NHS Resident Doctor Salary Calculator 2026/27 | Guide
The calculator uses the accepted 2026/27 England salary scale effective from 1 April 2026. It applies progressive PAYE, 2026/27 National Insurance and student-loan thresholds, and the current NHS Pension contribution tiers. Results are estimates rather than payroll advice because cumulative tax history, arrears and local payroll timing can alter an individual payslip.
2026/27 resident doctor basic salaries in England
These figures are annual basic pay for a doctor working 40 paid hours a week. Monthly and hourly figures are mathematical equivalents, not separate contractual rates. The hourly calculation uses annual salary ÷ 52.1429 weeks ÷ 40 hours.
| Grade | Pay point | Annual basic | Monthly basic | Basic hourly |
| FY1 | 1 | £41,226 | £3,435.50 | £19.77 |
| FY2 | 2 | £47,610 | £3,967.50 | £22.83 |
| CT1 / ST1 | 3a | £55,355 | £4,612.92 | £26.54 |
| CT2 / ST2 | 3b | £55,355 | £4,612.92 | £26.54 |
| CT3 / ST3 | 4a | £67,325 | £5,610.42 | £32.27 |
| CT4 / ST4 | 4b | £67,998 | £5,666.50 | £32.60 |
| ST5 | 4c | £67,998 | £5,666.50 | £32.60 |
| ST6 | 5a | £76,582 | £6,381.83 | £36.72 |
| ST7 | 5b | £77,348 | £6,445.67 | £37.09 |
| ST8 | 5c | £77,348 | £6,445.67 | £37.09 |
Source: the accepted June 2026 government agreement. These are England figures. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different contracts or pay scales, so this calculator should not be used for those nations.
Why this is not an Agenda for Change calculator
Agenda for Change (AfC) covers most NHS staff, but it does not set the salary of resident doctors. Doctors and dentists in training in England are normally employed under the 2016 terms and conditions and are paid on doctor-specific pay points. Searching for an ‘AfC resident doctor salary’ can therefore lead to the wrong band, hours and enhancement rules.
The same warning applies to consultants, SAS doctors, salaried GPs and doctors still on the 2002 contract: each group has a different pay structure. A locally employed doctor (LED) should use the custom salary option unless their contract explicitly mirrors the 2016 terms and their grade-linked salary is confirmed.
What changed in the 2026 resident doctor settlement
The accepted settlement combined the 3.5% 2026/27 DDRB award with additional investment in pay-point reform. The cash increase differs by grade, and the revised salaries are backdated to 1 April 2026. The structure now identifies ten grade-linked points, although some grades share the same cash value during 2026/27.
- Basic salaries for 2026/27 range from £41,226 at FY1 to £77,348 at ST7/ST8.
- The first two attempts at each mandatory Royal College examination are reimbursable for exams sat from 1 April 2026, subject to the scheme rules.
- Portfolio and required Royal College or Faculty membership fees are due to be reimbursed from April 2027.
- The academic flexible pay premium is due to increase from £5,614 to £10,000 from April 2027.
- The GP premium is retained and renamed the General Practice Registrar Enhancement, with contractual pay protection.
- LTFT doctors should have annual ARCPs by default and may progress at the full-time rate when competencies are met, while retaining the choice to delay progression.
The staged pay-point structure from April 2027
The agreement also sets the following underlying salaries from April 2027 before the separate 2027/28 DDRB award is applied. These are not the final 2027/28 payscale and should not be entered as current salary in the calculator.
| Grade | April 2027 underlying salary* |
| FY1 | £41,226 |
| FY2 | £47,610 |
| CT1 / ST1 | £55,534 |
| CT2 / ST2 | £56,925 |
| CT3 / ST3 | £67,325 |
| CT4 / ST4 | £69,345 |
| ST5 | £71,415 |
| ST6 | £76,582 |
| ST7 | £78,660 |
| ST8 | £80,730 |
*Before the 2027/28 DDRB uplift. Actual 2027/28 pay will be higher once that award is known and implemented.
