Overtime to deposit calculator

What this overtime to deposit calculator does

Saving for a deposit on officer pay is a question of how much of what you earn you can realistically put aside, and how much extra work you would have to do to get there faster. This overtime to deposit calculator takes your pay, the house price and deposit you are aiming for, what you already have saved and what you put aside each month, then shows how long it takes to reach the target, and how long it takes if you add extra Payment Plus hours.

The key number is what an extra hour is actually worth to you. Payment Plus is £23 an hour from 1 April 2026, but it is taxed and attracts National Insurance, so a standard-rate taxpayer keeps about £16.50 of it. The calculator works out the exact figure for your pay, rather than leaving you to guess from the headline rate.

How Payment Plus really works

Payment Plus is the only overtime-type payment available to officers in Bands 3 to 5. It is a flat cash rate (£23 an hour from 1 April 2026, up from £22), non-consolidated and non-pensionable. The Prison Service Pay Review Body describes it as paid for specific operational duties, on a non-working day or for hours outside your scheduled shift pattern, rather than as an all-encompassing overtime payment. Bedwatch and constant watch are also paid at the Payment Plus rate. The precise list of qualifying duties is not published in the sources we use, so what you can actually work depends on local needs and rules.

Two practical consequences follow. First, extra hours are not guaranteed, so a deposit plan that depends on them is a stretch plan, not a baseline. Second, because Payment Plus is non-pensionable, it does not add to your pension or your pensionable pay. Read our Payment Plus explainer for the full picture.

A worked example

Take a National Band 3 officer at the first pay point on a 37-hour contract. Saving for a £220,000 home with a 10% deposit and £3,000 allowed for costs gives a target of £25,000. Starting with £2,000 saved and putting £250 a month aside from normal pay, earning 3% on savings, it takes about 6 years 10 months (82 months) on that alone.

Add 12 extra Payment Plus hours a month. Gross that is £276. At the standard 20% tax rate and 8% National Insurance the officer keeps about 72p in the pound, roughly £199 a month, or £16.56 an hour. Saving it all brings the target forward to 4 years (48 months). Add 40 hours a month and it falls to about 2 years 1 month (25 months), which is the point of the 'hours needed' figures the calculator shows for 12, 24 and 36-month targets.

Reading the results

• Time to reach your target and an approximate month, from your starting savings plus monthly saving, with interest.
• Net per Payment Plus hour, worked out from your pay by comparing take-home with and without the extra pay.
• Hours a month needed to reach the target in 12 and 24 months, so you can see whether a deadline is realistic.
• The chart plots your savings against the target line so you can see where they cross.

Making the plan more realistic

• Do not plan on every extra hour. Treat extra hours as a bonus on top of a plan you can hit without them.
• Count the costs. The costs allowance covers legal fees, a survey, moving and stamp duty. See our mortgage calculator for a stamp duty estimate.
• Use a tax-efficient home for savings. Which products suit you is a question for an adviser; we do not give financial advice.
• Keep your payslips. A 12-month history of extra hours is the kind of evidence a lender may ask for; the Mortgage Readiness Pack helps you organise it.
• Watch your health and rest. Regular extra hours on top of a demanding job have a cost; see the work-life balance guide.

How many extra hours does it really take?

The same example, with different amounts of extra work, shows how quickly the timeline moves. These are outputs of the calculator for a National Band 3 officer at pay point 1, a £25,000 target, £2,000 already saved, £250 a month put aside and 3% interest.

Choosing a deposit target

The deposit percentage is the lever you control most directly. A 5% deposit on a £220,000 home is £11,000; 10% is £22,000; 15% is £33,000. A smaller deposit gets you there sooner but means borrowing more and a higher loan-to-value, which can affect the products available to you and the monthly payment. A larger deposit takes longer but lowers both. Try different percentages and see how the date moves, then take the question to a regulated adviser, who can tell you what is available for your circumstances.

Common mistakes

• Using the gross £23 an hour rather than what you keep after tax and National Insurance.
• Assuming every extra hour offered will be there every month.
• Forgetting the costs on top of the deposit.
• Putting savings where you cannot get at them if you need them.
• Ignoring the effect of long hours on your health and your shifts; see our guide to work-life balance.

Limits

• Pay: England and Wales PSPRB 2026 tables. Use your own salary for other cases.
• Tax: 2026/27 rUK income tax and National Insurance, standard allowance. Savings interest tax is not modelled.
• House prices, rates and your hours will change; the result is an illustration.
• Not financial or mortgage advice.