£40,950 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £2,750 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £2,744 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.
£21 an hour is £40,950 a year on a standard 37.5-hour week, or £43,680 if you work 40 hours. After 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance you take home £33,004 a year — £2,750 a month — in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and £32,929 in Scotland.
Hourly to annual salary: £21 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £21 × 37.5 × 52 = £40,950; £21 × 40 × 52 = £43,680. 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
£40,950
£33,004
£32,929
£43,680
£34,969
Month
£3,413
£2,750
£2,744
£3,640
£2,914
Week
£787.50
£634.68
£633.25
£840.00
£672.48
Day
£157.50
£126.94
£126.65
£168.00
£134.50
How £21 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £40,950 that leaves £28,380 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £5,676 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £2,270 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £5,751 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £75 lower at £32,929. 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 £21 that happens at about 11.5 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 26.9 hours a week (£29,385 a year). The 40% higher rate begins at 46.0 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). £21 is £0.19 above that median, and 65% 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.
Student loan Plan 2 and 5% pension examples
At 37.5 hours your £40,950 salary is £11,565 above the Plan 2 threshold, so 9% of that — £1,040 a year or £87 a month — goes to the Student Loans Company. A 5% pension contribution (£2,048) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £1,638, 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
£33,004
£2,750
—
£2,744
+ Plan 2 student loan
£31,964
£2,664
−£1,040
£2,657
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£31,366
£2,614
−£1,638
£2,609
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£30,326
£2,527
−£2,678
£2,523
£21 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 £21 keeps 88% of gross pay, compared with 81% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£21,840
£2,596
£19,244
£1,604
£1,607
30 h/week
£32,760
£5,653
£27,107
£2,259
£2,260
37.5 h/week
£40,950
£7,946
£33,004
£2,750
£2,744
40 h/week
£43,680
£8,711
£34,969
£2,914
£2,905
Take-home at £21 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 £21 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £21 an hour adds £16,165 a year before tax and £11,639 after tax and NI on a 37.5-hour week. It beats the ONS full-time median of £20.81 by £371 a year gross. 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 £41,000 after tax.
What £21 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £21 is worth £16.92 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
12 min
10 min
A £10 fish & chips supper
35 min
29 min
A £100 weekly food shop
5.9 h
4.8 h
£1,000 rent for a month
59.1 h
47.6 h
One month at £21 an hour (£2,750 take-home) buys…
785takeaway lattes
550pints of beer
305cinema tickets
275fish & 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 £21 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 £1,638 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 £21 on 37.5 hours a Plan 2 loan costs £87 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
£21 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £21 an hour is £40,950 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £43,680, at 30 hours £32,760 and at 20 hours £21,840.
What is £21 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £21 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £33,004 a year after £5,676 income tax and £2,270 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £32,929 in Scotland. That is £16.92 an hour after tax.
How much is £21 an hour per month after tax?
About £2,750 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£2,914 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £2,664; in Scotland £2,744.
Is £21 an hour a good wage in the UK?
£21 is 65% above the £12.71 National Living Wage and 1% above the £20.81 median hourly pay for full-time employees (ONS ASHE, April 2026, provisional).
How much is £21 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £21 is £21,840 a year (£1,604 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £32,760 (£2,259 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.