WageUK Minimum Wage 2026-27
The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour from April 2026. Younger workers and apprentices have their own rates. Below are the current bands, what they add up to over a year, and how the rates have changed.
| Age band | Per hour |
|---|---|
| 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £12.71 |
| 18 to 20 | £10.85 |
| Under 18 | £8.00 |
| Apprentice | £8.00 |
See what each rate is as an annual salary →
Rate history
| Tax year | Top band | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £12.71 |
| 2025-26 | 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £12.21 |
| 2024-25 | 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £11.44 |
| 2023-24 | 23 and over (National Living Wage) | £10.42 |
| 2022-23 | 23 and over (National Living Wage) | £9.50 |
| 2021-22 | 23 and over (National Living Wage) | £8.91 |
| 2020-21 | 25 and over (National Living Wage) | £8.72 |
| 2019-20 | 25 and over (National Living Wage) | £8.21 |
| 2018-19 | 25 and over (National Living Wage) | £7.83 |
By year
- Minimum wage 2026-27
- Minimum wage 2025-26
- Minimum wage 2024-25
- Minimum wage 2023-24
- Minimum wage 2022-23
- Minimum wage 2021-22
- Minimum wage 2020-21
- Minimum wage 2019-20
- Minimum wage 2018-19
General information, not advice. Estimates assume the standard 1257L tax code and typical circumstances; your payslip may differ by a pound or two because HMRC payroll software truncates at each step. Verify with HMRC or an accountant for any decision. WageReckon stores no salary data - the calculators run in your browser.
Rates for the 2026-27 tax year, current as of 24 July 2026. Source: HMRC (gov.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: HMRC / gov.uk. See how we calculate.