Junior doctor salary after tax starts at £2,766.86 a month for a first year foundation doctor in England in 2026/27, rises to £3,555.28 a month for a first stage specialty trainee, and reaches £4,618.27 a month for a senior trainee at the top of the scale, after income tax and National Insurance only.
Doctors in training in the NHS are now called resident doctors, a title that replaced junior doctor in September 2024. This guide uses the familiar junior doctor wording because that is how most readers search for the figures, while the pay figures are the resident doctor figures for England from the June 2026 government offer to the resident doctors committee.
That offer combines the 3.5 percent Doctors and Dentists Review Body uplift from 1 April 2026 with nodal point reform. All take home figures use the 2026/27 tax rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland with the standard 1257L tax code, after income tax and National Insurance only.
What do junior doctors earn in 2026/27?
Resident doctor basic pay in England is set by nodal point, a fixed pay level in the training scale. Doctors move up the points as they progress through training. The rates below are for a standard 40 hour week, before any extra hours or allowances.
Foundation year 1 sits at nodal point 1 on £41,226 a year. Foundation year 2 sits at nodal point 2 on £47,610 a year. Specialty trainee year 1 and core trainee year 1 sit at nodal point 3a on £55,355 a year, and specialty trainee year 2 and core trainee year 2 sit at nodal point 3b on the same £55,355 a year.
Specialty trainee year 3 and core trainee year 3 sit at nodal point 4a on £67,325 a year. Specialty trainee year 4, core trainee year 4 and specialty trainee year 5 sit at nodal points 4b and 4c on £67,998 a year. Specialty trainee year 6 sits at nodal point 5a on £76,582 a year, and specialty trainee years 7 and 8 sit at nodal points 5b and 5c on £77,348 a year.
What is junior doctor salary after tax for a first year foundation doctor?
A first year foundation doctor on £41,226 pays £5,731.20 in income tax and £2,292.48 in National Insurance over the year, leaving £33,202.32 for the year. That works out at £2,766.86 a month or £638.51 a week before pension and any student loan. The first £12,570 is tax free thanks to the personal allowance, and earnings above it up to £50,270 are taxed at the 20 percent basic rate.
See our salary tables for take home pay at each salary level.
What is junior doctor salary after tax in second year foundation training?
A second year foundation doctor on £47,610 pays £7,008 in income tax and £2,803.20 in National Insurance over the year, leaving £37,798.80 for the year. That is £3,149.90 a month or £726.90 a week before pension and any student loan. The step from first year to second year adds £383.04 a month in take home pay, because gross pay rises by £6,384.
A second year foundation doctor on basic pay alone stays below the £50,270 higher rate threshold, so all taxable earnings are still at the 20 percent rate.
What is junior doctor salary after tax at specialty training stage?
A specialty trainee year 1 or core trainee year 1 doctor on £55,355 pays £9,574 in income tax and £3,117.70 in National Insurance over the year, leaving £42,663.30 for the year. That is £3,555.28 a month or £820.45 a week before pension and any student loan. The step from second year foundation pay adds £405.38 a month in take home pay.
Basic pay is the same across specialties at the same nodal point, although some specialties attract a flexible pay premium on top of basic pay, which is not included here. Read how UK income tax bands work for the detail behind these numbers.
What do senior specialty trainees take home?
A specialty trainee year 3 or core trainee year 3 doctor on £67,325 takes home £4,133.82 a month after income tax and National Insurance, before pension and any student loan. A specialty trainee year 4 or year 5 doctor on £67,998 takes home £4,166.35 a month on the same basis. A specialty trainee year 6 doctor on £76,582 takes home £4,581.25 a month, and a specialty trainee year 7 or year 8 doctor on £77,348 takes home £4,618.27 a month.
For junior doctor salary after tax at senior level, the full journey from first year foundation pay to the top of the scale adds £1,851.41 a month in take home pay. Our take home pay tables put these figures beside other salaries at the same level.
Do extra hours, nights and weekends lift doctor pay?
Yes, often by a large amount, because most resident doctor rotas run well beyond the standard 40 hour week. Additional rostered hours above 40 hours are paid at the plain time hourly rate, and hours in the night window from 21:00 to 07:00 attract a 37 percent premium on the plain time rate. Weekend work attracts a weekend allowance worth between 3 percent and 15 percent of basic pay, and non resident on call work attracts an availability supplement worth 8 percent of basic pay.
A doctor on a busy rota will take home considerably more than the basic figures here, but by an amount that depends on the rota, not by a fixed sum.
What is junior doctor salary after tax in Scotland?
For the Scotland comparison, treat this section as a tax comparison on the same gross pay, not as Scottish pay scales. Scotland sets its own income tax bands and its own resident doctor settlement, so the figures differ. On the same gross figures, a first year foundation salary gives about £2,760.42 a month in Scotland, almost identical to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
At second year foundation level the Scottish figure is about £3,069.05 a month, compared with £3,149.90 elsewhere. The gap widens higher up, since Scotland charges 42 percent on earnings between £43,662 and £75,000, against 40 percent above £50,270 elsewhere. At specialty trainee year 1 the Scottish figure is about £3,417.18, and at the top of the scale about £4,437.65.
What about pension and student loan deductions?
The figures in this guide are after income tax and National Insurance only. The first further deduction is the NHS pension, where your own contribution rises in tiers as your pensionable pay rises, so payslip take home pay will be lower once pension is taken.
The second deduction is a student loan, if you have one. With a Plan 2 loan you repay 9 percent of earnings above £29,385 a year.
For a first year foundation doctor that comes to £88.81 a month, reducing monthly take home pay from £2,766.86 to £2,678.05. At specialty trainee year 1 it comes to £194.77 a month, reducing monthly take home pay from £3,555.28 to £3,360.50. At the top of the scale it comes to £359.72 a month, reducing monthly take home pay from £4,618.27 to £4,258.55.
Doctors who started their course more recently may be on a different student loan plan with a different threshold, so check your own loan plan before applying these figures to your payslip. For the full student loan rules, see our student loan repayments guide.
How does junior doctor salary after tax compare with typical UK pay?
When you compare doctor pay with typical UK pay, the Office for National Statistics puts the median full time salary at £39,039 in its Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. That median gives £2,635.64 a month after income tax and National Insurance. A first year foundation doctor at £2,766.86 a month starts above that median, which is unusual for a first year role in any profession.
By specialty training stage, doctor pay is well above the median, on basic pay alone, before extra hours and allowances. For similar breakdowns, see our guide to nurse pay after tax.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a first year foundation doctor take home each month?
A first year foundation doctor on £41,226 in England takes home £2,766.86 a month after income tax and National Insurance in 2026/27, before pension and any student loan.
What is the monthly take home pay for a specialty trainee?
A specialty trainee year 1 doctor on £55,355 takes home £3,555.28 a month after income tax and National Insurance, before pension and student loan.
Do doctors get paid extra for nights and weekends?
Yes. Hours in the night window from 21:00 to 07:00 attract a 37 percent premium, weekend work attracts an allowance worth between 3 percent and 15 percent of basic pay, and non resident on call work attracts an availability supplement worth 8 percent of basic pay.
Is a senior trainee salary a good salary?
Yes. Senior trainee basic pay runs from £76,582 to £77,348 gross, giving £4,581.25 to £4,618.27 a month after tax and National Insurance, well above the UK median of £39,039.
So what should you take from this?
In plain terms, junior doctor salary after tax starts at £2,766.86 a month for a first year foundation doctor in England, reaches £3,555.28 a month at specialty trainee year 1, and reaches £4,618.27 a month at the top of the resident scale. You can check any salary with our free salary calculator.