£29,250 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £2,048 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £2,052 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 £15 per hour? Over a full year of 37.5-hour weeks that is an annual salary of £29,250 (£31,200 at 40 hours). Once income tax and Class 1 National Insurance come off, £2,048 a month (£24,580 a year) lands in your account in England, Wales and NI; in Scotland it is £2,052 a month.
Hourly to annual salary: £15 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £15 × 37.5 × 52 = £29,250; £15 × 40 × 52 = £31,200. 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
£29,250
£24,580
£24,619
£31,200
£25,984
Month
£2,438
£2,048
£2,052
£2,600
£2,165
Week
£562.50
£472.68
£473.45
£600.00
£499.68
Day
£112.50
£94.54
£94.69
£120.00
£99.94
How £15 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £29,250 that leaves £16,680 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £3,336 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £1,334 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £3,296 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £40 higher at £24,619. 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 that happens at about 16.1 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 37.7 hours a week (£29,385 a year) — only a 40-hour week triggers repayments. The 40% higher rate (from £50,270) is out of reach at any realistic number of hours.
Above the minimum, below the middle. £15 is 18% more than the £12.71 National Living Wage, worth £4,465 a year extra before tax at 37.5 hours, but still £5.81 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 — and you are below the Plan 2 student loan threshold of £29,385 at full time.
£15 an hour part-time: 20, 30 and 40 hours
Here is how the same hourly rate plays out across common contracts. At 20 hours £15 keeps 95% of gross pay, compared with 84% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£15,600
£848
£14,752
£1,229
£1,232
30 h/week
£23,400
£3,032
£20,368
£1,697
£1,701
37.5 h/week
£29,250
£4,670
£24,580
£2,048
£2,052
40 h/week
£31,200
£5,216
£25,984
£2,165
£2,167
Take-home at £15 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 £29,250 salary is below the £29,385 Plan 2 threshold, so a Plan 2 loan costs nothing; on 40 hours (£31,200) you would repay £163 a year. A 5% pension contribution (£1,463) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £1,170, 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
£24,580
£2,048
—
£2,052
+ Plan 2 student loan
£24,580
£2,048
−£0
£2,052
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£23,410
£1,951
−£1,170
£1,954
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£23,410
£1,951
−£1,170
£1,954
Is £15 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £15 an hour adds £4,465 a year before tax and £3,215 after tax and NI on a 37.5-hour week. Reaching the ONS full-time median of £20.81 would add £11,329 gross, about £8,157 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 £29,000 after tax.
What £15 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £15 is worth £12.60 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
17 min
14 min
A £10 fish & chips supper
48 min
40 min
A £100 weekly food shop
7.9 h
6.7 h
A £1,000 holiday
79.3 h
66.7 h
One month at £15 an hour (£2,048 take-home) buys…
585takeaway lattes
409pints of beer
227cinema tickets
204fish & 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 an hour
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.
Overtime vs extra hours. There is no legal overtime premium in the UK, so check your contract. Each extra hour at £15 adds about £10.80 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 £1,170 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.
FAQ
£15 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £15 an hour is £29,250 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £31,200, at 30 hours £23,400 and at 20 hours £15,600.
What is £15 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £15 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £24,580 a year after £3,336 income tax and £1,334 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £24,619 in Scotland. That is £12.60 an hour after tax.
How much is £15 an hour per month after tax?
About £2,048 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£2,165 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £2,048; in Scotland £2,052.
Is £15 an hour a good wage in the UK?
£15 is 18% above the £12.71 National Living Wage and 28% below the £20.81 median hourly pay for full-time employees (ONS ASHE, April 2026, provisional).
How much is £15 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £15 is £15,600 a year (£1,229 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £23,400 (£1,697 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.