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IT Manager Pay UK 2026/27

IT manager salaries vary with team size, technical scope, and transformation responsibility, so the title covers a broad pay range. Cloud, cyber, and delivery-heavy remits usually command higher compensation than general infrastructure oversight.

Calculate your take-home →See salary breakdown

At a Glance

  • IT Team Leader / Supervisor£2,573 / mo
    of £38,000 gross a year
  • IT Manager£3,538 / mo
    of £55,000 gross a year
  • Head of IT / IT Director£4,746 / mo
    of £80,000 gross a year
Take-homeTaxNI

IT Manager can mean anything from an SME infrastructure lead to a large-enterprise head of function, so market pay varies accordingly.

ONS ASHE 2024 places median IT and telecommunications manager earnings at around £54,000 nationally, but responsibilities for hybrid cloud, cybersecurity, or transformation programmes typically push salaries higher.

Alongside experience-based progression from technical roles, qualifications such as ITIL 4, PRINCE2, and cloud certifications are increasingly expected.

IT Manager Salary Breakdown UK 2026/27

The table below shows typical it manager salaries across experience levels and regions, alongside estimated take-home pay after income tax and National Insurance. Click any gross salary figure to open it in the calculator.

LevelNational GrossNational Take-HomeMonthly (National)London GrossLondon Take-Home
IT Team Leader / Supervisor£38,000£30,881£2,573£50,000£39,521
IT Manager£55,000£42,458£3,538£72,000£52,318
Head of IT / IT Director£80,000£56,958£4,746£105,000£70,458

How IT Manager Pay Works in the UK

ITIL 4 certification is widely expected for IT managers in service-focused organisations; PRINCE2 or Agile adds value in project-heavy roles

Public sector IT managers (NHS, councils) earn 10–20% below private sector peers but benefit from defined benefit or LGPS pension schemes

Bonuses of 5–15% are common in private sector IT management; equity may be available at smaller tech companies

Cloud management responsibilities (Azure, AWS, GCP) add £5,000–£10,000 to market rate compared to on-premises roles

ONS ASHE 2024: median IT manager salary nationally is approximately £54,000; top quartile exceeds £72,000

CTO and CIO paths from IT manager typically require 10–15 years experience; CTO salaries at mid-market companies range from £100,000 to £180,000

Income Tax and National Insurance in 2026/27

Like all UK workers, it managers salaries are subject to income tax and National Insurance (NI) contributions. In the 2026/27 tax year:

Income Tax Bands
Up to £12,5700% (Personal Allowance)
£12,571 – £50,27020% (Basic Rate)
£50,271 – £125,14040% (Higher Rate)
Above £125,14045% (Additional Rate)
Employee National Insurance
Up to £12,5700%
£12,570 – £50,2708%
Above £50,2702%
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Use the calculator above to see your exact take-home pay after all deductions, including pension contributions and student loan repayments if applicable.

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Take-home calculator

Your take-home pay

Enter your salary and we'll break down income tax, National Insurance, pension contributions and your final take-home for 2026/27.

Your pay

per year
per year

Bonuses, commission, overtime, capital gains, investments and similar.

Your take-home pay

£3,405a month

£40,863 a year · £786 a week

Out of £4,583 gross a month

  • Take-home pay£3,40574.3%
  • Your pension+ £138 from your employer£2295.0%
  • Income tax£69415.1%
  • National Insurance£2555.6%
HMRC 2026/27 rates, updated 6 April 2026

If you invested £1,155 each month into an ISA after covering your expenses, you could make £690,813 over 25 years: +£344,246 on top of what you put in, thanks to compounding returns.

See how
Pension, region, student loan, State Pension age
%
%

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State Pension age

68 applies if you were born after 5 April 1978.

Explore your finances

Model your expenses, project your wealth, and find your path to financial independence, using the pay figures above.

Your monthly spending

Essentials

£per month
Housing, bills, council tax, food.

Everything else

£per month
Things you choose to pay for.

Your plan

The earliest you can retire with your workplace pension is usually 55 (rising to 57 from 6 April 2028). You won't get your state pension until your mid or late 60s, depending on your current age. Tip: try playing around with your target retirement age to see how things change.
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The total balance of all your existing pension pots.
£
The total balance of any existing ISA Savings accounts (GIAs are not currently supported)

Financial independence

%
% of today
%
Financial independence means having enough saved that your outgoings are covered for the rest of your life.

Where your £4,583 a month goes

  • Essentials£1,750
  • Everything else£500
  • Tax and NI£949
  • Pension£229
  • Left to invest in your ISA£1,155

Projected wealth

Estimated income over 50 years, in today's money, with a 5% annual return and 0.35% yearly platform and fund fees.

Projected pension

Your pension pot over 31 years at three growth rates, after 0.35% fees, in today's money.

Calculations
  • FI Target = Annual outgoings (£21,600) * Years needed for 4.00% SWR (25.00) = £540,000
  • Invested annual pension = £4,400
  • Invested annual surplus = £13,863
  • Inflation of 2.5% / year
  • Assumes New State Pension, payments increasing with inflation (2.5% / year)
  • Assumes student loans last 30 years max
  • Assumes a flex-drawdown pension for illustration purposes
  • Assumes you draw down pension up to the higher rate bracket (£50,270), then draw down your S&S ISA
  • Pension lump sums are not included

Take-home pay by salary

See the full 2026/27 breakdown for common salaries.