bigger share of pay. At 20 hours £12.71 keeps 99% of gross pay, compared with 86% at 37.5 hours.
| Contract | Gross / yr | Tax + NI | Net / yr | Net / month | Scotland / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 h/week | £13,218 | £182 | £13,037 | £1,086 | £1,087 |
| 30 h/week | £19,828 | £2,032 | £17,795 | £1,483 | £1,486 |
| 37.5 h/week | £24,785 | £3,420 | £21,364 | £1,780 | £1,784 |
| 40 h/week | £26,437 | £3,883 | £22,554 | £1,880 | £1,883 |
Is £12.71 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
£12.71 is the National Living Wage itself, so it is the lowest rate an employer can lawfully pay anyone aged 21 or over; its full-time take-home is £21,364 a year. Reaching the ONS full-time median of £20.81 would add £15,795 gross, about £11,372 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.
Neighbouring hourly rates after tax
| Rate | Gross / yr | Net / yr | Net / month | Net / hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £12 | £23,400 | £20,368 | £1,697 | £10.44 |
| £12.21 | £23,810 | £20,662 | £1,722 | £10.60 |
| £12.50 | £24,375 | £21,070 | £1,756 | £10.80 |
| £12.71 | £24,785 | £21,364 | £1,780 | £10.96 |
| £13 | £25,350 | £21,772 | £1,814 | £11.16 |
| £13.50 | £26,325 | £22,474 | £1,873 | £11.52 |
| £14 | £27,300 | £23,176 | £1,931 | £11.88 |
37.5 hours a week, England, Wales & NI, 2026/27. For the full band-by-band breakdown see £25,000 after tax.
What £12.71 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £12.71 is worth £10.96 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 | 19 min | 17 min |
| A £10 fish & chips supper | 55 min | 47 min |
| A £100 weekly food shop | 9.1 h | 7.9 h |
| £1,000 rent for a month | 91.3 h | 78.7 h |