GP pay in the UK: salaried, partner, locum and private
Current GP salary figures for salaried GPs, partners, locums and registrars across the four nations, and a realistic view of what private GP work pays.
The short answer
In England, the average GP partner earned £164,200 before tax in 2024/25 and the average salaried GP £74,800 (NHS England Digital). The recommended full-time salaried GP range for 2026/27 is £78,699 to £118,759. Locum rates have no national benchmark, and there is no official figure for private GP earnings: private income depends on your model, your fee, how full your clinics are and your costs.
Key points
- Average GP income before tax in England in 2024/25 was £164,200 for partners (contractor GPs), £74,800 for salaried GPs and £121,700 overall. These include part-time GPs and private income.
- The recommended full-time salaried GP range for 2026/27 is £78,699 to £118,759 in England and £81,893 to £123,573 in Wales.
- There is no official national locum GP rate. The BMA cannot recommend rates because of competition law.
- GP registrars in England are paid £55,355 (ST1 and ST2) or £67,325 (ST3) basic in 2026/27, plus the General Practice Registrar Enhancement.
- Private GP earnings have no official figure. Count them per weekly session per year, and remember private work is not NHS-pensionable.
In England, GP partners earned an average of £164,200 before tax in 2024/25 and salaried GPs £74,800, according to NHS England Digital. The recommended full-time salaried GP salary range for 2026/27 is £78,699 to £118,759. There is no official figure for private GP pay: what a private GP earns depends on whether you are employed, paid by the session or running your own service, and on how full your clinics are.
GP salary in the UK at a glance
| Role | Figure | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Salaried GP, England (recommended full-time range) | £78,699 to £118,759 | 2026/27 |
| Salaried GP, England (average income before tax, all hours) | £74,800 | 2024/25 |
| GP partner (contractor), England (average income before tax) | £164,200 | 2024/25 |
| All GPs, England (average income before tax) | £121,700 | 2024/25 |
| GP registrar, England (basic pay, ST1 to ST2 / ST3) | £55,355 / £67,325, plus a GP registrar enhancement | 2026/27 |
| Locum GP | No national rate; negotiated per session | n/a |
| Private GP | No official figure; depends on your model, fee and bookings | n/a |
The averages come from NHS England Digital’s GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates for 2024/25, published in August 2026. They are based on HMRC Self Assessment data, cover GPs working full or part time, and include private income as well as NHS income. Because part-time GPs are included, a full-time GP will often earn more than the average for their role.
Salaried GP salary
Salaried GPs are employed by a practice or other NHS provider. Each year the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration Body (DDRB) recommends an uplift, and the government sets a pay range for salaried GPs. The BMA publishes the ranges for each nation:
| Nation | 2025/26 full-time range | 2026/27 full-time range |
|---|---|---|
| England | £76,038 to £114,743 | £78,699 to £118,759 |
| Wales | £79,123 to £119,394 | £81,893 to £123,573 |
| Scotland | £77,160 to £115,167 | Not yet published by the BMA |
| Northern Ireland | £74,172 to £111,928 | Awaiting ministerial acceptance |
The 2026/27 England range is a 3.5% increase, which NHS Employers confirmed in its 2026 pay circular. Where you sit in the range depends on your experience and what you negotiate. The BMA model salaried GP contract links annual increases to the government’s decision on GP pay, but individual contracts vary, so check your own. Salaries are pro rata for fewer sessions.
GP partner income
Partners do not earn a salary. They share the practice’s profit after expenses such as staff, premises and running costs. NHS England Digital reports them as “contractor GPs”. Average income before tax in 2024/25 was:
| Nation | Contractor (partner) GPs | Salaried GPs | All GPs |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £164,200 | £74,800 | £121,700 |
| Scotland | £140,000 | £76,100 | £124,200 |
| Wales | £134,900 | £84,000 | £117,000 |
| Northern Ireland | £121,000 | £76,600 | £111,200 |
A partner’s income varies a lot with the practice’s list size, contract, expenses and how many sessions the partner works, and partners carry the practice’s financial risk and liabilities. The averages include private income, such as medicals and reports.
How much do GPs earn in the UK? Differences by nation
Across the four nations, the average GP earned between £111,200 (Northern Ireland) and £124,200 (Scotland) before tax in 2024/25. England has the highest average partner income, and Wales the highest average salaried income. The nations have separate GP contracts and pay arrangements, so a figure from one nation does not carry over to another. Use the table above, and remember that these averages mix full-time and part-time GPs.
Locum GP rates
There is no national locum GP rate. The BMA says it cannot advise self-employed locums on the rates they charge, because of competition law. Locums can share what they charge an existing employer, but must not agree minimum rates with each other. Any “BMA locum rate” you see quoted is not an official BMA figure.
What the BMA does say:
- A locum session is an agreed period of time or task, usually around four hours, and should include time for the admin that comes out of the clinic.
- The fee should take account of everything you do in the session, and you can set separate rates for overruns, extended hours, home visits and on-call work.
- When setting a fee, consider your own costs (indemnity, pension, tax, unpaid leave), your experience, local demand and what other GPs earn.
Rates vary by area, season and how short-staffed local practices are. Ask several practices or your local locum chambers, and check what is included before you compare.
