A new police constable in England and Wales starts on £32,255 a year, and police officer salary after tax is £2,228.60 a month. A constable at the top of the scale takes home £3,393.84 a month, and a top sergeant takes home £3,691.58 a month, after income tax and National Insurance only.
Police pay in England and Wales is set out in pay scales, not in one single salary. A constable joins at the first pay point and moves up the scale with service. This guide uses the 2026/27 pay points for England and Wales outside London. Those points reflect the confirmed 3.5 percent pay award from 1 September 2026, applied to the official 2025/26 scale. The Home Office had not yet published its own 2026/27 table. All take home figures use the 2026/27 tax rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland with the standard 1257L tax code, and they are after income tax and National Insurance only, before pension, any student loan, overtime and Federation subscriptions. This guide sets out police officer salary after tax point by point.
What do police constables earn in 2026/27?
Outside London, a constable on the post 2013 scale starts at £32,255 at pay point 1 and reaches £52,015 at pay point 7. The points in between are £33,609 at point 2, £34,972 at point 3, £36,335 at point 4, £39,058 at point 5 and £44,544 at point 6. After income tax and National Insurance, those points give £2,228.60 a month at point 1, £2,309.84 at point 2, £2,391.62 at point 3, £2,473.40 at point 4, £2,636.78 at point 5, £2,965.94 at point 6 and £3,393.84 at point 7. Officers who joined before 1 April 2013 start higher, at £33,969, but reach the same £52,015 at point 7.
What is police officer salary after tax for a new constable?
A constable starting at point 1 on £32,255 pays £3,937 in income tax and £1,574.80 in National Insurance over the year, leaving £26,743.20 for the year. That works out at £2,228.60 a month or £514.29 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, with National Insurance at 8 percent. Police officer salary after tax at this starting point is therefore a clear step above the legal minimum wage, but it is not a high wage by national standards. The larger rises come later in the scale, especially between point 6 and point 7.
What do you take home at the top of the constable scale?
At the top of the constable scale, on £52,015 at point 7, you pay £8,238 in income tax and £3,050.90 in National Insurance over the year, leaving £40,726.10 for the year. That is £3,393.84 a month or £783.19 a week before pension and any student loan. The rise from point 6 to point 7 alone adds £427.90 a month in take home pay, because gross pay rises by £7,471 at that step. A constable at this level is above the typical full time wage in the UK, and reaching point 7 takes years of service, so it is a reward for staying in the role, not a starting figure. See our salary tables for take home pay at each salary level.
What does promotion to sergeant add?
A sergeant in England and Wales outside London earns from £55,443 at the entry point to £58,175 at the top of the sergeant scale. After income tax and National Insurance, that gives £3,559.53 a month at the entry point and £3,691.58 a month at the top, before pension and any student loan. For police officer salary after tax, promotion to the top sergeant point adds £297.74 a month compared with a constable at point 7 on £3,393.84 a month. That is a real gain, but smaller than many people expect, because a top constable is already close to sergeant pay. The bigger value of promotion is the route it opens to inspector and beyond, and sergeants remain eligible for overtime, which inspectors and above are not. Read how UK income tax bands work for the detail behind these numbers.
What do inspectors and chief inspectors take home?
An inspector outside London earns from £66,000 to £71,396. After income tax and National Insurance, that gives £4,069.78 a month at the entry point and £4,330.59 a month at the top, before pension and any student loan. A chief inspector earns from £72,806 to £75,709, giving £4,398.74 a month at the entry point and £4,539.05 a month at the top on the same basis. The step from sergeant to inspector is the largest single promotion gain in the federated ranks, adding £638.99 a month from the top sergeant point to the top inspector point. Inspectors do not receive overtime pay, so the comparison should allow for any overtime a sergeant regularly works. Our take home pay tables put these figures beside other salaries at the same level.
How does London pay change the picture?
Metropolitan Police and City of London officers receive London Weighting of £3,260 a year, which counts as pensionable pay, plus a London Allowance of up to £6,819 a year, £10,079 in total on top of basic pay. For police officer salary after tax in London, a new constable in the Met starts on about £42,334 in total, basic pay plus both London payments, and takes home £2,833.34 a month after income tax and National Insurance, before pension and any student loan. A constable at the top of the scale in the Met earns about £62,094 in total and takes home £3,880.99 a month on the same basis.
How do pension, overtime and student loan change the figure?
The figures in this guide are before pension, and police pension contributions are large. Officers in the 2015 career average scheme contribute between 12.88 percent and 14.22 percent of pensionable pay. At the starting constable salary, 12.88 percent works out at about £346.20 a month in gross contribution, before the tax relief that pension contributions attract. At the top constable salary, 13.88 percent works out at about £601.64 a month on the same basis. Constables and sergeants are paid overtime at time and a third, rest days worked with less than 15 days notice at time and a half, and public holidays at double time, under the Police Regulations 2003. A student loan also reduces monthly pay. With a Plan 2 loan, you repay 9 percent of earnings above £29,385: £21.53 a month at the starting constable salary and £169.73 a month at the top constable salary. Police officer salary after tax on your own payslip will therefore differ from the headline figures here.
How does police pay compare 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 new constable at £2,228.60 a month starts below that median, while a constable at point 4 on £36,335, at £2,473.40 a month, is getting close to it. A constable at the top of the scale, a sergeant and an inspector are all above it. Police pay starts modestly, grows steadily with service, and rewards promotion, with London payments lifting the cash figure in the capital without fully matching London living costs. For similar breakdowns, see our guides to teacher pay after tax and nurse pay after tax.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a new police constable take home each month?
A new constable starting at point 1 on £32,255 outside London takes home £2,228.60 a month after income tax and National Insurance in 2026/27, before pension and any student loan.
What is the monthly take home pay at the top of the constable scale?
At point 7 on £52,015, monthly take home pay is £3,393.84 after income tax and National Insurance, before pension and student loan.
Do police officers in London earn more after tax?
Yes, in cash terms. A new constable in the Met takes home £2,833.34 a month and a top constable in the Met takes home £3,880.99 a month after income tax and National Insurance, before pension and student loan, thanks to London Weighting and the London Allowance.
Does promotion to sergeant raise monthly pay by a large amount?
Not at first. The top sergeant point gives £3,691.58 a month, £297.74 a month more than the top constable point, because top constable pay is already close to sergeant pay. The larger gain comes with promotion to inspector.
So what should you take from this?
Police pay in 2026/27 is a scale that rewards service and promotion. In plain terms, police officer salary after tax starts at £2,228.60 a month for a new constable outside London, rises to £3,393.84 a month at the top of the constable scale, and reaches £4,330.59 a month at the top of the inspector scale. Pension contributions will reduce the cash on your payslip, overtime can add to it for constables and sergeants, and London payments lift the figure in the capital. Knowing the exact point you are on is the clearest way to plan around police pay, and you can check any salary with our free salary calculator.