£31,200 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £2,165 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £2,167 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.
£16 an hour is £31,200 a year on a standard 37.5-hour week, or £33,280 if you work 40 hours. After 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance you take home £25,984 a year — £2,165 a month — in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and £26,007 in Scotland.
Hourly to annual salary: £16 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £16 × 37.5 × 52 = £31,200; £16 × 40 × 52 = £33,280. 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
£31,200
£25,984
£26,007
£33,280
£27,481
Month
£2,600
£2,165
£2,167
£2,773
£2,290
Week
£600.00
£499.68
£500.13
£640.00
£528.48
Day
£120.00
£99.94
£100.03
£128.00
£105.70
How £16 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £31,200 that leaves £18,630 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £3,726 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £1,490 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £3,703 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £23 higher at £26,007. 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 £16 that happens at about 15.1 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 35.3 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. £16 is 26% more than the £12.71 National Living Wage, worth £6,415 a year extra before tax at 37.5 hours, but still £4.81 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.
£16 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 £16 keeps 93% of gross pay, compared with 83% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£16,640
£1,140
£15,500
£1,292
£1,295
30 h/week
£24,960
£3,469
£21,491
£1,791
£1,794
37.5 h/week
£31,200
£5,216
£25,984
£2,165
£2,167
40 h/week
£33,280
£5,799
£27,481
£2,290
£2,290
Take-home at £16 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 £31,200 salary is £1,815 above the Plan 2 threshold, so 9% of that — £163 a year or £14 a month — goes to the Student Loans Company. A 5% pension contribution (£1,560) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £1,248, 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
£25,984
£2,165
—
£2,167
+ Plan 2 student loan
£25,821
£2,152
−£163
£2,154
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£24,736
£2,061
−£1,248
£2,065
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£24,573
£2,048
−£1,411
£2,051
Is £16 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £16 an hour adds £6,415 a year before tax and £4,619 after tax and NI on a 37.5-hour week. Reaching the ONS full-time median of £20.81 would add £9,379 gross, about £6,753 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 £31,000 after tax.
What £16 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £16 is worth £13.32 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
13 min
A £10 fish & chips supper
45 min
38 min
A £100 weekly food shop
7.5 h
6.3 h
A £1,000 holiday
75.0 h
62.5 h
One month at £16 an hour (£2,165 take-home) buys…
618takeaway lattes
433pints of beer
240cinema tickets
216fish & 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 £16 an hour
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 £1,248 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 £16 on 37.5 hours a Plan 2 loan costs £14 a month.
Negotiate in hourly terms. A £1 an hour rise is worth £1,950 gross and about £1,404 after tax a year at 37.5 hours — a useful number to bring to a pay review.
FAQ
£16 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £16 an hour is £31,200 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £33,280, at 30 hours £24,960 and at 20 hours £16,640.
What is £16 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £16 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £25,984 a year after £3,726 income tax and £1,490 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £26,007 in Scotland. That is £13.32 an hour after tax.
How much is £16 an hour per month after tax?
About £2,165 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£2,290 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £2,152; in Scotland £2,167.
Is £16 an hour a good wage in the UK?
£16 is 26% above the £12.71 National Living Wage and 23% below the £20.81 median hourly pay for full-time employees (ONS ASHE, April 2026, provisional).
How much is £16 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £16 is £16,640 a year (£1,292 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £24,960 (£1,791 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.