£30,225 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £2,107 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £2,110 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.
Short answer: £30,225 a year before tax and £25,282 after, assuming 37.5 hours a week for 52 paid weeks in the 2026/27 tax year. That is £2,107 a month or £486.18 a week in England, Wales and NI. Work 40 hours and the figures rise to £32,240 gross and £26,732 take-home.
Hourly to annual salary: £15.50 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £15.50 × 37.5 × 52 = £30,225; £15.50 × 40 × 52 = £32,240. 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
£30,225
£25,282
£25,314
£32,240
£26,732
Month
£2,519
£2,107
£2,110
£2,687
£2,228
Week
£581.25
£486.18
£486.81
£620.00
£514.08
Day
£116.25
£97.24
£97.36
£124.00
£102.82
How £15.50 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £30,225 that leaves £17,655 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £3,531 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £1,412 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £3,498 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £33 higher at £25,314. 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 £15.50 that happens at about 15.6 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 36.5 hours a week (£29,385 a year). The 40% higher rate (from £50,270) is out of reach at any realistic number of hours.
Above the minimum, below the middle. £15.50 is 22% more than the £12.71 National Living Wage, worth £5,440 a year extra before tax at 37.5 hours, but still £5.31 an hour below the ONS median for full-time employees (£20.81 in April 2026). Every pound you earn above £12,570 is taxed at the 20% basic rate plus 8% NI, so you keep 72p of each extra pound in England, Wales and NI.
Student loan Plan 2 and 5% pension examples
At 37.5 hours your £30,225 salary is £840 above the Plan 2 threshold, so 9% of that — £75 a year or £6 a month — goes to the Student Loans Company. A 5% pension contribution (£1,511) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £1,209, 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
£25,282
£2,107
—
£2,110
+ Plan 2 student loan
£25,207
£2,101
−£75
£2,103
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£24,073
£2,006
−£1,209
£2,009
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£23,998
£2,000
−£1,284
£2,003
£15.50 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 £15.50 keeps 94% of gross pay, compared with 84% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£16,120
£994
£15,126
£1,261
£1,263
30 h/week
£24,180
£3,251
£20,929
£1,744
£1,747
37.5 h/week
£30,225
£4,943
£25,282
£2,107
£2,110
40 h/week
£32,240
£5,508
£26,732
£2,228
£2,229
Take-home at £15.50 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.
Is £15.50 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £15.50 an hour adds £5,440 a year before tax and £3,917 after tax and NI on a 37.5-hour week. Reaching the ONS full-time median of £20.81 would add £10,354 gross, about £7,455 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 £30,000 after tax.
What £15.50 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £15.50 is worth £12.96 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
16 min
14 min
A £10 fish & chips supper
46 min
39 min
A £100 weekly food shop
7.7 h
6.5 h
£1,000 rent for a month
77.1 h
64.5 h
One month at £15.50 an hour (£2,107 take-home) buys…
602takeaway lattes
421pints of beer
234cinema tickets
210fish & 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 £15.50 an hour
Overtime vs extra hours. There is no legal overtime premium in the UK, so check your contract. Each extra hour at £15.50 adds about £11.16 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 £1,209 a year in take-home.
Ask about salary sacrifice. Salary-sacrifice pension, cycle-to-work or EV schemes reduce gross pay, saving 8% NI (2% above £50,270) on top of income tax.
Know your student loan plan. Plan 2 takes 9% above £29,385, Plan 1 above £26,900, Plan 4 (Scotland) above £33,795 and Plan 5 above £25,000. At £15.50 on 37.5 hours a Plan 2 loan costs £6 a month.
FAQ
£15.50 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £15.50 an hour is £30,225 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £32,240, at 30 hours £24,180 and at 20 hours £16,120.
What is £15.50 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £15.50 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £25,282 a year after £3,531 income tax and £1,412 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £25,314 in Scotland. That is £12.96 an hour after tax.
How much is £15.50 an hour per month after tax?
About £2,107 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£2,228 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £2,101; in Scotland £2,110.
Is £15.50 an hour a good wage in the UK?
£15.50 is 22% above the £12.71 National Living Wage and 26% below the £20.81 median hourly pay for full-time employees (ONS ASHE, April 2026, provisional).
How much is £15.50 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £15.50 is £16,120 a year (£1,261 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £24,180 (£1,744 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.