The Income Tax rates and allowances for the 2025/26 tax year are largely unchanged from the 2024/25 year.
The Personal Allowance – the amount you can earn before you begin to pay Income Tax – remains at £12,570. It reduces by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000.
The basic rate of Income Tax of 20 per cent applies to the first £37,700 of income beyond the Personal Allowance. Income of £37,701 to £125,140 is taxed at the higher rate of 40 per cent, and income of £125,141 and above is taxed at the additional rate of 45 per cent.
Those who pay basic rate Income Tax have a Personal Savings Allowance of £1,000, meaning they can receive up to £1,000 of interest without paying tax on it. For higher rate taxpayers the Personal Savings Allowance is £500. A starting rate for savings of up to £5,000 applies to interest received by anyone with an income of less than £17,570. The starting rate for savings reduces by £1 for every £1 of other income above the Personal Allowance.
No tax is payable on the first £500 of dividends received. Dividend income above this amount is taxed at 8.75 per cent for basic rate taxpayers, 33.75 per cent for higher rate taxpayers and 39.35 per cent for additional rate taxpayers.