Rates, bands and allowances
Scottish Income Tax rates
The six Scottish bands on wages and pensions, where each one starts in gross pay, and how the S at the start of your code applies them.
Your situation points to
S1257L
Your current code takes about the right tax for the year.
| Tax due for the year | £5,551.07 |
| Taken with S1257L | £5,548.97 |
| Taken with the expected code | £5,548.97 |
| Personal Allowance | £12,570 |
Estimate on employment and pension income only. HMRC sets your code from its own records; savings, property and other income can change it.
Scottish taxpayers pay Income Tax on wages and pensions at six rates in 2026 to 2027: starter 19%, basic 20%, intermediate 21%, higher 42%, advanced 45%, top 48%. With the standard Personal Allowance of £12,570, the starter rate runs up to £16,537 of gross income, the basic rate to £29,526, the intermediate rate to £43,662, the higher rate to £75,000 and the advanced rate to £125,140, above which the top rate applies. Payroll knows to use these bands because your code starts with S, as in S1257L. Savings interest and dividends are taxed at the same rates as in the rest of the UK. Compared with England, someone on S1257L pays slightly less up to about £33,493 and more above it: on £40,000, £5,548.97 against £5,484.00. Rates for 2027 to 2028 come with the Scottish Budget on 3 December 2026.
Scottish rates against England
Tax with S1257L
£5,548.97
| With 1257L (England) | £5,484.00 |
| Difference over the year | £64.97 |
| Each month | £5.41 |
Rules read on HMRC’s texts by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The six bands in gross pay
HMRC's rates for employers list each Scottish band as an amount above the Personal Allowance. Most people think in salary, so the table converts them into gross yearly income with the standard allowance, next to the 2025 to 2026 thresholds. The allowance and its taper above £100,000 are set for the whole UK; Scotland sets only the rates and the band widths.
| Band | Rate | Width above the allowance | Gross income, 2026 to 2027 | Gross income, 2025 to 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 19% | £3,967 | £12,571 to £16,537 | £12,571 to £15,397 |
| Basic | 20% | £12,989 | £16,538 to £29,526 | £15,398 to £27,491 |
| Intermediate | 21% | £14,136 | £29,527 to £43,662 | £27,492 to £43,662 |
| Higher | 42% | £31,338 | £43,663 to £75,000 | £43,663 to £75,000 |
| Advanced | 45% | £62,710 | £75,001 to £125,140 | £75,001 to £125,140 |
| Top | 48% | no limit | over £125,140 | over £125,140 |
The changes for 2026 to 2027 sit at the bottom of the scale. The starter band widened from £2,827 to £3,967 and the basic band now ends at £29,526 rather than £27,491. From the higher rate upwards, nothing moved: 42% from £43,663, 45% from £75,001 and 48% above £125,140.
Scotland against the rest of the UK
The starter rate saves one percentage point on the first slice of taxable income, and the intermediate rate costs one point on income above the basic band. The two cancel out at roughly £33,493 of gross pay. Above £43,662, the gap widens quickly, because the Scottish higher rate of 42% starts well before the £50,270 threshold used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
| Yearly pay | S1257L | 1257L | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| £18,000 | £1,044.33 | £1,084.00 | −£39.67 |
| £25,000 | £2,444.33 | £2,484.00 | −£39.67 |
| £33,000 | £4,078.97 | £4,084.00 | −£5.03 |
| £40,000 | £5,548.97 | £5,484.00 | +£64.97 |
| £55,000 | £11,077.85 | £9,428.00 | +£1,649.85 |
| £80,000 | £21,727.55 | £19,428.00 | +£2,299.55 |
Scottish rates against England
Tax with S1257L
£11,077.85
| With 1257L (England) | £9,428.00 |
| Difference over the year | £1,649.85 |
| Each month | £137.49 |
The higher threshold also matters for Marriage Allowance: in Scotland the partner who receives it must pay no more than the intermediate rate, which usually means income up to £43,662.
How the S code applies the rates
The S tells payroll software to switch to the Scottish band table; the number and letter work exactly as elsewhere, so S1257L gives the same £1,048.26 of free pay a month as 1257L. A second job is usually coded SBR, which taxes all of it at the Scottish basic rate of 20%, or SD0, SD1, SD2 and SD3 when your main pay already reaches the intermediate, higher, advanced or top band. The Scottish codes page lists them all.
If your status changes during the year, payroll keeps your pay and tax to date and simply continues the cumulative calculation with the Scottish bands from that point, so the year evens out. Payments made after you have left a job and received a P45 are taxed on S0T if your code had an S, as set out in HMRC's P9X notice. The emergency code, on the other hand, never has an S, so someone on 1257L M1 who lives in Scotland is taxed at the rates used for England and Northern Ireland until HMRC issues the proper code.
Who pays and what comes next
Scottish Income Tax applies to people who live in Scotland. With a home in Scotland and another elsewhere in the UK, what counts is your main home: usually where you spend most of your time, but it can be the other one if that is where your possessions are, where your family lives, or where you are registered with a bank or a GP. Mobile workers, students and people with no fixed home compare the days they spent in Scotland with the days elsewhere, counting where they were at midnight. If your code lacks the S, or has one it should not, check your address in your HMRC online account.
For the year from 6 April 2027, the Scottish Government will publish its Budget on 3 December 2026. Calculators on this site keep the 2026 to 2027 Scottish bands for 2027 to 2028 until then and say so; the 2027/28 page lists what is already confirmed for the whole UK.