Every teacher knows their pay scale point.
But the gap between gross salary and monthly
take-home can be significant \u2014 especially
once you factor in the Teachers’ Pension
Scheme contribution, income tax and National
Insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide shows the real take-home pay for
every pay scale point in England in 2025\/26,
including the impact of London weighting and
the TPS pension contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teacher pay in England is set by the School
Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) and consists
of three main ranges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Main Pay Range (MPR): M1 to M6 \u2014 the
standard range for classroom teachers.
Most teachers enter at M1 and progress
to M6 over six years, subject to
satisfactory performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upper Pay Range (UPR): U1 to U3 \u2014 for
teachers who have crossed the threshold
and demonstrated sustained high performance.
Crossing the threshold is not automatic
and requires a formal application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leadership: A separate range for heads,
deputies and assistant heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually Pay<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is a
defined benefit public sector pension.
Employee contributions are tiered by salary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up to \u00a332,135: 7.4%
\u00a332,136 to \u00a343,259: 8.6%
\u00a343,260 to \u00a351,292: 9.7%
Above \u00a351,293: 10.2%<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means the jump from M5 to M6 or from
M6 to U1 involves both a salary increase
and a pension contribution increase \u2014
so the net gain is smaller than the gross
pay rise suggests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(England, Outside London, 2025\/26)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These figures apply the correct TPS pension
rate, HMRC 2026\/27 income tax rates and
National Insurance. No student loan deduction
is assumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M1 (\u00a330,000):
TPS (7.4%): \u00a32,220\/yr
Income tax: \u00a33,486\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a31,395\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a31,908<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M2 (\u00a332,416):
TPS (7.4%): \u00a32,399\/yr
Income tax: \u00a33,969\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a31,588\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a32,038<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M3 (\u00a334,514):
TPS (8.6%): \u00a32,968\/yr
Income tax: \u00a34,389\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a31,757\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a32,117<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M4 (\u00a336,745):
TPS (8.6%): \u00a33,160\/yr
Income tax: \u00a34,835\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a31,936\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a32,235<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M5 (\u00a339,009):
TPS (8.6%): \u00a33,355\/yr
Income tax: \u00a35,288\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a32,115\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a32,354<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M6 (\u00a341,333):
TPS (8.6%): \u00a33,555\/yr
Income tax: \u00a35,753\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a32,301\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a32,477<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U1 (\u00a343,685):
TPS (8.6%): \u00a33,757\/yr
Income tax: \u00a36,223\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a32,487\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a32,601<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U2 (\u00a344,534):
TPS (8.6%): \u00a33,830\/yr
Income tax: \u00a36,393\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a32,555\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a32,646<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U3 (\u00a345,434):
TPS (8.6%): \u00a33,907\/yr
Income tax: \u00a36,573\/yr
National Insurance: \u00a32,627\/yr
Monthly take-home: approximately \u00a32,695<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are estimates based on the standard
1257L tax code. Use the Payslp Teacher
Pay Calculator to see your exact figure
including your location and student loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inner London teachers receive substantially
higher salaries than those in the rest of
England. An M3 teacher earns \u00a341,120 in
inner London compared to \u00a334,514 elsewhere
\u2014 a gross difference of \u00a36,606 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After tax, NI and the higher TPS contribution
that comes with the higher salary, the actual
take-home difference is approximately
\u00a33,800 per year \u2014 real money, but
significantly less than the headline
salary gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scale Feels Disappointing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most common frustrations among
teachers is how little difference a pay
scale progression feels in their bank
account. Here is why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going from M5 to M6:
Gross increase: \u00a32,324\/yr
Extra tax: \u00a3465
Extra NI: \u00a3186
TPS stays the same rate: \u00a3200 more
Real take-home increase: approximately
\u00a3123\/month<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going from M6 to U1:
Gross increase: \u00a32,352\/yr
Extra tax: \u00a3470
Extra NI: \u00a3186
Real take-home increase: approximately
\u00a3124\/month<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understanding this is not pessimistic \u2014
it helps you make informed decisions about
pay negotiations and career progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every pay scale point, every location,
TPS contribution rates applied automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udc49 Use the free Payslp Teacher Pay
Calculator at payslp.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every teacher knows their pay scale point.But the gap between gross salary and monthlytake-home can be significant \u2014 especiallyonce you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-salary-guides"],"yoast_head":"\n