Rates, bands and allowances
Tax codes for 2027/28
The tax year from 6 April 2027 to 5 April 2028, as set out in the Budget of 28 October 2026, and the pieces still missing.
Tax-free pay from this job
£12,570 a year
- 1257 × 10 = £12,570, and the letter L means the standard tax-free Personal Allowance.
- England or Northern Ireland rates
- Cumulative: allowance and bands build up through the tax year, so over- or under-payments correct themselves
| Tax-free pay each month | £1,048.26 |
| Tax over the year on £45,000 | £6,484.00 |
| That is, each month | £540.33 |
| With 1257L instead | £6,484.00 |
Estimate with HMRC’s payroll method and the same pay every month. Only HMRC can change your code.
Annex A of the Budget of 28 October 2026 keeps the Personal Allowance at £12,570 for 2027 to 2028, with the same £100,000 income limit and the same basic rate band, so the standard code from 6 April 2027 stays 1257L and wages are taxed at 20, 40, 45% in England and Northern Ireland. On £45,000 a year, a 1257L payslip takes £6,484.00 over 2027 to 2028, exactly what it takes this year. The changes sit elsewhere: savings interest above the allowances will be taxed at 24, 44, 49% and a new set of property rates at 24, 44, 49%, neither of which applies to PAYE wages. Blind Person's Allowance rises to £3,370. Scottish rates will come with the Scottish Budget on 3 December 2026, Welsh rates with the Welsh budget, and the emergency code with HMRC's next P9X notice.
Tax in 2027 to 2028 against this year
Tax in 2027 to 2028, England
£6,484.00
| In 2026 to 2027 | £6,484.00 |
| Difference | £0.00 |
| Scottish rates 2027 to 2028 | due 3 December 2026 |
Rules read on HMRC’s texts by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Allowances confirmed for 2027/28
The Budget tables published on 28 October 2026 give every Income Tax allowance for both years side by side. For a tax code, the line that counts is the first one: the Personal Allowance does not move, so neither does the number in a standard code. The basic rate band stays at £37,700 above the allowance and the additional rate still starts at £125,140.
| Allowance | 2026 to 2027 | 2027 to 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £12,570 | £12,570 |
| Income limit for the allowance | £100,000 | £100,000 |
| Marriage Allowance | £1,260 | £1,260 |
| Blind Person's Allowance | £3,250 | £3,370 |
| Married Couple's Allowance, maximum | £11,700 | £12,110 |
| Married Couple's Allowance, minimum | £4,530 | £4,690 |
| Income limit for Married Couple's Allowance | £39,200 | £40,600 |
| Dividend Allowance | £500 | £500 |
Two lines can change a code. Marriage Allowance still moves £1,260 between spouses or civil partners, which keeps the codes at 1383M and 1131N. Blind Person's Allowance goes up by £120, so someone with the standard allowance plus this one moves from 1582L to 1594L. Married Couple's Allowance, only for couples where one partner was born before 6 April 1935, rises too; a couple cannot have it and Marriage Allowance at the same time.
New savings and property rates from April 2027
The biggest Income Tax change in the Budget is not on wages. From 2027 to 2028, savings income above the starting rate and the Personal Savings Allowance (£1,000 for basic rate taxpayers, £500 for higher rate taxpayers) is taxed at 24, 44, 49% instead of 20, 40, 45%. Property income, which this year is taxed at the main rates, gets its own rates of 24, 44, 49%. The property rates apply across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Scottish and Welsh governments can set their own.
| Type of income | 2026 to 2027 | 2027 to 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| Main rates (wages, pensions) | 20, 40, 45% | 20, 40, 45% |
| Savings rates | 20, 40, 45% | 24, 44, 49% |
| Property rates | main rates apply | 24, 44, 49% |
On a payslip, nothing changes for salary. Where it can show is in the code of someone whose interest goes over the Personal Savings Allowance: GOV.UK lists that as one of the reasons HMRC changes a tax code, to collect the tax on the interest through pay. The Budget also confirms that from 6 April 2027 employers must report and payroll company cars, vans, fuel and medical benefits through the payroll, which means those benefits will be taxed directly in pay rather than through a lower code number.
Tax on wages: this year against next year
With identical allowances and bands, the same salary on 1257L gives the same yearly Income Tax in both years outside Scotland. The table uses HMRC's monthly payroll method with equal pay each month.
| Yearly pay | 1257L, 2026 to 2027 | 1257L, 2027 to 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £2,484.00 | £2,484.00 |
| £45,000 | £6,484.00 | £6,484.00 |
| £70,000 | £15,428.00 | £15,428.00 |
Pensioners have one new item. A Pensions Tax Allowance is introduced for 2027 to 2028 and the two years after it, so that people whose income is no more than the full new State Pension do not receive small Simple Assessment bills. It applies in full up to £13,037 of income and has gone completely by £13,319. Its effect on codes is not yet described; the State Pension page covers how the pension is coded today.
What is still to be announced
Scottish rates. The Scottish Government announced that its Budget, which sets the Scottish rates and bands, will be published on 3 December 2026. Until then, the Scottish bands shown for April 2027 are this year's, used as a placeholder.
Welsh rates. Set by the Senedd with the Welsh budget for 2027 to 2028, not published on 29 October 2026. In 2026 to 2027 the Welsh totals equal those for England.
Emergency code. HMRC confirms it in the P9X notice for 6 April 2027, usually published in January or February 2027, as it did in the notice for 2026. When the new year starts, any W1 or M1 marking on your code is removed and the code runs cumulatively again. Once the year begins, you can see the code HMRC has issued in your HMRC online account.