2026/27 UK PAYE Bands
Complete HMRC PAYE band[1] schedule for 2026/27: £12,570 Personal Allowance[2], 20% / 40% / 45% bands, the £100,000 PA taper, Class 1 NI rates, and a live calculator that runs the math in your browser.
2026 PAYE Bands - full table
| Band | Taxable income | Income tax rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £0 - £12,570 | 0% (no tax) |
| Basic rate | £12,570 - £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,270 - £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | Over £125,140 | 45% |
2026 UK PAYE income tax + National Insurance calculator
Enter your annual salary. The calculator applies the 2026/27 Personal Allowance (£12,570), Personal Allowance taper above £100,000, the basic/higher/additional bands, and Class 1 NI primary contributions. England/Wales/NI bands - Scotland uses its own schedule.
2026/27 HMRC bands + Class 1 NI primary contributions. Student loan, pension salary sacrifice, and Scottish bands not modeled.
What changed from 2025/26 to 2026/27
HMRC has frozen the Personal Allowance and higher-rate threshold through 5 April 2028 under the policy first announced by Rishi Sunak in 2022 and extended by Chancellor Reeves in Autumn Statement 2024. Frozen thresholds mean fiscal drag: as wages rise with inflation, more earners are dragged into higher bands without any rate change on paper.
- Personal Allowance: £12,570 - £12,570 (unchanged (frozen))
- Higher-rate threshold: £50,270 - £50,270
- Additional rate threshold: £125,140 - £125,140
- PA taper starts at: £100,000 - £100,000
- NI primary threshold: £12,570 - £12,570
- Class 1 NI main rate: 8% - 8%
The hidden tax rise: A worker earning £50,000 in 2025/26 who gets a 4% inflationary raise to £52,000 in 2026/27 pays the entire raise above £50,270 at the 40% higher rate plus 2% NI - an effective marginal rate of 42% on those incremental pounds. With frozen thresholds, this happens to anyone whose pay simply keeps pace with inflation.
How 2026 paye bands work
The UK's PAYE (Pay As You Earn) system collects income tax automatically from each paycheck according to your tax code and the bands set by HMRC for 2026/27. For tax year 2026/27, the structure is: a £12,570 Personal Allowance (no tax), then 20% basic rate up to £50,270, 40% higher rate up to £125,140, and 45% additional rate above £125,140.
The Personal Allowance has been frozen at £12,570 since April 2021 and the freeze has been extended to 5 April 2028 by the 2024 Autumn Statement. Combined with frozen higher-rate and additional-rate thresholds, this produces fiscal drag: as wages rise with inflation, more earners pay higher rates without any change to the headline rates themselves. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates around 7 million more workers will be paying tax (basic or higher) by 2027/28 than they would under inflation-uprated bands.
Above £100,000 of income, the Personal Allowance tapers down by £1 for every £2 of income, fully gone at £125,140. This creates a notorious 60% effective marginal rate between £100,000 and £125,140 (40% income tax + 20% via the disappearing allowance), one reason £100k earners often make heavy pension contributions to bring adjusted net income below £100k.
Class 1 National Insurance is collected through PAYE alongside income tax: 8% main rate on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on earnings above the upper earnings limit. NI funds state pension, contribution-based benefits, and the NHS. The main NI rate was cut from 12% to 10% in January 2024 and again to 8% in April 2024 - the lowest in nearly 50 years.
How to use the 2026 brackets in practice
Step 1: Determine your tax code. The standard PAYE tax code for 2026/27 is 1257L, meaning a Personal Allowance of £12,570. If you have multiple jobs, savings income, taxable benefits, or a second pension, HMRC may adjust your code (K codes, BR codes, etc.).
Step 2: Apply the bands. Subtract the Personal Allowance from gross income, then apply 20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140, and 45% above £125,140. (If gross income exceeds £100,000, the Personal Allowance tapers down - the calculator above handles this automatically.)
Step 3: Apply Class 1 National Insurance. 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. NI is collected through PAYE alongside income tax.
Step 4: Account for adjustments. Student loan repayments (Plan 1/2/4/5 or postgraduate at 9% / 6%), pension contributions (relief at source or net pay), workplace benefit-in-kind, and salary sacrifice each affect the final take-home.
Step 5: Reconcile at year-end. HMRC sends a P800 if you've over- or under-paid. Self-assessment is required if you're self-employed, a higher-rate taxpayer with untaxed savings income above £500, or a director of a limited company.
