How to convert an hourly wage into an annual salary
Multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours you work in a week, then by the number of weeks you’re paid for in a year. Most permanent employees are paid for all 52 weeks, since statutory holiday pay is built into an annual salary rather than taken as unpaid time off, so £15 an hour for 37.5 hours a week works out at £562.50 a week, or £29,250 a year.
If you’re paid only for the weeks you actually work, such as a term-time-only school role or seasonal job, use your real number of paid weeks instead of 52. The calculator above has a field for this, and it changes both your annual salary and the weekly take-home figure so they reflect what you actually earn.
How much tax will you pay on an hourly wage?
Once your hourly rate is annualised, it’s taxed exactly like any other salary. For 2026/27, the first £12,570 you earn is tax-free (your Personal Allowance), the next portion up to £50,270 is taxed at 20% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and anything above that at 40% (45% above £125,140). Scotland uses a separate six-band system, shown further down this page. This calculator applies the correct bands automatically based on your hourly rate, hours and region.
National Insurance on an hourly wage
Employee National Insurance is charged at 8% on annualised earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above that, the same as for a fixed annual salary. It’s worked out on your total annual earnings from your hourly rate, hours and weeks, not on each week in isolation, which matches how this calculator (and most payroll software) presents an annual estimate.
Is your hourly rate above the National Minimum Wage?
| Age band | Hourly rate |
|---|---|
| Under 18 | £8.00 |
| 18 to 20 | £10.85 |
| 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £12.71 |
| Apprentice | £8.00 |
These are legal minimums from April 2026: it’s against the law for an employer to pay less than the rate for your age band, for every hour you work. The top rate, for workers aged 21 and over, is called the National Living Wage. Apprentices only get the £8.00 apprentice rate if they’re under 19, or 19 or over and still in the first year of their apprenticeship; otherwise the normal age-related rate applies. Enter your age band in the calculator above and it checks your rate for you.
Working part of the year
Not everyone is paid for a full 52-week year. Term-time-only staff, seasonal workers, and some zero-hours or agency workers are only paid for the weeks they actually work. Set “paid weeks per year” in the calculator to match your own pattern, for example 39 weeks for a typical school term-time contract, and both your annual salary and your weekly take-home figure will be based on that instead of assuming a full year.
Overtime, zero-hours contracts and working hours limits
There’s no separate statutory overtime rate in the UK. Employers set their own overtime pay in the contract, and it must still average out to at least the National Minimum Wage across all hours worked, including any overtime. If you’re paid different rates for standard and overtime hours, work out your average hourly rate across the whole week, or run this calculator separately for each and add the take-home figures together.
Zero-hours workers must still be paid at least the National Minimum Wage for every hour they actually work, even though their hours aren’t guaranteed in advance. Separately, UK law generally limits average working hours to 48 a week (calculated over a 17-week reference period), though workers can choose to opt out of this limit in writing.
Hourly wage calculator for Scotland
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Starter rate | 19% |
| Basic rate | 20% |
| Intermediate rate | 21% |
| Higher rate | 42% |
| Advanced rate | 45% |
| Top rate | 48% |
If you live in Scotland, your hourly wage is taxed under Scotland’s own six-band system rather than the England/Wales/Northern Ireland bands. Select “Scotland” as your tax region in the calculator above for an accurate result. National Minimum Wage rates and National Insurance are the same across the whole of the UK.
Example hourly wage calculations
These worked examples come straight from the calculator above, so the figures match exactly what you’d see entering the same numbers yourself.
Full-time at £15/hour
£15.00/hr · 37.5 hrs/wk · 52 wks · rUK
- Gross / year
- £29,250
- Take-home / year
- £24,580
40-hour week at £20/hour
£20.00/hr · 40 hrs/wk · 52 wks · rUK
- Gross / year
- £41,600
- Take-home / year
- £32,372
Term-time role, 39 weeks
£13.00/hr · 30 hrs/wk · 39 wks · rUK
- Gross / year
- £15,210
- Take-home / year
- £14,471
Scotland, 35 hours
£18.00/hr · 35 hrs/wk · 52 wks · Scotland
- Gross / year
- £32,760
- Take-home / year
- £27,114
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my annual salary from an hourly wage?
Multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours you work in a week, then multiply that by the number of weeks you're paid for in a year, usually 52. For example, £15 an hour for 37.5 hours a week comes to £562.50 a week, or £29,250 a year across 52 weeks. This calculator does that maths for you and then works out your Income Tax, National Insurance and take-home pay on top.