How a resident doctor’s gross pay is built
A headline basic salary is only the starting point. The work schedule should state each recurring pay element and the average weekly hours used. The calculator separates these components so that a result can be checked against the work schedule and payslip.
Basic pay and rostered hours
Full-time basic pay covers 40 hours a week. Under the 2016 contract, each paid hour is worth 1/40 of the weekly full-time basic salary. For example, an LTFT doctor averaging 28 paid hours receives 28/40, or 70%, of the full-time basic salary. A full-time doctor averaging 48 hours receives the full 40-hour basic salary plus eight additional hours at the basic hourly rate.
Night-work enhancement
Qualifying hours receive an additional 37% of the basic hourly rate. Broadly, this applies to hours worked between 21:00 and 07:00 and to all hours of a shift that begins at or after 20:00 and runs for at least eight hours. Enter only qualifying enhanced hours in the night-hours field: those hours are already included in average weekly paid hours, so adding them twice would overstate pay.
Weekend frequency allowance
A doctor who is rostered to work enough weekends receives a percentage of full-time basic salary. The relevant band depends on the average frequency in the work schedule, not simply the number of weekend hours in one month.
| Average weekend frequency | Allowance |
| 1 in 2 | 15% |
| Less frequent than 1 in 2 but at least 1 in 3 | 10% |
| At least 1 in 4 | 7.5% |
| At least 1 in 5 | 6% |
| At least 1 in 6 | 5% |
| At least 1 in 7 | 4% |
| At least 1 in 8 | 3% |
| Less frequent than 1 in 8 | 0% |
For an LTFT doctor, weekend pay is based on their proportion of the equivalent full-time weekend commitment, which may differ from their basic WTE. The calculator therefore asks for a separate weekend rota commitment percentage.
On-call availability allowance
A doctor required to be available for on-call work away from the workplace may receive an 8% allowance. LTFT pay is based on the doctor’s share of the equivalent full-time on-call commitment. Hours actually worked during the on-call period are also paid and must be included in the average paid hours and enhancement calculations where applicable.
London, LTFT and flexible pay premia
- London allowance: £2,162 a year for full-time doctors and pro-rated by basic WTE for LTFT doctors.
- LTFT annual allowance: £1,000 a year for eligible LTFT doctors and not pro-rated.
- Flexible pay premia: taxable annual payments for eligible training programmes or roles. Use the amount on the work schedule because eligibility, protection and value matter.
- Other taxable pay: regular local allowances can be added, but irregular locum or bank income may be taxed differently and should not be assumed to be pensionable.
Worked example: FY1 on a 48-hour rota
Assume an FY1 works an average of 48 paid hours each week, eight hours qualify for the 37% night enhancement, and the weekend frequency is 1 in 4. The example excludes London, on-call availability, student loans, salary sacrifice and other deductions.
| Pay component | Approximate value |
| 40-hour basic salary | £41,226 |
| Eight additional hours | £8,245 |
| 37% premium on eight qualifying hours | £3,051 |
| 1-in-4 weekend allowance (7.5%) | £3,092 |
| Estimated annual gross | £55,614 |
| Estimated monthly gross | £4,634 |
With a standard 1257L tax code, category A National Insurance, NHS Pension membership and no student loan, the calculator estimates take-home pay of about £3,366 a month. This is an illustration, not a universal FY1 net salary: changing the rota, tax code, pension status or loan plan changes the answer.
How LTFT salary should be calculated
Do not calculate LTFT basic pay by entering a nominal WTE and then treating all hours above that percentage as ‘additional’. The contractual method starts with average paid weekly hours. At CT1/ST1 basic pay of £55,355, a doctor averaging 28 paid hours has basic pay of £55,355 × 28 ÷ 40 = £38,748.50 before enhancements and allowances.
Weekend and on-call commitments need separate pro-rating because an LTFT doctor’s share of those rota commitments may not equal 70%. London allowance follows basic WTE, whereas the eligible £1,000 LTFT allowance is not reduced. The revised calculator now follows this distinction.