Frequently asked questions - 2026 paye bands
What is the UK Personal Allowance for 2026/27?
£12,570 - the amount of income you can earn before paying any income tax. The Personal Allowance has been frozen at this level since April 2021 and the freeze has been extended to 5 April 2028 - meaning fiscal drag pulls more people into tax just by getting cost-of-living pay rises.
What are the income tax bands in 2026/27?
Three rates above the Personal Allowance: 20% basic rate on income from £12,570 to £50,270, 40% higher rate from £50,270 to £125,140, and 45% additional rate above £125,140. These bands apply to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland - Scotland has its own structure with six bands.
When does the Personal Allowance taper start in 2026/27?
The PA tapers down by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000. By £125,140 of income the Personal Allowance is fully tapered away, creating an effective marginal rate of 60% on income between £100,000 and £125,140 (40% income tax + 20% from the tapered-away allowance). This is why £100k earners often pay into pensions or salary-sacrifice to bring income below £100,000.
What is the Class 1 National Insurance rate in 2026/27?
Employees pay 8% NI on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on earnings above £50,270. Employers separately pay 15% above £5,000 (raised from 13.8% above £9,100 by Autumn Budget 2024).
Did UK tax rates change for 2026/27?
Statutory rates (20%/40%/45%) and NI rates have not changed for 2026/27. The Personal Allowance and higher-rate threshold remain frozen at 2021/22 levels, which is itself a tax rise via fiscal drag - HMRC raises more revenue without lifting headline rates.
What is 'fiscal drag' and how does it affect me?
Fiscal drag is the phenomenon of frozen tax thresholds pulling more income into higher bands as wages rise with inflation. A worker earning £50,000 today who gets a 4% inflationary raise to £52,000 has £1,730 of new income at the 42% effective marginal rate (40% income tax + 2% NI). With thresholds frozen until 2028, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates around 4 million more people will be paying tax and 3 million more will be paying higher-rate tax by 2027/28 compared to inflation-uprated bands.
How is PAYE collected in 2026/27?
PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is collected automatically by your employer each pay period and remitted to HMRC. Your tax code (e.g. 1257L for the standard Personal Allowance) tells the employer how much to deduct. If your tax code is wrong, you can either be over- or under-taxed across the year, and HMRC reconciles via a P800 or self-assessment return after year-end.
Are there Scottish tax bands for 2026/27?
Yes - Scotland sets its own income tax bands and rates for non-savings, non-dividend income. The 2026/27 Scottish bands have starter, basic, intermediate, higher, advanced and top rate bands ranging from 19% to 48%. The Personal Allowance (£12,570) and NI rates are still UK-wide. This page covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland only.
How much tax do I pay on £50,000 in 2026/27?
Income tax: 0% on first £12,570 + 20% on £12,570-£50,000 (= £7,486) = £7,486 income tax. Class 1 NI: 8% on £12,570-£50,000 (= £2,994). Combined tax and NI: £10,480, leaving about £39,520 take-home. Effective rate: ~21%.
What's the difference between 2026/27 and 2026/27?
Personal Allowance, higher-rate threshold, additional-rate threshold and NI primary threshold are all unchanged - the freeze policy continues. NI main rate remains 8% (cut from 10% in January 2024 and 8% from April 2024). See the 'What changed' section above for the full year-over-year picture.
Methodology and sources
Source for 2026 paye bands: HMRC: thresholds frozen through 5 April 2028 under the policy first set in 2022 and extended in Autumn Statement 2024.
What the calculator does NOT model:
- State / provincial / regional income tax (US states, Scottish rates, UK devolved nations have separate schedules)
- Local city / municipal income tax
- Investment income surcharges (US Net Investment Income Tax 3.8%, UK dividend allowance, etc.)
- Surcharge on very high incomes (India: 10/15/25% on tax for Rs 50L+ earners)
- Salary sacrifice, pension contributions, salary packaging
- Cesses and levies beyond the main income tax (where applicable)
- Self-employment tax (SE tax in US, Class 2/4 NI in UK)
Last updated 2026. Tax rules change frequently; if a Budget or Revenue Procedure is published between this page's update date and the tax year it covers, the numbers may shift. Always cross-check with the relevant tax authority before filing. This is an informational page, not tax advice.