Minimum wage 2027: what £13.21 an hour is after tax

£13.21 an hour, the National Living Wage from 1 April 2027 for workers aged 21 and over, comes by our calculation to £1,839.02 a month after Income Tax and National Insurance at 37.5 hours a week in England or Northern Ireland, up from £1,780.52 on the £12.71 rate until 31 March 2027, with no pension or student loan. That is £25,759.50 a year before tax and £22,068.24 after. The 50p rise is £975 a year gross and £702 a year take-home, which is £58.50 a month or £13.50 a week.

How much of the rise you keep depends on your hours, pension and benefits.

• Above about 18.3 hours you keep 72p of each extra £1, after 20% tax and 8% National Insurance (NI).
• Below that you keep all of it, so 18 hours gains £39.00 a month and 20 hours gains £31.20, though 20 hours still takes home more.
• On Universal Credit in England, once any work allowance is used up, it is 32.4p of each extra £1 gross, or 45p under about 18.3 hours, because the 55% falls on earnings after tax and NI.
• Automatic enrolment in a workplace pension covers workers aged 22 to State Pension age earning at least £10,000. In England, 5% on the £6,240 to £50,270 band most schemes use makes 37.5 hours £1,773.96 a month. DWP labels that trigger and band "Proposed" for 2027-28.

These are our calculations: one job, tax code 1257L, under State Pension age, the same hours every week, 52 weeks, no pension or student loan unless stated. Your payslip may differ by a pound or two over a year. Scotland and Wales have their own section below.

How much is £13.21 an hour after tax?

At £13.21 in England or Northern Ireland, 37.5 hours takes home £1,839.02 a month and 40 hours £1,942.06.

Year is rounded to the pound.

The rates, and the points where Income Tax and National Insurance start, are the same in 2027-28 as in 2026-27 in England and Northern Ireland. The Treasury's £910 gross gain for a full-time worker implies 35 hours by our inference. By our sum that is £655.20 after deductions.

Why 18 hours gains more than 20 hours

At 18 hours none of the 50p is taxed, so you keep all £39.00 a month. At 20 hours pay is already over the point where tax and National Insurance start, so you keep £31.20. 20 hours still takes home more: £1,117.75 a month against £1,030.38.

Share is the share of the gross rise you keep.

The point where tax and NI start falls from about 19 hours at £12.71 to about 18.3 at £13.21. At 20 hours it is over it on both rates, so 28p of each £1 goes. At 19 hours the rise crosses the line: tax and NI begin, and the rise is worth £30.08 a month, the lowest in the table. Thresholds are frozen to April 2031.

This assumes one job, code 1257L and the same hours every week. NI works per earnings period, which is your pay interval. If you are paid weekly the test is £242 a week, so varying shifts can pay it in a week over £242 even if the year averages under about 18.3 hours. If you are paid monthly the test in 2026-27 is £1,048 a month. A second job or other income is outside these figures.

How the minimum wage rise compares with inflation

The rate rises 3.93%. Take-home rises 3.29% at 37.5 hours, 3.93% at 18 hours and 2.87% at 20 hours. CPI inflation was 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026. In October 2026 the OBR forecast 3.4% for 2027. So 3.29% and 2.87% are lower than that CPI figure and that forecast, and 3.93% is higher than both.

The Low Pay Commission, on the rate and not take-home, says it "is above the range of inflation forecasts from April 2027 to March 2028, with additional allowance made for some upside risk. Therefore, we judge that it will protect the rate in real terms over the period specified in our remit." These figures cover different periods.

Minimum wage 2027 rates: under-21s and apprentices

There is no separate over-25 rate: the National Living Wage covers "all workers aged 21 and over". The apprentice rate is for those "aged under 19" or "aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship". Others get the rate for their age.

Tax and NI start at about 21.5 hours on £11.27 and about 29.1 hours on £8.31.

The real living wage is a separate rate set by the Living Wage Foundation: £14.10 an hour, or £15.45 in London, announced in October 2026. It is voluntary and HMRC does not enforce it, so the legal minimum stays the rate for your age: £13.21 at 21 and over from 1 April 2027. GOV.UK says the legal rate "depends on your age and whether you're an apprentice", and its table has no separate rate for London.

What a pension, a student loan or Universal Credit changes

Workplace pension

In England, with a 5% pension on the band proposed for 2027-28, 37.5 hours is £1,773.96 a month and costs £780.78 a year.

