Scottish income tax bands 2026/27
The Scottish Parliament sets the rates and bands for earned income; the Personal Allowance, National Insurance and everything else on a payslip are the same across the UK. That is why a Scottish payslip differs from an English one by income tax alone.
Scottish income tax bands 2026/27
Bands assume the full Personal Allowance. Scottish rates apply to non-savings, non-dividend income — earnings, pensions and rent — and not to savings interest or dividends, which are taxed at UK rates everywhere.
| Band | Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Starter rate | £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% |
| Basic rate | £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% |
| Intermediate rate | £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% |
| Higher rate | £43,663 to £75,000 | 42% |
| Advanced rate | £75,001 to £125,140 | 45% |
| Top rate | Over £125,140 | 48% |
The same pay under the rest of the UK’s bands
England, Wales and Northern Ireland share one set of three bands. Wales has the power to set its own and currently matches England’s.
| Band | Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 to £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 to £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | Over £125,140 | 45% |
What your next pound costs in each Scottish band
Income tax is only part of it: National Insurance is charged on the same pay, at the same rate everywhere in the UK, and the two stack. The last column is what the engine takes off the next pound of pay one pound inside each band.
| Band | Pay in the band | Income tax | With National Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter rate | £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% | 19% |
| Basic rate | £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% | 28% |
| Intermediate rate | £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% | 29% |
| Higher rate | £43,663 to £75,000 | 42% | 50% |
| Advanced rate | £75,001 to £125,140 | 45% | 47% |
| Top rate | Over £125,140 | 48% | 50% |
How payroll knows
A Scottish taxpayer’s tax code starts with S. HMRC sets the prefix from the address it holds for you, not from where you work, and payroll applies whichever ladder the code names. A Welsh taxpayer’s code starts with C and is taxed on the same bands as England’s.
| Yearly pay | Take-home in England, Wales, NI | Take-home in Scotland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| £12,570 | £12,570.00 | £12,570.00 | +£0.00 |
| £39,039 | £31,628.16 | £31,572.70 | −£55.46 |
| £43,663 | £34,957.40 | £34,855.49 | −£101.91 |
| £50,270 | £39,714.64 | £38,159.19 | −£1,555.45 |
Sources
Every rate and threshold on this page is read from the rules file these documents were transcribed into, with the date it was checked in the strip above.