£31,000 after tax: take-home pay 2026/27
On a £31,000 salary in 2026/27, take-home in England, Wales or Northern Ireland is £25,839.60 a year (£2,153.30 a month) with a standard tax code, no pension and no student loan. Figures use HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027.
- Gross
- £31,000
- Take-home / year
- £25,840 (£25,839.60)
- Take-home / month
- £2,153 (£2,153.30)
- Effective rate
- 16.6%
Assumes 2026/27 · England, Wales & NI · tax code 1257L · no pension · no student loan · 52 weeks. Not Scotland unless you switch below.
£31,000 salary breakdown
| Item | Annual | Monthly | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £31,000.00 | £2,583.33 | £596.15 |
| Personal allowance | £12,570.00 | £1,047.50 | £241.73 |
| Taxable income | £18,430.00 | £1,535.83 | £354.42 |
| Income tax | £3,686.00 | £307.17 | £70.88 |
| National Insurance | £1,474.40 | £122.87 | £28.35 |
| Take-home pay | £25,839.60 | £2,153.30 | £496.92 |
Tax by band
- Basic rate · 20.0%£3,686.00
Adjust this £31,000 calculation
Which tax bands does £31,000 hit?
£31,000 sits in the basic-rate band for 2026/27. After the £12,570 personal allowance, £18,430 is taxed at 20%, giving income tax of £3,686.00. Employee National Insurance adds another 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, which works out at £1,474.40 here.
You are well below the higher-rate threshold of £50,270 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), so every extra £1 you earn keeps 72p after the 20% income tax and 8% employee NI. That combined 28% marginal rate is what to think about when weighing a pay rise at this level.
£0 – £37,700 of taxable income · £18,430.00 taxed
Student loan and pension on £31,000
| Scenario | Tax | NI | Loan | Pension | Monthly | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headline (Rest of UK, no pension, no loan)The SERP number | £3,686.00 | £1,474.40 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £2,153.30 | £25,839.60 |
| Scotland, no pension, no loanScottish income tax bands | £3,661.07 | £1,474.40 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £2,155.38 | £25,864.53 |
| Rest of UK + Plan 29% above £29,385 | £3,686.00 | £1,474.40 | £145.35 | £0.00 | £2,141.19 | £25,694.25 |
| Rest of UK + Plan 59% above £25,000 | £3,686.00 | £1,474.40 | £540.00 | £0.00 | £2,108.30 | £25,299.60 |
| Rest of UK + Plan 2 + PostgraduatePGL at 6% above £21,000 | £3,686.00 | £1,474.40 | £745.35 | £0.00 | £2,091.19 | £25,094.25 |
| Rest of UK + 5% salary sacrificeReduces tax, NI and loan bases | £3,376.00 | £1,350.40 | £0.00 | £1,550.00 | £2,060.30 | £24,723.60 |
| Rest of UK + 5% net-pay (qualifying earnings)AE-style: LEL–UEL band | £3,443.08 | £1,474.40 | £0.00 | £1,214.60 | £2,072.33 | £24,867.92 |
£31,000 in Scotland
The same £31,000 salary in Scotland for 2026/27 takes home £25,864.53 a year — £24.93 more than in England, Wales or Northern Ireland — because Scottish income tax bands differ above the personal allowance. National Insurance is the same across the UK. At this level the gap is small; it widens sharply once pay crosses the Scottish higher-rate threshold (£43,663).
What does £2,153.30 a month cover?
£2,153.30 a month (from a £31,000 salary) clears the rent on a two-bed in most of the UK or a decent one-bed in outer London, and leaves a meaningful amount for transport, food and saving.
Using a common 4.5× gross multiple, that is in the region of a £139,500 mortgage — enough for a modest starter flat or house outside the South East, though regional prices vary enormously.
This is the level where a pension contribution or a student loan repayment starts to be a real trade-off against housing costs, which is exactly what the calculator above lets you model.
Mortgage illustration uses 4.5× gross (£139,500) — lender affordability rules vary; not advice.
Jobs that pay around £31,000
- Nurse (Band 5) — typical advertised range £29,700–£34,000
- Police constable — typical advertised range £29,000–£43,000
- Plumber — typical advertised range £31,000–£43,000
- Carpenter — typical advertised range £28,000–£38,000
- HGV driver — typical advertised range £30,000–£42,000
- Retail manager — typical advertised range £26,000–£38,000
Compare nearby salaries
£31,000 after tax — FAQs
How much is £31,000 after tax?
In 2026/27, a £31,000 salary in England, Wales or Northern Ireland takes home £25,839.60 a year (£2,153.30 a month) after income tax of £3,686.00 and employee National Insurance of £1,474.40, assuming no pension and no student loan. These are the headline figures shown on this page.
What is £31,000 take-home pay per month?
Monthly take-home on £31,000 for 2026/27 is £2,153.30 (£25,839.60 a year). That is before pension contributions and student loan repayments — use the calculator above to add either.
Is £31,000 a good salary?
£31,000 is a reasonable income in the UK for 2026/27, taking home £2,153.30 a month. Whether it is "good" depends on location and household size — £36,000 would take home more per month, but the gap narrows at higher bands because of the marginal tax rates shown on this page.
How does a Plan 5 student loan affect £31,000 take-home?
With a Plan 5 student loan, £31,000 take-home for 2026/27 falls to £25,299.60 a year (£2,108.30 a month) — a deduction of £540.00. Plan 5 repayments are 9% of income above £25,000 and started from April 2026.
How this figure is calculated
- Gross
- £31,000
- Personal allowance
- £12,570.00
- Taxable income
- £18,430.00
- Income tax
- £3,686.00
- Employee NI
- £1,474.40
- Take-home
- £25,839.60
£31,000 uses the 2026/27 personal allowance (£12,570), the basic rate band (£37,700 of taxable income at 20%) and employee National Insurance (8% between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses the six Scottish income tax bands. Monthly take-home is the annual figure divided by 12; weekly uses the 52-week year. Full sources and rounding rules: methodology.
Last updated: 2026-04-06 · Source: GOV.UK rates and thresholds (2026 to 2027)