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2026/27
UK income tax bands, outside Scotland.
England, Wales, and Northern Ireland share these bands. Scotland does not. The personal allowance is still £12,570, and it shrinks once income passes £100,000.
| Slice | Rate |
|---|---|
| Personal allowance, income up to £12,570 | 0%, until the taper |
| Next £37,700 of taxable income | 20% |
| Taxable income above that, until income of £125,140 | 40% |
| Income above £125,140 | 45% |
On a £40,000 salary with a full allowance, taxable income is £27,430 and all of it is in the basic rate. Income tax is £5,486. That is the figure the take-home calculator uses before National Insurance. A £40,000 salary is not “taxed at 20%.” Twenty percent of £40,000 would be £8,000, and that is the mistake a flat-rate mental model makes.
The £100,000 taper
The allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000. It is gone at £125,140. Between those two numbers the marginal rate is higher than 40%, because each extra £2 of pay also pulls £1 of allowance into the tax. The calculator applies that withdrawal. It does not apply the marriage allowance or blind person’s allowance.
Scottish bands are on their own page. If the payroll uses an S tax code, do not use the England table.
Questions
Did the personal allowance rise for 2026/27?
No. It stays at £12,570, as confirmed alongside the Scottish rate resolution.
Do Wales and Northern Ireland have different income tax bands?
No. They use these bands. Wales has its own land transaction tax, which is a purchase tax, not a wage tax.
Sources
A salary that crosses into the higher rate
£60,000 of employment income, full personal allowance, England. Taxable income is £47,430. The basic-rate slice is £37,700 at 20%, which is £7,540. The rest, £9,730, is at 40%, which is £3,892. Income tax is £11,432. National Insurance is a separate calculation and is not inside these bands. Above £100,000 the allowance itself starts to disappear, £1 for every £2, so the marginal cost of the next pound is higher than 40% until the allowance is gone at £125,140.
Scotland does not use this table. If the tax code starts with S, use the Scottish bands. Wales uses these income-tax bands and its own land transaction tax, which is a purchase tax, not a wage tax.
The taper between £100,000 and £125,140
Each extra £2 of income removes £1 of personal allowance. That £1 is then taxed at 40%, so the extra £2 cost £0.80 of allowance tax plus £0.80 of tax on themselves, £1.60 on £2, which is an 60% marginal rate before National Insurance. The allowance is fully gone at £125,140. Above that the rate is 45% and there is no further allowance to lose. A pension contribution that brings income back under £100,000 restores the allowance. The sacrifice page is the payslip version of that idea. This page does not apply the marriage allowance.