Income Tax
Everyone gets a Personal Allowance of £12,570 before any Income Tax is due. Above that, England, Wales and Northern Ireland use three bands, while Scotland sets its own rates with six bands.
| England, Wales & NI | Rate |
|---|---|
| £12,571 – £50,270 | 20% (basic rate) |
| £50,271 – £125,140 | 40% (higher rate) |
| Over £125,140 | 45% (additional rate) |
| Scotland | Rate |
|---|---|
| £12,571 – £16,537 | 19% (starter rate) |
| £16,538 – £29,526 | 20% (basic rate) |
| £29,527 – £43,662 | 21% (intermediate rate) |
| £43,663 – £75,000 | 42% (higher rate) |
| £75,001 – £116,760 | 45% (advanced rate) |
| Over £116,760 | 48% (top rate) |
If you earn over £100,000, your Personal Allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 over that threshold, disappearing completely at £125,140 — which is why earnings in that band are taxed especially hard. In Scotland, this taper has a knock-on effect on the bands themselves: because the bands apply to taxable income (after your Personal Allowance), a shrinking allowance pushes more of your income into each higher band sooner. That's why the 48% top rate starts at roughly £116,760 of gross income rather than £125,140 — the £125,140 figure is where the Personal Allowance reaches zero, not where the top rate begins. The calculator above accounts for this automatically.