TAXCHARTS • STATIC REFERENCE

UK Income Tax Bands

A visual reference for understanding how income tax rates apply across bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Tax year shown: 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027

IMPORTANT CONTEXT

Tax bands depend on location and tax year

This reference shows the main Income Tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the 2026 to 2027 tax year.

Scottish Income Tax bands are different. Personal allowances and bands can also be affected by individual circumstances.

Always check current HMRC or GOV.UK guidance before relying on tax figures.

VISUAL BAND VIEW

How the bands stack up

Income Tax usually works in layers. Moving into a higher band does not normally mean all income is taxed at the higher rate.

0% Personal Allowance Up to £12,570

20% Basic rate £12,571 to £50,270

40% Higher rate £50,271 to £125,140

45% Additional rate Over £125,140

INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATION

Simple Income Tax Illustration

Move the slider to see a simple estimate of Income Tax for England, Wales and Northern Ireland using the standard Personal Allowance.

Important: This is a simplified illustration. It does not include National Insurance, pension deductions, student loans, benefits, Scottish tax bands, dividend income, savings income or the Personal Allowance taper above £100,000.

Gross annual income £50,000

Estimated Income Tax —

Estimated after Income Tax —

Effective Income Tax rate —

Band breakdown

Personal Allowance at 0% —

Basic rate at 20% —

Higher rate at 40% —

Additional rate at 45% —

REFERENCE TABLE

Income Tax bands at a glance

Band Income range Rate Notes

Personal Allowance Up to £12,570 0% Income within the standard Personal Allowance is usually tax-free.

Basic rate £12,571 to £50,270 20% The first taxable band after the Personal Allowance.

Higher rate £50,271 to £125,140 40% Applies to income falling within the higher-rate band.

Additional rate Over £125,140 45% Applies above the additional-rate threshold.

PLAIN ENGLISH

What marginal tax bands mean

Income Tax bands are marginal. This means different slices of income can be taxed at different rates.

For example, if someone moves into the higher-rate band, that does not usually mean all of their income is taxed at 40%. It means the income falling inside that band is taxed at that rate.

Simple idea: Think of the bands as stacked layers. Each layer has its own rate.

FUTURE VERSION

This can become interactive later

A future TaxCharts version could add a slider, tax-year selector and comparison view. For now, this static reference establishes the format.