What is take-home at the top of Band 8b?

On the £77,368 top point, with the 12.5% NHS pension tier, take-home is about £49,628 a year, or £4,136 a month, after Income Tax, National Insurance and the £9,671 contribution. Band 8b entry, £66,582, is about £44,900 and the £70,896 intermediate point about £46,360.

Does the High Income Child Benefit Charge apply at Band 8b?

On part of the band, not all of it, and the pension is the reason. The contribution is a net pay arrangement, taken before adjusted net income is worked out, so gross cannot be compared with the £60,000 threshold directly. Band 8b entry, £66,582 gross, leaves adjusted net income of about £59,458, which is under the threshold and attracts no charge at all. The £70,896 intermediate point leaves about £62,034, costing roughly £233 of the £2,337 Child Benefit for two children, and the £77,368 top point leaves about £67,697, costing roughly £888. Full clawback needs adjusted net income of £80,000, which no point of this band reaches.

NHS Band 8b Salary 2026/27: Directorate Manager Pay

Band 8b covers directorate-level managers, senior consultant AHPs and assistant directors. Pay for 2026/27 runs £66,582 at entry, £70,896 at the intermediate point and £77,368 at the top.

Typical pay & take-home

Agenda for Change Band 8b intermediate point: £70,896
The three points of Band 8b, entry to top: £66,582–£77,368
Take-home on that salary: £46,360 England, after the 12.5% NHS pension contribution, Income Tax and NI.

At £70,896, you earn about 82% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you between the 75th percentile (£54,009) and the 90th percentile (£76,903) of UK full-time earnings.

See exact take-home for £70,896 →

What influences nhs band 8b directorate manager pay

Band 8b gross sits well above the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, so most of the band is taxed at a 42% marginal rate once employee National Insurance is counted. The pension moves that line rather than leaving it where the gross figure puts it: the contribution is taken before Income Tax, so at the £66,582 entry point what is taxed is £59,458, not the gross.

The NHS pension rate applies to the whole of pensionable pay, not to a slice above a threshold, so a Band 8b point either pays 10.7% on all of it or 12.5% on all of it. The £66,582 entry point is inside the 10.7% tier, which runs to £67,668; the intermediate and top points are over it and pay 12.5% on the whole amount. On this band the boundary is crossed on the step from entry to the intermediate point, and the pay rise more than covers it: take-home goes from about £44,900 to about £46,360.

Salary sacrifice for cycle-to-work or an EV scheme, where a trust offers one, is worth more here than lower down the scale, because each sacrificed pound saves 40% Income Tax plus 2% National Insurance. NHS pension contributions work differently: they are a net pay arrangement, with Income Tax relief but no National Insurance saving.

Career progression

Band 8b entry: £66,582 (2026/27 England).
Band 8b intermediate point: £70,896.
Band 8b top: £77,368.
Band 8c entry: £79,504. Band 8d entry: £94,356. Band 9 entry: £112,782.

Frequently asked questions

What is take-home at the top of Band 8b?: On the £77,368 top point, with the 12.5% NHS pension tier, take-home is about £49,628 a year, or £4,136 a month, after Income Tax, National Insurance and the £9,671 contribution. Band 8b entry, £66,582, is about £44,900 and the £70,896 intermediate point about £46,360.
Does the High Income Child Benefit Charge apply at Band 8b?: On part of the band, not all of it, and the pension is the reason. The contribution is a net pay arrangement, taken before adjusted net income is worked out, so gross cannot be compared with the £60,000 threshold directly. Band 8b entry, £66,582 gross, leaves adjusted net income of about £59,458, which is under the threshold and attracts no charge at all. The £70,896 intermediate point leaves about £62,034, costing roughly £233 of the £2,337 Child Benefit for two children, and the £77,368 top point leaves about £67,697, costing roughly £888. Full clawback needs adjusted net income of £80,000, which no point of this band reaches.

All UK professions →

Sources

NHS Employers - Agenda for Change pay scales 2026/27
NHS Employers - NHS Pension Scheme member contribution rates
ONS - ASHE 2025 Table 14.7a, annual pay by SOC 2020 occupation (occupational pay)
ONS — Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (UK full-time median and percentiles)
HMRC — Rates and thresholds 2026/27
Our full methodology & calculation sources →