Answers · UK 2025/26

What is £21 an hour as an annual salary and take-home pay in the UK?

On a standard 37.5-hour week, £21 an hour works out to a £40,950 annual salary. For 2026/27, that gives take-home pay of £33,003.60 a year after £5,676 Income Tax and £2,270.40 National Insurance -- about £2,750.30 a month.

Last updated: 9 July 2026Last reviewed: 9 July 2026How we verify

Full answer

Using a standard full-time working week of 37.5 hours, £21 an hour converts to an annual salary of £21 x 37.5 x 52, which is £40,950. On this salary for 2026/27: taxable income after the £12,570 Personal Allowance is £28,380, taxed entirely at the 20% basic rate, giving £5,676 Income Tax. National Insurance is 8% of £28,380, which is £2,270.40. Combined deductions of £7,946.40 leave £33,003.60 take-home a year, around £2,750.30 a month or £634.68 a week. £21 an hour is a common rate for skilled trades, experienced administrative roles and some entry-level professional positions, sitting £8.29 above the 2026/27 National Living Wage of £12.71. This salary remains entirely within the basic-rate band, with £22,290 of headroom before the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, so overtime paid at the same rate is very unlikely to push earnings into the 40% band unless hours increase substantially. Contractors quoting a day rate can use this as a rough benchmark: around £157.50 for a 7.5-hour day is broadly equivalent to £21 an hour before accounting for the different tax treatment that applies to umbrella company or limited company contracting.