How much tax do I pay on £23,000 in the UK?

Full answer

For a £23,000 salary in 2026/27, the £12,570 Personal Allowance shields the first slice of income from tax, leaving £10,430 taxable at the 20% basic rate, which produces £2,086 in Income Tax. National Insurance adds 8% of the same £10,430, giving £834.40. Together these deductions total £2,920.40, leaving £20,079.60 take-home a year, around £1,673.30 a month or £386.15 a week. This salary level is common for full-time roles paid slightly above the National Living Wage, such as junior care assistants, catering staff, or entry-level office workers. In Scotland, the starter and basic rate bands apply to the same £10,430 taxable income, producing Income Tax of roughly £1,972 -- a little less than the rest of the UK, because more of the income falls within the lower 19% starter band before reaching the 20% and 21% bands. No student loan repayment applies for a Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 or Plan 5 borrower at £23,000, since all thresholds (£25,000 to £33,795) sit above this salary; only a Postgraduate Loan, with its lower £21,000 threshold, would trigger a small repayment of 6% of £2,000, or £120 a year. If your employer pays you weekly rather than monthly, the same annual deductions are simply spread across 52 pay periods rather than 12, so your weekly net pay works out to the same overall total.

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