PCSO take-home pay calculator
Your pay after LGPS pension, tax and NI, England & Wales. Warranted officer? Use the officer calculator.
No national PCSO scale: enter the full-time salary on your contract or payslip.
Approximate figures — always check your own contract.
Monthly take-home · tax year 2026/27
£1,781
- Annual take-home
- £21,370
- Weekly take-home
- £411
Annual breakdown
Effective rate (tax + NI): 13.6% of gross pay · tax code 1257L · your employer also pays into your LGPS pension
Source: Your salary (entered) · LGPS contribution bands 2026/27 · HMRC 2026/27 tax and NI rates · Checked October 2026 · How we calculate
Working hours
PCSO full-time is usually a 37-hour week, so both default to 37. Full time? Leave them equal. Part-time? Lower “your hours”.
PCSOs are police staff and members of the LGPS. Your contribution rate (5.5%–12.5%) depends on which pay band your salary falls in.
Student loan
The standard code is 1257L. You may be able to claim tax relief on UNISON subs — check your payslip.
Pay periods
Salary sacrifice (pre-tax)
Other deductions (post-tax)
Salary sacrifice reduces your taxable pay (and so your tax and NI). Other deductions are taken after tax.
Thinking of becoming a constable?
Related
PCSO pay — frequently asked questions
How is PCSO take-home pay different from a police officer?
PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers) are police staff, not warranted officers, so two things differ. First, the pension: PCSOs are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), not the Police Pension Scheme 2015 — LGPS contribution rates run from 5.5% to 12.5% depending on your salary band. Second, the pay: there is no national PCSO pay scale. Each force grades PCSO posts on the national Police Staff Council (PSC) pay spine and decides which pay points apply, so you should enter your own figure. Income tax, National Insurance and student loan repayments work the same as for any England & Wales employee.
Why do I have to type in my salary?
Unlike police officers, who are on a single national pay scale, PCSO pay is set locally by each of the 43 forces in England & Wales. A PCSO in the Met (with London weighting) can earn several thousand pounds more than one in a county force. Because there is no national figure we can look up, the most accurate approach is to enter the salary from your own contract or payslip. The preset figures are approximate, typical salaries to use only as a starting point.
How does the LGPS pension contribution work?
The Local Government Pension Scheme is a career-average (CARE) scheme. Your employee contribution is a single percentage of your actual pensionable pay, set by which band your pay falls in — for example 5.5% on the lowest band up to 12.5% at the top. Contributions are taken before income tax, so you get tax relief at your marginal rate, and your employer contributes a further amount on top. This calculator applies the LGPS England & Wales contribution bands effective April 2026 (2026/27).
Can I work out part-time PCSO pay?
Yes. Enter your full-time salary in the salary box, then set your contracted weekly hours. The calculator pro-rates your pay, pension, tax and NI to your actual hours. Note that your LGPS contribution rate is based on your actual (pro-rated) pay, which can place part-timers in a lower contribution band.
Are PCSOs in a union rather than the Police Federation?
Correct. PCSOs are not eligible for the Police Federation, which represents warranted officers. Most PCSOs are members of a trade union such as UNISON, and you can enter your union subscription (along with any group insurance, benevolent fund or Police Treatment Centres contributions) in the additional deductions section.