UK income tax bands 2026/27: what you’ll pay
The 2026/27 income tax bands for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, with National Insurance, the £100,000 trap and worked examples.
The 2026/27 tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. The headline bands haven’t changed: the government has frozen personal tax thresholds until 2031, so as pay rises, more of it falls into the higher bands. Here’s what you pay, with real numbers.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
| Band | Income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | Over £125,140 | 45% |
Scotland
| Band | Income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Starter | £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% |
| Basic | £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% |
| Intermediate | £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% |
| Higher | £43,663 to £75,000 | 42% |
| Advanced | £75,001 to £125,140 | 45% |
| Top | Over £125,140 | 48% |
Scottish rates only change income tax. National Insurance is the same everywhere in the UK.
What that means in pounds
| Salary | Income tax (England) | Income tax (Scotland) | National Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| £35,000 | £4,486.00 | £4,501.07 | £1,794.40 |
| £60,000 | £11,432.00 | £13,182.05 | £3,210.60 |
Being a higher-rate taxpayer doesn’t mean 40% of your pay goes in tax. On £60,000 in England, only the £9,730 above £50,270 is taxed at 40%; the rest is taxed at 20% or not at all. Put your own salary into the UK take-home pay calculator to see the full breakdown, including student loans and pension.
National Insurance in 2026/27
Employees pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 a year, and 2% on everything above. Employers pay 15% on earnings above £5,000, which doesn’t come out of your pay but does affect what employers can afford to offer.
The £100,000 trap
Your personal allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 you earn over £100,000, and it’s gone completely at £125,140. In that range, each extra £100 of salary costs £40 in higher-rate tax plus £20 from the lost allowance: an effective 60% income tax rate, plus 2% National Insurance. On £110,000 the allowance falls to £7,570 and income tax is £33,432.
Pension contributions reduce the income used for this test. Someone on £110,000 who pays an extra £10,000 into a pension gets their full allowance back, so that £10,000 contribution saves £6,000 in income tax.
Other changes from April 2026
- Tax on dividends rose by 2 percentage points for basic- and higher-rate taxpayers (to 10.75% and 35.75%). The additional rate is unchanged.
- Student loan thresholds: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000, postgraduate £21,000.
- The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over rose to £12.71 an hour on 1 April 2026.