GP trainee (registrar) pay
GP registrars are paid on the national resident doctor pay scales. In England in 2026/27, basic pay is £55,355 for ST1 and ST2 and £67,325 for ST3, according to the BMA. In 2026 the GP flexible pay premium was renamed the General Practice Registrar Enhancement and is paid on top of basic pay, as set out in the NHS Employers 2026 pay circular. Hospital posts may also attract on-call and weekend allowances. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own resident doctor pay scales.
Private GP salary in the UK
There is no official count of private GP earnings, and the NHS figures above include only part of it. Private GP income depends on how you work:
- Employed by a private clinic: you are paid a salary, often with holiday and sick pay, and the clinic carries the business costs and the risk.
- Sessional or self-employed for a clinic or online provider: you are paid a rate per session, per hour or per consultation, with no holiday or sick pay. You pay your own indemnity and tax.
- Running your own service: you keep what is left after costs such as rent, staff, systems, indemnity and regulation. Early income is uncertain while you build a patient base.
- Partner or shareholder in a private practice: your income is your share of the profit, set by your partnership or shareholder agreement.
Most GPs who work privately do so alongside NHS work. See can I work privately and in the NHS?
Think per weekly session, per year
A session is a single morning or afternoon clinic of about four hours. The most useful comparison with NHS work is what one weekly session earns you over a working year of about 47 weeks, after holidays.
For sessional work, the maths is simple: your rate multiplied by 47 for each weekly session. For example, at an illustrative rate of £200 a session, one weekly session is worth £9,400 a year before tax and indemnity. There is no published national benchmark for private sessional rates. Ask several providers what they pay, and check whether the rate includes admin time, results and follow-up. See is sessional private GP work available?
Running your own service: an illustration
If you run your own clinic, income depends on your fee, how many appointments you fill and your costs. The figures below are illustrative only, not a benchmark.
| Illustrative session | Fully booked | Half booked |
|---|---|---|
| 8 × 30-minute appointments at £120 | £960 | £480 |
| Over 47 weeks (one weekly session) | £45,120 | £22,560 |
These are takings, not earnings. Take off rent or room hire, staff, your record system and other software, indemnity, regulator fees, insurance, marketing, accountancy and consumables, then tax. Many costs are fixed, so a half-empty diary cuts your income much more than your takings. Most new services take months to build steady bookings. To work out your own numbers, see private GP pricing and break-even and how much should I charge as a private GP?
What pushes private income up or down
- Utilisation. How full your clinics are matters more than the headline fee.
- Services. Medicals, screening packages, minor procedures and specialist interests (for example menopause or weight management) can earn more per hour than general consultations, but may need extra training, equipment and indemnity.
- Returning patients. Private patients choose to come back. Good care and easy booking keep them returning.
- Location. Demand, competition and the fees patients will pay differ a great deal between a city centre and a market town.
- Your own time. Admin, results, letters and running the business take time you are not paid for directly.
Pension and tax
Private income is not pensionable in the NHS Pension Scheme. NHSBSA lists private non-NHS work among locum work that is not pensionable, and GP partners pension only their NHS practitioner earnings. If private work replaces NHS sessions, your NHS pension will build up more slowly, so plan for a personal pension and take independent financial advice.
Self-employed private income goes through Self Assessment, and you may choose to work through a limited company. See tax implications of running a private GP service and should I set up a company?
Frequently asked questions
How much do GPs earn in the UK?
In 2024/25 the average GP earned £121,700 before tax in England, £124,200 in Scotland, £117,000 in Wales and £111,200 in Northern Ireland (NHS England Digital). These averages include part-time GPs and private income.
What is the average salaried GP salary in the UK?
Average income before tax for salaried GPs in 2024/25 ranged from £74,800 in England to £84,000 in Wales. The recommended full-time range for 2026/27 is £78,699 to £118,759 in England, pro rata for fewer sessions.
How much does a GP partner earn?
The average contractor (partner) GP in England earned £164,200 before tax in 2024/25. Partners share practice profits rather than being paid a salary, so income varies widely between practices.
What are typical locum GP rates?
There is no official rate. The BMA cannot recommend locum fees because of competition law, so rates are negotiated locally per session, usually of about four hours. Ask several practices and compare what each session includes.
Do private GPs earn more than NHS GPs?
Not necessarily. Income per hour can be higher, but private GPs who run their own service carry business costs and the risk of empty appointments, and private income is not NHS-pensionable. Compare what you would keep, not the fee.
How much does a private doctor earn in the UK?
There is no official figure for private doctors’ earnings. For private GPs it depends on whether you are employed, sessional or running your own service, your fee and how full your clinics are. Private income is included in NHS England Digital’s GP earnings averages but not reported separately.
Is it £10,000 per session?
No. Figures of around that size describe one weekly session over a year, not a single clinic. What a weekly session is worth depends on your rate or fee, your bookings and your costs.
Is private GP work pensionable?
Not in the NHS Pension Scheme. Only NHS earnings count, so plan your pension separately if you move sessions from NHS to private work.
Sources
- GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates, 2024/25
- Salaried GP pay ranges
- DDRB uplift 2026/27: FAQs
- Pay and Conditions Circular (M&D) 1/2026 R2
- Pay scales for resident doctors in England
- Competition law and locum GPs
- Employing locum GPs and deciding their fee
- Which types of GP locum work are not pensionable?
- What is a general practitioner (GP) provider?
