£20 an hour → £39,000 a year (UK, 2024/25)
£20/hour in the UK works out to £39,000 gross per year at 37.5 hours per week (standard UK full-time). This page shows exact take-home after Income Tax and National Insurance for the 2024/25 tax year, plus how the answer changes at 35 or 40 hours a week.
Take-home summary (37.5 hrs/week)
Where £39,000 goes (annual)
| Gross salary | £39,000 |
| − Income Tax | £5,286 |
| − National Insurance | £2,114 |
| = Take-home | £31,600 |
Effective total tax rate: 19.0%. Marginal rate on your next £1: 28.0%.
Different working patterns
Same hourly rate, different weekly hours changes the annual figure a lot. Here's £20/hour at three common UK full-time patterns:
| Hours / week | Gross / year | Take-home / year | Take-home / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 hrs (compressed) | £36,400 | £29,728 | £2,477 |
| 37.5 hrs (standard) | £39,000 | £31,600 | £2,633 |
| 40 hrs (extended) | £41,600 | £33,472 | £2,789 |
Assumes 52 paid weeks per year. Most UK full-time contracts sit at 37.5 hours — hospitality and retail often run 40, professional services often 35.
What tax band does £20/hour fall in?
At 37.5 hrs/week, £20/hour = £39,000/year, which sits in the basic-rate band. You keep the first £12,570 tax-free, then pay 20% Income Tax + 8% National Insurance on earnings above that. Every extra £1 you earn keeps 72p.
Nearby hourly rates
| Rate | Gross / year (37.5 hrs) | Take-home / year | Take-home / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| £18/hr | £35,100 | £28,792 | £2,399 |
| £19/hr | £37,050 | £30,196 | £2,516 |
| £20/hr (this page) | £39,000 | £31,600 | £2,633 |
| £22/hr | £42,900 | £34,408 | £2,867 |
| £25/hr | £48,750 | £38,620 | £3,218 |
What's included and what's not
- Included: UK Income Tax (rest-of-UK bands), National Insurance Class 1 (employee), personal allowance and its £100k taper, 52 paid weeks per year.
- Excluded by default: student loan repayments, pension contributions, salary sacrifice, benefits in kind, unpaid holiday, overtime. Add those on the full UK take-home calculator.
- Scotland: Scottish taxpayers pay different Income Tax bands — use the Scottish take-home calculator.
Related tools
- Full breakdown for a £40,000 salary
- Full UK take-home pay calculator
- Hours & pay calculator — total hours, overtime, breaks
- Freelance hourly rate calculator — reverse-engineer your rate from target take-home
- Browse all hourly-rate landing pages