UK Tax Trap Visualiser 2026/27
Marginal tax rate curve for 2026/27: where the 28%, 42% and 62% (Personal Allowance taper) rates, HICBC and student loans hit your pay. England and Scotland.
Hover the chart for the marginal rate at any income.
Key UK tax traps + the rates they produce (2026/27)
| Income band (England, Wales, NI) | Combined marginal rate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| £0 - £12,570 | 0% | Personal Allowance, and below the NI Primary Threshold (£12,570) |
| £12,570 - £50,270 | 28% | 20% Income Tax + 8% Class 1 NI main rate |
| £50,270 - £60,000 | 42% | 40% Income Tax + 2% NI (above the Upper Earnings Limit) |
| £60,000 - £80,000 | 42% + HICBC | The High Income Child Benefit Charge is 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 of adjusted net income over £60,000, so it equals all of it at £80,000. With 2 children that adds about 11.7% across the band. |
| £80,000 - £100,000 | 42% | Child Benefit fully recovered by the charge; back to the plain higher rate |
| £100,000 - £125,140 | 62% | The "60% trap". The Personal Allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000, so each £1 costs 40p higher-rate tax plus 20p on the lost allowance (60% Income Tax), plus 2% NI. Above £100,000 of adjusted net income parents also lose Tax-Free Childcare and, in England, the working-parent free childcare hours. |
| £125,140+ | 47% | 45% additional rate + 2% NI. Personal Allowance fully withdrawn. |
Add 9% for an undergraduate student loan above its threshold (Plan 1 £26,900 / Plan 2 £29,385 / Plan 4 £33,795 / Plan 5 £25,000), and 6% for a Postgraduate Loan above £21,000. In the taper band a Plan 2 loan takes the rate to 71%, and Plan 2 plus a Postgraduate Loan to 77%, the highest point on the chart.
Scotland: different bands, different traps
- Above the £12,570 Personal Allowance, Scotland's Starter (19%), Basic (20%) and Intermediate (21%) bands replace the single 20% basic rate used in the rest of the UK.
- The Scottish Higher rate (42%) starts at £43,663, below the £50,270 NI Upper Earnings Limit. Between the two, the combined rate is 50% (42% Income Tax + 8% NI); above the UEL it is 44%.
- From £75,001: Advanced rate 45% (47% with NI). Above £125,140: Top rate 48% (50% with NI), 3 percentage points above the rest of the UK.
- The Personal Allowance and its taper are set UK-wide, so the £100,000 to £125,140 taper applies in Scotland too. That whole band sits in the 45% Advanced rate, so the combined rate there is 69.5% (67.5% Income Tax + 2% NI).
What to do about the traps
- Pension salary sacrifice reduces both Income Tax and NI. Sacrificing £1 in the 62% taper band costs you 38p of take-home pay and puts £1 in your pension, which is taxed when you draw it apart from any tax-free lump sum.
- HICBC band (£60,000-£80,000): pension contributions that bring adjusted net income down to £60,000 remove the charge entirely. The full Child Benefit is £1,407 (1 child) / £2,337 (2 children) / £3,268 (3 children) a year.
- £100,000 line: bringing adjusted net income down to £100,000 with pension contributions or Gift Aid keeps the full £12,570 Personal Allowance, and keeps eligibility for Tax-Free Childcare (up to £2,000 a year per child) and, in England, the working-parent free childcare hours.
- Marriage Allowance: if one of you has income below the Personal Allowance and the other is a basic-rate taxpayer, transferring £1,260 saves up to £252 a year. You can backdate a claim to 6 April 2022, which from 2026/27 is 4 earlier years, up to £1,008. See the marriage allowance calculator.
- Use the salary calculator with different scenarios - gross plus sacrifice plus bonus - to see your take-home before signing a contract.
Source data + methodology
- Income Tax bands + thresholds per HMRC Income Tax rates (frozen through 2030/31 - Autumn Statement 2022 freeze extended to April 2031 at Autumn Budget 2025).
- National Insurance Class 1 rates per HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026-27. Main rate 8%, upper rate 2%, UEL £50,270.
- Scottish bands per GOV.UK Scottish Income Tax.
- HICBC rules per gov.uk Child Benefit tax charge. 2026/27 thresholds £60,000-£80,000, 1% per £200.
- Child Benefit rates 2026/27 per gov.uk Child Benefit rates: £27.05/wk first child, £17.90/wk per additional child.
- Student loan thresholds per gov.uk student loan repayment.
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Chart computed via the canonical site tax engine (
src/calculators/salary/logic.ts) - same engine that powers every salary calculator on the site. The chart smooths the HICBC charge across its band; the statutory charge rises in £200 steps.