Cost is what your take-home falls by in a year. Month is take-home after it. Pot is the year's total going in, with your employer's 3% minimum and tax relief. Assumes 5% on the £6,240 to £50,270 band: most schemes use it; check yours.

At these hours the share of the rise kept falls from 72% to 68%. The 4-point difference goes into the pot, with tax relief and your employer's share on top. DWP's review of 3 November 2026 labels the £10,000 trigger and the £6,240 to £50,270 band "Proposed" for 2027-28, and its text says the Secretary of State "has decided to maintain the existing threshold values" into that year. It names England, Scotland and Wales. We do not extend it to Northern Ireland.

Automatic enrolment starts at 22, so a 21-year-old on £13.21 falls outside it.

If you are automatically enrolled, between about 14.6 and 18.8 hours at £13.21 the tax relief method changes the cost. Under net pay the contribution is taken before tax. Under relief at source it is taken after tax and the provider claims 20%. Your scheme sets which applies, not you. At 18 hours net pay costs £306.23 a year and relief at source £244.98, before any low earner's pension payment from HMRC.

Student loan

At 5 November 2026 we found 2027-28 figures for two plans. Plan 2 is frozen at £29,385 and its repayments start around 42.8 hours on £13.21. Plan 1 rises to £28,005 from 6 April 2027 and its repayments start around 40.8 hours. On either plan there is no repayment at 40 hours on £13.21.

The 2026-27 column is HMRC's employer figure for that tax year. GOV.UK says thresholds change on 6 April every year, Plan 2's freeze aside, so that column is not a test for 2027-28 pay. TBC means we found no announcement at 5 November 2026. You repay the Rate on income over your threshold.

Plan 5 follows a formula tied to RPI. At 5 November 2026 we found no 2027-28 figure for it.

Universal Credit

In England, once any work allowance is used up, the 50p leaves you £17.55 a month better off at 18 hours, £14.04 at 20 and £26.33 at 37.5. The regulations cover England, Wales and Scotland, the tax lines are England's and we did not check Northern Ireland's Universal Credit rules.

UC is 55% of Net. Rows are a year, except Month.

The 55% reduction, called the taper, applies to earnings after tax and National Insurance, under regulation 55(5). That gives 45p of each net £1, so 32.4p of each gross £1. Under about 18.3 hours there is no tax or National Insurance on the rise, so it is 45p of each gross £1.

The work allowance is what you can earn before the taper starts. At 5 November 2026 it was £427 a month if you get help with housing costs or live in temporary accommodation arranged by your council, £710 if not. You get it only if you or your partner are responsible for a child or young person or living with a disability or health condition that affects your ability to work. At 18 and 20 hours take-home is already above both.

These sums are our own, not calculator output. They apply only while Universal Credit is paid and any work allowance is used up. They cover the earnings effect only: any April change to Universal Credit's own amounts is outside them, and the 2027-28 amounts were unpublished at 5 November 2026. Payment dates can move sums between assessment periods.

When £13.21 reaches your payslip

GOV.UK's minimum wage guidance says the rise "applies to the first pay reference period starting on or after the date of any change", so your pay might not go up on 1 April.

The date of payment does not affect the period. By our reading, pay in arrears shows the rise on a later payslip. On four-weekly pay the new rate applies from the first four-week period starting on or after 1 April, so the date depends on your employer's cycle. The same approach applies to a birthday that moves you to a higher band. At 5 November 2026 the minimum wage regulations still read £12.71 and we had found no April 2027 amending instrument.

Checking you are paid it

The rate is tested before tax. GOV.UK's calculator checks whether you are paid the rate and whether past payments are owed. GOV.UK directs a National Minimum Wage complaint to HMRC. The Acas helpline is 0300 123 1100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

Scotland and Wales set their own Income Tax

National Insurance decisions are reserved to the UK Parliament and the Personal Allowance applies UK-wide. Income Tax rates are not. At 5 November 2026 neither nation had set 2027-28 rates. At that date Scotland's draft Budget was due on 3 December 2026. As a hypothetical on 2026-27 Scottish bands, by our sum 37.5 hours would take home £22,107.91 a year, £39.67 more than England and Northern Ireland. That is not a 2027-28 figure. By our comparison Wales's 2026-27 bands match GOV.UK's main table. Senedd Research said on 30 October 2026 that Wales's draft Budget "is due to be published on 17 November".

Work out your own minimum wage after tax

rate × hours × 52 = yearly pay

At our tax calculator, set Country to United Kingdom, choose where you pay tax and enter the yearly figure: 25759.50 for 37.5 hours, 27476.80 for 40. There is no hours field. At 5 November 2026 the page said 2026-27, and the results match 2027-28 rules for England and Northern Ireland. Not in it: student loans, relief-at-source pensions, the end of National Insurance at State Pension age and Universal Credit.

