£33,150 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £2,282 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £2,283 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: £33,150 a year before tax and £27,388 after, assuming 37.5 hours a week for 52 paid weeks in the 2026/27 tax year. That is £2,282 a month or £526.68 a week in England, Wales and NI. Work 40 hours and the figures rise to £35,360 gross and £28,979 take-home.
Hourly to annual salary: £17 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £17 × 37.5 × 52 = £33,150; £17 × 40 × 52 = £35,360. 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
£33,150
£27,388
£27,391
£35,360
£28,979
Month
£2,763
£2,282
£2,283
£2,947
£2,415
Week
£637.50
£526.68
£526.75
£680.00
£557.28
Day
£127.50
£105.34
£105.35
£136.00
£111.46
How £17 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £33,150 that leaves £20,580 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £4,116 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £1,646 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £4,113 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £3 higher at £27,391. 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 £17 that happens at about 14.2 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 33.2 hours a week (£29,385 a year). The 40% higher rate begins at 56.9 hours a week (£50,270).
Close to typical full-time pay. The ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings puts median hourly pay for full-time employees at £20.81 in April 2026 (provisional, up 5.7% from £19.68). £17 is £3.81 below that median, and 34% above the National Living Wage. At this level a Plan 2 student loan starts to bite (9% of pay over £29,385), and in Scotland the 21% intermediate rate applies to income above £29,527.
£17 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 £17 keeps 92% of gross pay, compared with 83% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£17,680
£1,431
£16,249
£1,354
£1,357
30 h/week
£26,520
£3,906
£22,614
£1,885
£1,888
37.5 h/week
£33,150
£5,762
£27,388
£2,282
£2,283
40 h/week
£35,360
£6,381
£28,979
£2,415
£2,413
Take-home at £17 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 £33,150 salary is £3,765 above the Plan 2 threshold, so 9% of that — £338 a year or £28 a month — goes to the Student Loans Company. A 5% pension contribution (£1,658) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £1,326, 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
£27,388
£2,282
—
£2,283
+ Plan 2 student loan
£27,050
£2,254
−£338
£2,254
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£26,062
£2,172
−£1,326
£2,173
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£25,724
£2,144
−£1,664
£2,145
Is £17 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £17 an hour adds £8,365 a year before tax and £6,023 after tax and NI on a 37.5-hour week. Reaching the ONS full-time median of £20.81 would add £7,429 gross, about £5,349 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 £33,000 after tax.
What £17 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £17 is worth £14.04 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
15 min
12 min
A £10 fish & chips supper
43 min
35 min
A £100 weekly food shop
7.1 h
5.9 h
A £1,000 holiday
71.2 h
58.8 h
One month at £17 an hour (£2,282 take-home) buys…
652takeaway lattes
456pints of beer
253cinema tickets
228fish & 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 £17 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.
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 £1,326 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 £17 on 37.5 hours a Plan 2 loan costs £28 a month.
FAQ
£17 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £17 an hour is £33,150 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £35,360, at 30 hours £26,520 and at 20 hours £17,680.
What is £17 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £17 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £27,388 a year after £4,116 income tax and £1,646 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £27,391 in Scotland. That is £14.04 an hour after tax.
How much is £17 an hour per month after tax?
About £2,282 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£2,415 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £2,254; in Scotland £2,283.
Is £17 an hour a good wage in the UK?
£17 is 34% above the £12.71 National Living Wage and 18% below the £20.81 median hourly pay for full-time employees (ONS ASHE, April 2026, provisional).
How much is £17 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £17 is £17,680 a year (£1,354 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £26,520 (£1,885 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.