UK Tax Rates 2026/27
Every band, threshold and allowance used by the TakeHomeWise calculators, with the GOV.UK source and the date each figure was last checked. Tax year 6 April 2026 – 5 April 2027.
Last checked: 4 November 2026. If any figure here conflicts with GOV.UK, GOV.UK wins — please tell us the same day.
Personal allowance
| Personal allowance | £12,570 |
|---|---|
| Taper | Lose £1 of allowance for every £2 of income above £100,000 — allowance is £0 at £125,140 |
| Marriage allowance (reference) | £1,260 |
Source: GOV.UK — Budget 2026 OOTLAR, Annex A. Checked 4 November 2026.
Income tax — England, Wales & Northern Ireland
| Band | Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | 20% | £1 – £37,700 |
| Higher rate | 40% | £37,701 – £125,140 |
| Additional rate | 45% | Above £125,140 |
Bands apply to taxable income (gross pay minus personal allowance). Source: GOV.UK — Budget 2026 OOTLAR, Annex A. Checked 4 November 2026.
Income tax — Scotland
| Band | Rate | Gross income |
|---|---|---|
| Starter rate | 19% | £12,571 – £16,537 |
| Basic rate | 20% | £16,538 – £29,526 |
| Intermediate rate | 21% | £29,527 – £43,662 |
| Higher rate | 42% | £43,663 – £75,000 |
| Advanced rate | 45% | £75,001 – £125,140 |
| Top rate | 48% | Above £125,140 |
Scottish bands are published as gross-income ranges at full personal allowance; the £100,000 taper applies in Scotland the same way. Source: Scottish Government — Scottish Budget 2026-27. Checked 4 November 2026.
National Insurance — employee (Class 1)
| Annual | Monthly | Weekly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary threshold — NI starts above this | £12,570 | £1,048 | £242 |
| Upper earnings limit | £50,270 | £4,189 | £967 |
| Main rate (threshold to limit) | 8% | 8% | 8% |
| Additional rate (above the limit) | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Lower earnings limit (reference) | — | — | £129 |
Source: GOV.UK — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 and Budget 2026 OOTLAR, Annex A. Checked 4 November 2026.
National Insurance — employer
| Secondary threshold | £5,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Employer rate above the threshold | 15% |
| Employment Allowance | £10,500 a year (eligibility rules apply) |
Source: GOV.UK — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Checked 4 November 2026.
Student loans
| Plan | Annual threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
| Plan 2 — Threshold frozen to April 2030 | £29,385 | 9% |
| Plan 4 | £33,795 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate loan — Can stack with an undergraduate plan | £21,000 | 6% |
Deduction applies to pay above the threshold; Postgraduate stacks with an undergraduate plan. Thresholds taken from consistent official-source reporting — re-verify against the GOV.UK student-loan repayment page before relying on them. Checked 4 November 2026.
Pension — auto-enrolment
| Qualifying earnings band | £6,240 – £50,270 |
|---|---|
| Minimum total contribution | 8% of qualifying earnings |
| Minimum employer contribution | 3% of qualifying earnings |
| Default employee contribution | 5% of qualifying earnings |
| Earnings trigger (auto-enrolment) | £10,000 |
Source: GOV.UK — Budget 2026 OOTLAR, Annex A. Checked 4 November 2026.
What changed vs 2025/26
The main 2026/27 rates are unchanged from 2025/26: the same personal allowance, the same income-tax bands, the same National Insurance rates and thresholds, and the same employer rate. The 2027/28 main rates are already published unchanged in the same Budget 2026 annex — a preview page will ship in a later phase, labelled as published rates subject to change at future fiscal events.
How these rates reach the calculators
Every figure on this page — and every figure the calculators use — comes from a single file, rates-2026-27.json. No rate is typed into a page or a calculator by hand. A new tax year means a new file, a full test run, and a changelog entry. See How we calculate for the method and the automated tests, and try the rates yourself in the take-home pay calculator.