By our working from Tables A, the PAYE pay adjustment tables, Income Tax starts at about £12,579 a year under code 1257L. By our sum a calculator that starts it at £12,570 would show £22,066.44 at 37.5 hours, £1.80 lower. thesalarycalculator.co.uk's hourly tool takes an hourly wage and hours per week, which ours does not, plus student loan and pension options.

Questions people ask about the minimum wage after tax

Is the UK minimum wage after tax?

No. Acas says the National Minimum Wage is calculated on total pay before tax and National Insurance are taken out. At £13.21 from 1 April 2027 and 37.5 hours in England or Northern Ireland, with no pension or student loan, take-home is about £11.32 an hour.

How much is the minimum wage a week after tax?

In England or Northern Ireland, with no pension or student loan, at £13.21 from 1 April 2027: £237.78 at 18 hours, £257.94 at 20, £424.39 at 37.5 and £448.17 at 40. On the £12.71 rate until 31 March 2027, in the same order: £228.78, £250.74, £410.89 and £433.77.

What is 40 hours a week on minimum wage after tax?

At £13.21 from 1 April 2027, £27,476.80 before tax. After tax in England or Northern Ireland, with no pension or student loan: £23,304.70 a year, £1,942.06 a month, £448.17 a week. On the £12.71 rate until 31 March 2027: £22,555.90 a year after tax.

What is the annual minimum wage for 37.5 hours a week?

At £13.21 from 1 April 2027, £25,759.50 before tax. After tax in England or Northern Ireland, with no pension or student loan: £22,068.24 a year, £1,839.02 a month, £424.39 a week. On the £12.71 rate until 31 March 2027: £24,784.50 before tax and £21,366.24 after.

What is the annual salary for someone who earns 13.21 per hour?

Rate × hours × 52, before tax: £27,476.80 a year at 40 hours, £25,759.50 at 37.5 and £13,738.40 at 20.

What is the monthly minimum wage in the UK?

The minimum wage is worked out as an hourly rate, so the month depends on your hours. Before tax at £13.21 from 1 April 2027: £2,146.63 at 37.5 hours and £2,289.73 at 40. On the £12.71 rate until 31 March 2027: about £2,065 and £2,203.

How much do you take home a month on minimum wage in the UK?

In England or Northern Ireland, with no pension or student loan, at £13.21 from 1 April 2027: £1,839.02 at 37.5 hours, £1,942.06 at 40, £1,117.75 at 20 and £1,030.38 at 18. On the £12.71 rate until 31 March 2027, in the same order: £1,780.52, £1,879.66, £1,086.55 and £991.38. In England, 5% into a workplace pension on the band proposed for 2027-28 leaves £1,773.96 a month at 37.5 hours on £13.21.

How much tax do you pay on a minimum wage job?

At £13.21 from 1 April 2027, with one job and steady hours, none below about 18.3 hours a week. At 37.5 hours in England or Northern Ireland: £2,636.10 Income Tax plus £1,055.16 National Insurance a year, if you are under State Pension age. On the £12.71 rate until 31 March 2027: none below about 19 hours, and £2,441.10 plus £977.16 at 37.5 hours.

Does Universal Credit go up when minimum wage increases?

The rise in pay does not increase it. Once any work allowance is used up, Universal Credit falls by 55% of the net rise, so you keep 45p of each net £1. In England at 37.5 hours that leaves £26.33 of a £58.50 net rise a month, by our own sum and not calculator output. Any April change to Universal Credit's own amounts is separate. We did not check Northern Ireland's rules.

What's the salary threshold for Universal Credit?

GOV.UK's page on wages and Universal Credit gives no salary figure. It says payments reduce as wages rise until you earn enough to no longer get Universal Credit. By our reading the point depends on your own award. GOV.UK also says "There's no limit to how many hours you can work and still get Universal Credit", and points to a benefits calculator to see how Universal Credit changes if your wages go up.

Is 25K the minimum wage?

It depends on your hours, because the minimum wage is worked out as an hourly rate. For a worker aged 21 or over, £25,000 for 37.5 hours a week is about £12.82 an hour (25,000 / 1,950), above the £12.71 rate until 31 March 2027 and below £13.21. For 40 hours it is about £12.02 (25,000 / 2,080), below both. GOV.UK's calculator checks your own pay.