🇬🇧 UK

How much tax will I have to pay in the UK?

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UKUpdated 6 October 2026 · Written by BuyMeWhiskey Editorial Team · How we check facts

In 2026/27 most UK employees pay no Income Tax on their first £12,570, 20% up to £50,270 and 40% up to £125,140, plus 8% National Insurance on most pay, so a £30,000 salary costs £3,486 in tax and about £1,394 in NI.

Want your exact figure? Enter your salary in the UK take-home pay calculator. It uses the same 2026/27 GOV.UK rates and also covers Scotland and self-employment.

Open the UK take-home pay 2026/27 calculator

How UK Income Tax is worked out

Income Tax is charged on what you earn in a tax year. The current UK tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. You don't pay one flat rate on everything. Instead, your income is split into slices and each slice is taxed at its own rate.

The first slice is your Personal Allowance: £12,570 of income you don't pay tax on. Everything above that is your taxable income, which is taxed band by band. If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the 2026/27 rates for someone with the standard allowance are:

Band	Income	Rate
Personal Allowance	Up to £12,570	0%
Basic rate	£12,571 to £50,270	20%
Higher rate	£50,271 to £125,140	40%
Additional rate	Over £125,140	45%

Moving into a higher band never makes your whole salary more expensive. A pay rise that takes you from £50,000 to £52,000 is taxed at 40% only on the part above £50,270.

If you earn over £100,000

Your Personal Allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000, so it disappears completely at £125,140. In practice, each extra £1 you earn in that range is taxed at 40% and also costs you 50p of allowance, which is then taxed at 40% too. That makes an effective rate of 60% on income between £100,000 and £125,140. Pension contributions and Gift Aid donations reduce adjusted net income, which is why people in this range often pay more into a pension.

If you live in Scotland

Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands on earnings. The Personal Allowance is the same £12,570. For 2026/27 the rates on taxable income (income after the allowance) are 19% up to £3,967, 20% from £3,968 to £16,956, 21% from £16,957 to £31,092, 42% from £31,093 to £62,430, 45% from £62,431 to £125,140 and 48% above that. Tax on savings and dividends follows UK-wide rules.

National Insurance on top

National Insurance (NI) is a separate deduction with its own thresholds.

Employees pay Class 1 NI of 8% on pay between £242 and £967 a week (£1,048 to £4,189 a month), and 2% on pay above that. Your employer takes it from each payslip, so it's worked out pay period by pay period, not over the whole year.
Self-employed people pay Class 4 NI of 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above £50,270, through Self Assessment. Class 2 is voluntary at £3.65 a week.

Where your tax code fits in

Your employer or pension provider uses your tax code to apply your allowance through PAYE. HMRC says 1257L is the code currently used for most people with one job or pension. The number is your tax-free amount with the last digit removed (£12,570), and the L means you get the standard allowance. If HMRC needs to collect tax on a company benefit or untaxed income, it lowers the number. For example, £1,570 of medical insurance would turn 1257L into 1100L.

Savings, dividends and other income

Income from savings and dividends is added to your other income, but it has its own allowances and rates. For 2026/27 the dividend allowance is £500. Dividends above it are taxed at 10.75% in the basic band, 35.75% in the higher band and 39.35% in the additional band. A 0% starting rate for savings can cover up to £5,000 of interest if your other income is low. Most people with a single salary and modest savings only need the bands above.

Ways to legally pay less

GOV.UK lists tax reliefs that reduce your bill, including private pension contributions, charity donations through Gift Aid, some job expenses and maintenance payments. A spouse or civil partner earning less than the Personal Allowance may be able to transfer part of it to you through Marriage Allowance. Salary sacrifice pension schemes reduce both Income Tax and National Insurance, because the money comes out of your pay before either is worked out.

Where a £30,000 salary goes in 2026/27 (England, employee)

Worked example

Employee in England earning £30,000 a year (tax code 1257L, paid monthly):

Taxable income: £30,000 − £12,570 = £17,430, all in the 20% basic band.
Income Tax: £17,430 × 20% = £3,486 a year (£290.50 a month).
National Insurance: monthly pay is £2,500. The part above the £1,048 threshold is £1,452, and 8% of that is £116.16 a month, or £1,393.92 a year.
Take-home pay: £30,000 − £3,486 − £1,393.92 = £25,120.08 a year, about £2,093.34 a month.

The same job on £60,000: Income Tax is £37,700 × 20% = £7,540, plus (£60,000 − £12,570 − £37,700) = £9,730 × 40% = £3,892, so £11,432 in total. NI is (£4,189 − £1,048) × 8% = £251.28 plus (£5,000 − £4,189) × 2% = £16.22, which is £267.50 a month or £3,210 a year. Take-home pay is £45,358.

The £30,000 salary in Scotland: the same £17,430 of taxable income is taxed at 19% on £3,967, 20% on £12,989 and 21% on £474, which comes to £3,451.07. That is £34.93 less than in England. NI is unchanged.

How much tax do I pay on a £30,000 salary?#

An employee in England, Wales or Northern Ireland on £30,000 pays £3,486 of Income Tax in 2026/27, which is 20% of the £17,430 above the £12,570 Personal Allowance. National Insurance adds about £1,393.92, leaving take-home pay of roughly £25,120 a year.

What does tax code 1257L mean?#

1257L means you get the standard £12,570 tax-free Personal Allowance from that job or pension; the L shows you're entitled to the standard allowance. HMRC says it is the code used for most people with one job or pension. A lower number means HMRC is collecting tax on something else through your pay, such as a company benefit.

At what salary do I start paying 40% tax?#

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the 40% higher rate applies to income from £50,271, assuming the standard Personal Allowance. Only the income above that point is taxed at 40%. In Scotland, the 42% higher rate starts once taxable income passes £31,092, which is income above £43,662 with the standard allowance.

How much National Insurance will I pay?#

Employees pay 8% on earnings between £1,048 and £4,189 a month and 2% on anything above, worked out each pay period. Self-employed people pay 6% Class 4 NI on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that. On a steady £30,000 salary, employee NI is about £1,394 a year.

Why does tax jump so much above £100,000?#

Between £100,000 and £125,140 you lose £1 of Personal Allowance for every £2 you earn. Each extra £1 is therefore taxed at 40%, and 50p of previously tax-free income becomes taxable at 40% as well, giving an effective rate of 60%. Paying more into a pension, which lowers adjusted net income, is the usual way people reduce this.

Is Income Tax different in Scotland?#

Yes. Scotland has six bands on earnings for 2026/27, from a 19% starter rate up to a 48% top rate, while England, Wales and Northern Ireland have three. The Personal Allowance and National Insurance are the same across the UK. Lower earners in Scotland pay slightly less than in England, and higher earners pay more.

Is my understanding of my tax code notice correct?#

A tax code notice starts from your £12,570 Personal Allowance and takes off anything HMRC wants to tax through your pay, such as untaxed interest or company benefits. The remaining amount, with its last digit replaced by a letter, is your code. If an item is wrong or out of date, update it in your HMRC online account or the HMRC app so your code can be corrected.

How do I check if I've paid the right amount of tax?#

Compare the Income Tax on your payslips or P60 with an estimate based on the 2026/27 bands, for example using our take-home pay calculator. You can also sign in to check your Income Tax on GOV.UK to see your tax code and what HMRC expects you to pay. If too much was taken, HMRC usually refunds it automatically or tells you how to claim.

Keep reading

Sources

Figures checked against these sources on 6 October 2026. If a rule changes, we update the page and its date.

General information, not personal financial advice. Rules depend on your circumstances; check the official source or speak to a regulated adviser before acting.