From gross salary to take-home pay
Gross pay and net pay answer different questions. Gross pay is the total contractual earnings before deductions. Take-home pay is what remains after PAYE, National Insurance, pension contributions, student loans and any personal deductions. The calculator applies each deduction separately instead of subtracting a flat percentage from all earnings.
PAYE income tax and tax codes
For England in 2026/27, the standard personal allowance is £12,570. Taxable income above the allowance is normally charged at 20% within the basic-rate band, 40% within the higher-rate band and 45% at the additional rate. The personal allowance is tapered once adjusted net income exceeds £100,000. A tax code such as 1257L, BR, D0, 0T or a K code can materially change the deduction.
If a result looks wrong, compare the tax code with the payslip and use the site’s NHS tax calculator for a deduction-focused check.
National Insurance
For a standard category A employee in 2026/27, employee National Insurance is 8% on monthly earnings from £1,048 to £4,189 and 2% above £4,189. NI is calculated by pay period, so a month containing back pay can produce a different deduction from a simple annual average.
NHS Pension contributions
The employee contribution rate is selected from the annual pensionable-pay tier. It is not a flat 9.8% for every doctor, and employer contributions are not paid into a personal investment pot. The calculator defaults pensionable pay to contractual basic pay and allows an override where payroll has confirmed a different figure.
| 2026/27 pensionable pay | Member rate |
| Up to £13,259 | 5.2% |
| £13,260–£28,854 | 6.5% |
| £28,855–£35,155 | 8.3% |
| £35,156–£52,778 | 9.8% |
| £52,779–£67,668 | 10.7% |
| £67,669 and above | 12.5% |
For contribution and benefit projections, use the NHS pension calculator and check the figures against NHSBSA records.
Student and postgraduate loans
| Loan | 2026/27 annual threshold | Rate above threshold |
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% |
| Plan 4 | £33,795 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate loan | £21,000 | 6% |
Repayment is charged only on earnings above the relevant pay-period threshold, not on the whole salary. A postgraduate loan can be deducted at the same time as an undergraduate plan.
Salary sacrifice and professional costs
A valid salary-sacrifice arrangement may reduce taxable and NI-able pay, but the exact pension and benefits consequences depend on the scheme. Model a specific arrangement with the NHS salary sacrifice calculator before relying on a headline saving.
Some personally paid professional subscriptions may qualify for HMRC tax relief if the organisation is approved and the cost is required for the job. Do not claim relief on an amount reimbursed by the employer. Exam, portfolio and membership reimbursements under the 2026 settlement therefore need to be kept separate from personal tax-relief claims.
How to use the calculator accurately
- Choose the grade that applies during the pay period. Use Custom / LED only when the full-time salary is specified separately.
- Enter average total paid hours from the personalised work schedule, not the maximum hours in a single busy week.
- Enter qualifying enhanced hours as a subset of total hours; do not add the same hours twice.
- Select the weekend frequency band and enter your share of the full-time weekend commitment if LTFT.
- Add on-call availability only if the work schedule provides the allowance, and use the correct rota commitment share.
- Add London, LTFT and flexible pay premia only when eligible and shown on contractual documents.
- Open deduction settings to check the tax code, NI category, pension, student-loan plan and any postgraduate loan.
- Compare the result with the work schedule first and the payslip second. Investigate material unexplained differences with payroll or the employer.
Checking a work schedule and payslip
The most reliable input is the personalised work schedule. A rota alone may not show the pay assumptions, and one month’s payslip can include arrears, a rotation change or a tax-code adjustment. Check these items in order:
- grade and full-time basic salary; paid average weekly hours; and the effective dates of any grade change;
- qualifying enhanced hours, weekend frequency and on-call availability;
- London, LTFT, flexible pay premia, pay protection and local allowances;
- pensionable pay and member contribution rate; tax code; NI category; and student-loan plan;
- arrears shown separately from ordinary monthly pay.
