Three income tax rates on top of a personal allowance that disappears entirely above £125,140 — plus National Insurance, which uses its own thresholds.
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UK income tax has three rates above a tax-free personal allowance of £12,570: 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140, and 45% above that.
National Insurance runs on a parallel set of thresholds and is charged on earnings rather than on income after allowances. The employee main rate is 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, dropping to 2% above that — the opposite direction to income tax.
The tax year runs 6 April to 5 April rather than the calendar year, so these figures cover 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Scotland sets its own income tax rates and bands; this calculator uses the rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
| Taxable income | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| £0 – £12,570 | 0% | Personal allowance |
| £12,570 – £50,270 | 20% | Basic rate |
| £50,270 – £125,140 | 40% | Higher rate |
| £125,140 and above | 45% | Additional rate |
Bands are stated against total income. Scotland operates its own bands and rates for non-savings income.
| Taxable income | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| £0 – £12,570 | 0% | |
| £12,570 – £50,270 | 8% | Main rate |
| £50,270 and above | 2% | Falls, rather than rises |
NI is charged on earnings, and unlike income tax the rate goes down above the upper threshold rather than up.
£12,570 for most people. Above £100,000 of income it falls by £1 for every £2 earned, reaching nothing at £125,140.
Taxable income is total income minus the allowance. The first £37,700 of taxable income is taxed at 20%, the next slice at 40%, and anything above £125,140 at 45%.
8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. Because the NI rate drops exactly where the higher income tax rate begins, the combined marginal rate at £50,270 moves from 28% to 42% rather than to 48%.
Losing £1 of allowance for every £2 earned means that slice of income is effectively taxed at 60% — 40% on the income itself plus 40% on the allowance being withdrawn. Pension contributions in this range are unusually efficient because they reduce the income that drives the taper.
Standard tax code, England/Wales/NI rates, no pension contributions or student loan.
| Component | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | £4,166.67 | £50,000.00 |
| Personal allowance | (£1,047.50) | (£12,570.00) |
| Taxable income | £3,119.17 | £37,430.00 |
| Income tax at 20% | (£623.83) | (£7,486.00) |
| National Insurance at 8% | (£249.53) | (£2,994.40) |
| Net take-home pay | £3,293.30 | £39,519.60 |
| Effective rate (tax + NI) | 20.96% | |
So if your gross salary is £50,000 a year in the UK, your net take-home pay is £3,293.30 a month — £39,519.60 over the year. That is an effective rate of 20.96%: all of the taxable income sits inside the basic-rate band, just under the £50,270 point where the higher rate begins.
Computed from the same rates and order of operations the calculator uses, so this table and the calculator cannot disagree.
2026/27
The personal allowance stays at £12,570 and the higher-rate threshold at £50,270, unchanged since 2021/22. Because pay rises while thresholds do not, more income falls into higher bands each year — fiscal drag raises tax without any rate changing.
2023/24
The 45% threshold dropped from £150,000 to £125,140, the point at which the tapered personal allowance reaches zero. That alignment is why the two figures match exactly.
£12,570. It has been frozen at that level since 2021/22. Above £100,000 of income it is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 earned and disappears completely at £125,140.
On income above £50,270, which is the personal allowance of £12,570 plus the £37,700 basic-rate band. Only the income above that point is taxed at 40%.
Because each £2 earned in that range removes £1 of personal allowance, so an extra £1 of income is taxed at 40% and also exposes 50p that was previously tax-free. The combined effect is an effective 60% marginal rate — higher than the 45% additional rate above it.
NI was designed as a contributory charge rather than a pure tax, so the main rate applies across the band where most earnings sit and drops to 2% above £50,270. It means the combined marginal rate at the higher-rate threshold rises from 28% to 42%, not to 48%.
No. Scotland sets its own rates and bands for non-savings income, with more bands and a higher top rate. National Insurance and the personal allowance are UK-wide, but the income tax figures here apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It is a calendar artefact. The tax year historically began on Lady Day, 25 March, and the shift to the Gregorian calendar in 1752 plus a later leap-year adjustment moved it to 6 April, where it has stayed ever since.
Most employees do not — PAYE collects the right amount through the year. You do need to file if you are self-employed, have untaxed income, or earn above £150,000. The online deadline is 31 January following the end of the tax year.
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