The rest-of-UK Income Tax bands and the £100,000 Personal Allowance taper for 2026/27

How much Income Tax comes off a UK payslip is set by four **bands** and, above £100,000, by a **taper** that most people never see coming. This exhibit lays out both for **2026/27** (the rest-of-UK rates that apply in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland). The band diagram shows the rates; the taper panel shows the trap. The authoritative figures are on gov.uk's Income Tax rates and Personal Allowance.

The four bands are straightforward. The **Personal Allowance** of **£12,570** is taxed at **0%**. The **basic rate of 20%** applies to the next **£37,700** of taxable income, taking it up to **£50,270**. The **higher rate of 40%** applies from £50,271 to **£125,140**. The **additional rate of 45%** applies above £125,140. These are the numbers a PAYE calculation works through in order, band by band, once the tax code has set the allowance.

The taper is where high earners lose ground quietly. For **every £2 of income above £100,000, £1 of Personal Allowance is withdrawn**. So an allowance of £12,570 shrinks steadily and is **fully gone at £125,140** (£100,000 plus twice the £12,570 allowance). Someone on £110,000 is £10,000 over the threshold, loses £5,000 of allowance, and keeps only £7,570 of it. Because losing allowance exposes more income to 40% tax on top of the 40% already charged on the extra pay, the **effective marginal rate between £100,000 and £125,140 is about 60%**, higher than the additional rate above it. The £12,570 Personal Allowance article covers the mechanics in full.

Two caveats decide whether these figures are the right ones. First, they are the **rest-of-UK** bands; Scotland sets its own rates and bands, so a Scottish taxpayer on the same salary pays a different amount, though the £100,000 taper applies UK-wide. Second, the Personal Allowance and the higher-rate threshold are **frozen to April 2031** (the Nov-2025 Budget extended the freeze by three years), so as pay rises with inflation more income is dragged into higher bands each year. This is fiscal drag: effective tax rises without any rate change. Confirm current-year figures against gov.uk before relying on them.