If a rise or correction has been paid late, estimate the period with the NHS back-pay calculator. For common payslip labels, see the NHS payslip guide.
Common reasons the estimate and payslip differ
| Difference | Likely explanation |
| Tax is unexpectedly high | Emergency or cumulative tax code, arrears, a second job or personal-allowance taper. |
| NI is higher in one month | NI is assessed per pay period; back pay or extra shifts can concentrate earnings. |
| Pension rate changes | The annualised pensionable-pay tier changed, or payroll used a different pensionable amount. |
| Gross pay is lower | Hours, weekend frequency, on-call share, FPP or grade effective date differs from the input. |
| Student loan is different | Payroll rounding, the selected plan, concurrent postgraduate loan or pay-period earnings. |
| LTFT figure looks wrong | Average paid hours and weekend/on-call commitment may have been pro-rated differently. |
Frequently asked questions
Is an NHS resident doctor paid under Agenda for Change?
No. In England, resident doctors in training are normally paid under the 2016 doctor contract. AfC band calculators are not suitable.
What is the FY1 salary in England for 2026/27?
The full-time basic salary is £41,226 from 1 April 2026, before additional hours and allowances.
What is the FY2 salary?
The full-time basic salary is £47,610 in 2026/27.
How much does an ST1 or CT1 earn?
The full-time basic salary is £55,355. Actual gross pay depends on the work schedule.
Why do CT1 and CT2 currently show the same salary?
The accepted reform identifies separate grade-linked points, but their 2026/27 cash values are both £55,355. They separate further in the staged April 2027 structure.
Are nights paid time and a half?
No. Qualifying enhanced hours attract an extra 37% of the basic hourly rate under the 2016 contract.
How are hours above 40 paid?
Rostered hours above 40 are paid at the basic hourly rate, calculated from 1/40 of weekly full-time basic salary.
Does an LTFT doctor receive exactly their stated WTE?
Basic pay follows average paid weekly hours divided by 40. Weekend and on-call commitments have separate pro-rating rules, while the eligible £1,000 LTFT allowance is not pro-rated.
Is the NHS Pension deduction 9.8%?
Not always. The 2026/27 employee rate ranges from 5.2% to 12.5% according to pensionable pay.
Does the calculator include locum shifts?
Regular taxable extra pay can be added, but ad-hoc bank, agency or self-employed work can have different tax, NI and pension treatment.
Does the calculator work for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
No. It is designed for the 2016 England contract and 2026/27 England scale.
Can a locally employed doctor use it?
Yes, if the custom full-time salary and 2016-style pay elements match the contract. Otherwise the result may not reflect local or 2002 terms.
Will exam fees appear as salary?
No. Eligible exam fees are reimbursed costs, not basic salary. Keep reimbursement separate from taxable pay unless payroll advises otherwise.
Is the 2027 salary table final?
No. It shows the agreed underlying staged structure before the separate 2027/28 DDRB uplift.
Methodology and official sources
This guide prioritises primary and official sources. Rates and rules were checked on 27 August 2026. The calculator uses annualised estimates and rounds display values to the nearest penny; payroll may round individual pay elements differently.
- UK Government: accepted June 2026 resident-doctor agreement and pay tables
- NHS Employers: 2016 terms and conditions for doctors and dentists in training
- BMA: resident-doctor pay scales in England
- BMA: less-than-full-time resident-doctor pay explained
- NHSBSA: 2026/27 NHS Pension contribution tiers
- HMRC: 2026/27 Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds
- GOV.UK: student-loan repayment thresholds
| Disclaimer: This calculator is an educational estimate for employed resident doctors in England. It does not replace a personalised work schedule, payslip, tax calculation, pension record or advice from payroll, HMRC, NHSBSA, an accountant or a professional representative. |
Daniel Carter is a senior NHS Payroll Accountant with over 10 years of experience in Agenda for Change pay structures, tax, and pensions. He created the NHS Pay Calculators platform to help NHS staff easily understand their take-home pay, sick pay, maternity pay, and pension entitlements through simple, accurate online tools.
