Minimum Wage Calculator 2026/27

By Omair SaoLast reviewed 25 September 2026 — National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates in force from 1 April 2026. See how we check our figures.

Check the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates for your age group. See your weekly, monthly, and annual take-home pay, and find out if you're being paid correctly.

Your Details

Age group

Rates effective from April 2026

Hours per week

Your current hourly rate (optional)

Enter to check if you're being paid correctly

Enter your hours to see your take-home pay

UK Minimum Wage Rates 2026/27

The following rates apply from 6 April 2026 and are set by the government each year.

Age Group	Hourly Rate	Rate Type
21 and over	£12.71	National Living Wage
18 to 20	£10.85	National Minimum Wage
Under 18	£8.00	National Minimum Wage
Apprentices	£8.00	Apprentice rate

Note: The Real Living Wage (set by the Living Wage Foundation) is higher — £13.45/hr nationally and £14.80/hr in London. This is voluntary, not a legal requirement.

What to Do If You're Being Underpaid

Check your payslip — divide your total pay by hours worked to find your effective hourly rate.
If your rate is below the minimum for your age group, speak to your employer first.
Contact ACAS for free, confidential advice on 0300 123 1100.
Report underpayment to HMRC — employers can be fined and required to back-pay you.
You are entitled to back pay going back up to 6 years.

Who this minimum wage calculator is for

Workers who want to check that their hourly rate meets the legal minimum for their age from 1 April 2026.
Young workers and apprentices, whose rates are different and change on their birthday or after the first year of an apprenticeship.
Anyone paid a salary rather than an hourly rate who wants to convert it back to an hourly figure and compare it with the minimum.
People working out what a minimum wage job pays each month after tax and National Insurance, for budgeting or a Universal Credit claim.
Employers and managers of small teams checking they are paying correctly after the April 2026 increase.

How the minimum wage calculator works

1
Pick your age band
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour applies to everyone aged 21 and over. Workers aged 18 to 20 get £10.85, and 16 to 17 year olds get £8.00. Apprentices under 19, or in the first year of their apprenticeship, get the £8.00 apprentice rate; after that they must be paid the rate for their age.
2
Enter your weekly hours and current rate
The calculator multiplies the legal minimum by your hours to give weekly, monthly and annual gross pay, and compares your current hourly rate with the minimum. If you are paid a salary, divide it by 52 and then by your contracted weekly hours to find your hourly rate first.
3
Deduct tax and National Insurance
Income tax is charged at 20% on annual earnings above the £12,570 Personal Allowance and employee National Insurance at 8% above the same figure. On a full-time minimum wage salary the two together take about 14% of gross pay. Below roughly 19 hours a week at £12.71 an hour there is no tax or NI at all.
4
Compare with the Real Living Wage
The Real Living Wage (£13.45 an hour, or £14.80 in London) is a voluntary rate set by the Living Wage Foundation based on the cost of living. It is not a legal minimum, but around 15,000 accredited employers pay it, and the calculator shows the gap.

Worked examples

Aged 21 or over, 37.5 hours a week on the National Living Wage

A full-time worker on the £12.71 rate with the standard tax code and no student loan or pension.

Hourly rate	£12.71
Weekly gross pay£12.71 × 37.5 hours	£476.63
Annual gross payWeekly pay × 52	£24,784.50
Income tax(£24,784.50 − £12,570) × 20%	£2,443
Employee National Insurance(£24,784.50 − £12,570) × 8%	£977
Annual take-home pay	£21,364
Monthly take-home pay	£1,780

Result: A full-time minimum wage worker keeps about £1,780 a month, and would qualify for a Universal Credit top-up if they rent or have children.

Aged 18 to 20, 37.5 hours a week

The same hours on the £10.85 rate for 18 to 20 year olds.

Hourly rate	£10.85
Weekly gross pay	£406.88
Annual gross pay	£21,157.50
Income tax	£1,718
Employee National Insurance	£687
Annual take-home pay	£18,753
Monthly take-home pay	£1,563

Result: Turning 21 lifts the same job's annual pay by £3,627 gross, or about £217 a month after tax and NI.

Figures use the 2026/27 rates and rules described above, are rounded to the nearest pound, and were last checked against GOV.UK on 25 September 2026.

Assumptions and limitations

You are entitled to the full Personal Allowance and have no other income. A second job or a non-standard tax code will change the deductions.
Hours are paid at the same rate all year. Overtime premiums, tips (which do not count towards the minimum wage), bonuses and shift allowances are not modelled.
The accommodation offset is not applied. If your employer provides accommodation, up to £11.10 a day (£77.70 a week) can count towards your minimum wage pay.
Deductions for uniforms, tools or travel that your employer requires can take you below the minimum wage even if your headline rate is correct; the calculator cannot see those.
No student loan or pension contribution is deducted. Auto-enrolment applies to most workers aged 22 and over earning more than £10,000, so a workplace pension may reduce take-home pay by a few percent.
Rates are those in force from 1 April 2026 until 31 March 2027. The Low Pay Commission recommends new rates each autumn for the following April.

Official sources

The figures used by this calculator come from the following official pages. Read how we check our figures.

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates — GOV.UK — Rates from 1 April 2026 by age
Minimum wage for different types of work — GOV.UK — What counts as working time
National Minimum Wage: accommodation — GOV.UK — The accommodation offset
Report a problem with your pay — Acas — What to do if you are underpaid
The Real Living Wage — Living Wage Foundation

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the National Living Wage for 2026?

The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 per hour from 6 April 2026. Workers aged 18-20 receive £10.85, and under-18s and apprentices receive £8.00.

Am I being paid enough?

Enter your current hourly rate in the calculator to check against the minimum for your age group. If your employer pays below the minimum wage, contact ACAS for free advice on 0300 123 1100, or report underpayment directly to HMRC.

What is the difference between the National Living Wage and the Real Living Wage?

The National Living Wage (£12.71) is the legal minimum set by the government. The Real Living Wage (£13.45 nationally, £14.80 in London) is a voluntary higher rate set by the Living Wage Foundation based on actual living costs. Employers choose to adopt the Real Living Wage voluntarily.

What was the National Living Wage increase for 2026?

The NLW rose from £11.44 in 2025/26 to £12.71 per hour from 6 April 2026 — an increase of £1.27 (11.1%). Workers aged 18-20 saw their rate rise to £10.85 from £8.60. These are among the largest increases in the NLW's history.

Does the minimum wage apply to zero-hours contracts?

Yes. All workers are entitled to the minimum wage regardless of contract type — including zero-hours contracts, part-time work, casual work, and agency work. Employers must pay the minimum wage for every hour worked, including any waiting time between jobs.

Can accommodation count towards the minimum wage?

Employers who provide accommodation can offset up to £10.01 per day (the accommodation offset rate for 2026) against the minimum wage obligation. This means if you live in employer-provided accommodation, you may receive lower cash wages while technically meeting the legal minimum.