How many hours are in a working year?
It depends on your hours per week and how many weeks you're paid for. A common full-time pattern of 37.5 hours a week across 52 weeks comes to 1,950 hours a year; 40 hours a week across 52 weeks comes to 2,080 hours. If you only work part of the year, such as school term time, use your actual paid weeks instead of 52 for an accurate figure.
What is the National Minimum Wage per hour in the UK?
For 2026/27, it's £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over (this top rate is called the National Living Wage), £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds, and £8.00 for under-18s and most apprentices. These are legal minimums; your employer must pay at least this much for every hour you work, and this calculator checks your entered rate against the right band for your age.
Does this hourly wage calculator include tax and National Insurance?
Yes. It converts your hourly rate into an annual salary and then applies the same 2026/27 Income Tax bands, Personal Allowance and employee National Insurance rates used across the rest of this site, for either England, Wales and Northern Ireland or Scotland. It also applies student loan repayments if you select a plan.
How much tax will I pay on an hourly wage?
That depends entirely on how much your hourly rate adds up to over the year. Below the £12,570 Personal Allowance you pay no Income Tax at all; above it, the basic rate of 20% applies up to £50,270 of income (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland), then 40% above that. National Insurance is charged separately, at 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270. Enter your own hourly rate and hours above for an exact figure.
What if I don't work 52 weeks a year?
Change the 'paid weeks per year' field to match your actual working pattern, for example 39 weeks for a typical school term-time role. The calculator uses this figure for your annual salary and for the weekly take-home figure, so both reflect what you actually earn across the weeks you work, rather than assuming a full 52-week year.
Is overtime pay calculated differently?
There's no separate legal 'overtime rate' in the UK; your employer sets whatever overtime rate is in your contract, and it must still average out to at least the National Minimum Wage across the hours you actually work. If you're paid a higher rate for overtime hours, the simplest way to use this calculator is to work out your average hourly rate across all your hours, or run separate calculations for your standard and overtime pay and add the results together.
What's the difference between the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage?
The National Living Wage is simply the name for the top band of the National Minimum Wage, which applies to workers aged 21 and over. Younger age groups and apprentices are covered by the standard National Minimum Wage at lower rates. All of them are legal minimums that increase every April.
Can I use this calculator for a zero-hours contract?
Yes, though your hours are likely to vary week to week, so treat the result as an estimate for a typical week rather than a fixed figure. Whatever hours you're offered and accept, you must still be paid at least the National Minimum Wage for your age for every hour worked. The government has also been introducing new rules giving zero-hours workers a right to more predictable hours and notice of shifts, so it's worth checking your contract for anything specific to your employer.
Methodology and assumptions
This hourly wage calculator assumes:
- Your annual salary is your hourly rate multiplied by hours per week multiplied by paid weeks per year, with no other income, bonuses, or benefits in kind.
- Income Tax and National Insurance are calculated on an annualised basis, matching how a fixed salary is taxed. Real payroll NI is worked out non-cumulatively per pay period, which can cause small, pence-level differences for irregular pay.
- Weekly gross and take-home figures are per week actually worked (hours per week x hourly rate, and the annual take-home divided by paid weeks per year); monthly and annual figures assume that pattern continues for the whole of your paid weeks.
- The National Minimum Wage check compares your entered hourly rate against the standard rate for your selected age band. It can’t check more detailed rules, such as deductions for uniform or accommodation, which can also affect minimum wage compliance.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest penny.
For a full salary-based calculator, see the UK Salary Sacrifice Calculator. Full source citations for every rate and threshold used are also listed on the About & methodology page.
Sources
Tax and minimum wage figures for 2026/27 are taken directly from:
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- Income Tax in Scotland (GOV.UK)
- Scottish Income Tax: rates and bands 2026 to 2027 (gov.scot)
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance rates and categories (GOV.UK)
- Salary sacrifice and the effects on PAYE (GOV.UK)
- Tax on your private pension contributions: Annual Allowance (GOV.UK)
- Tapered annual allowance explained 2026/27 (MoneyHelper)
- Money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) (MoneyHelper)
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates (GOV.UK)
- Maximum weekly working hours (GOV.UK)
- Personal Allowances: adjusted net income (GOV.UK)
- Child Benefit tax charge (GOV.UK)
- Child Benefit rates (GOV.UK)
- Company car benefit: the appropriate percentage, 480 Appendix 2 (GOV.UK)
Further guidance referenced on this page:
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