£21,000 After Tax (2026/27)

A £21,000 salary is £1,750.00 a month before deductions. After income tax of £140.50 and National Insurance of £56.20 a month in 2026/27, £1,553.30 a month is left, with no pension or student loan taken. A pension of 5% of qualifying earnings (£6,240 to £50,270), relief at source, on £21,000 brings the monthly figure to £1,504.10, and in Scotland, with no pension, the same pay leaves £1,556.61 a month.

On £21,000 in 2026/27 the income tax is £1,686.00 a year, or £140.50 a month. The first £12,570 is covered by the personal allowance, and the remaining £8,430 is taxed at 20%. National Insurance adds £674.40, so tax and National Insurance on £21,000 come to £2,360.40, an effective rate of 11.24%.

Over 52 weeks of 37.5 hours, a £21,000 salary works out at £10.77 an hour before tax. After income tax and National Insurance for 2026/27, £9.56 an hour is left, or £71.69 for each of 5 working days a week. A week's pay on £21,000 is £403.85 before deductions and £358.45 after them.

With the Scottish income tax bands for 2026/27, a £21,000 salary leaves £18,679.27 a year, or £1,556.61 a month, after £1,646.33 of income tax. The top slice of £21,000 falls in the Scottish basic rate band at 20%. National Insurance of £674.40 is the same across the UK, because Scotland sets its own income tax but not National Insurance. That is £39.67 more than in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, where £21,000 leaves £18,639.60.

Outside Scotland nothing changes: on £21,000 the take home is £18,639.60 in both 2025/26 and 2026/27, because the personal allowance, the tax bands and the National Insurance thresholds for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are the same in both years. In Scotland the take home on £21,000 is £18,679.27, which is £11.40 more than the £18,667.87 the 2025/26 rates gave because the Scottish starter rate and basic rate bands are wider in 2026/27.