£42,900 a year gross at 37.5 hours a week · £2,867 a month take-home in England, Wales & NI · £2,859 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 £22 per hour? Over a full year of 37.5-hour weeks that is an annual salary of £42,900 (£45,760 at 40 hours). Once income tax and Class 1 National Insurance come off, £2,867 a month (£34,408 a year) lands in your account in England, Wales and NI; in Scotland it is £2,859 a month.
Hourly to annual salary: £22 an hour by pay period
To turn an hourly rate into a UK annual salary, multiply by your weekly hours and by 52. £22 × 37.5 × 52 = £42,900; £22 × 40 × 52 = £45,760. 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
£42,900
£34,408
£34,314
£45,760
£36,467
Month
£3,575
£2,867
£2,859
£3,813
£3,039
Week
£825.00
£661.68
£659.88
£880.00
£701.28
Day
£165.00
£132.34
£131.98
£176.00
£140.26
How £22 an hour is taxed in 2026/27
Everyone gets a £12,570 personal allowance. On £42,900 that leaves £30,330 taxable at the 20% basic rate, giving £6,066 of income tax. Employees then pay Class 1 National Insurance of 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above — £2,426 here. In Scotland the six-band system (19% to 48%) gives £6,160 of income tax, so Scottish take-home is £94 lower at £34,314. 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 £22 that happens at about 11.0 hours a week. Below that you keep every penny. A Plan 2 student loan starts at 25.7 hours a week (£29,385 a year). The 40% higher rate begins at 43.9 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). £22 is £1.19 above that median, and 73% 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.
£22 an hour part-time: 20, 30 and 40 hours
Here is how the same hourly rate plays out across common contracts. At 20 hours £22 keeps 87% of gross pay, compared with 80% at 37.5 hours.
Contract
Gross / yr
Tax + NI
Net / yr
Net / month
Scotland / month
20 h/week
£22,880
£2,887
£19,993
£1,666
£1,669
30 h/week
£34,320
£6,090
£28,230
£2,353
£2,352
37.5 h/week
£42,900
£8,492
£34,408
£2,867
£2,859
40 h/week
£45,760
£9,293
£36,467
£3,039
£2,992
Take-home at £22 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 £42,900 salary is £13,515 above the Plan 2 threshold, so 9% of that — £1,216 a year or £101 a month — goes to the Student Loans Company. A 5% pension contribution (£2,145) taken under a net pay arrangement reduces take-home by only £1,716, 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
£34,408
£2,867
—
£2,859
+ Plan 2 student loan
£33,192
£2,766
−£1,216
£2,758
+ 5% pension (net pay)
£32,692
£2,724
−£1,716
£2,718
+ Plan 2 and 5% pension
£31,476
£2,623
−£2,932
£2,617
Is £22 an hour a good wage? NLW and median compared
Compared with the National Living Wage (£12.71), £22 an hour adds £18,116 a year before tax and £13,043 after tax and NI on a 37.5-hour week. It beats the ONS full-time median of £20.81 by £2,321 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 £43,000 after tax.
What £22 an hour buys
After tax, one hour at £22 is worth £17.64 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
34 min
27 min
A £100 weekly food shop
5.7 h
4.5 h
A £1,000 holiday
56.7 h
45.5 h
One month at £22 an hour (£2,867 take-home) buys…
819takeaway lattes
573pints of beer
318cinema tickets
286fish & 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 £22 an hour
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 £1,716 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 £22 on 37.5 hours a Plan 2 loan costs £101 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.
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.
FAQ
£22 an hour is how much a year?
At 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks, £22 an hour is £42,900 a year before tax. At 40 hours a week it is £45,760, at 30 hours £34,320 and at 20 hours £22,880.
What is £22 per hour as an annual salary after tax?
In 2026/27 a full-time £22 an hour job (37.5 h/week) leaves £34,408 a year after £6,066 income tax and £2,426 National Insurance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or £34,314 in Scotland. That is £17.64 an hour after tax.
How much is £22 an hour per month after tax?
About £2,867 a month on 37.5 hours a week (£3,039 on 40 hours) in England, Wales and NI. With a Plan 2 student loan it is £2,766; in Scotland £2,859.
Is £22 an hour a good wage in the UK?
£22 is 73% above the £12.71 National Living Wage and 6% above the £20.81 median hourly pay for full-time employees (ONS ASHE, April 2026, provisional).
How much is £22 an hour part-time?
At 20 hours a week £22 is £22,880 a year (£1,666 a month after tax); at 30 hours it is £34,320 (£2,353 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.