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Tax rates 2023/24
Break down the tax you'll pay
Updated 6 April 2023
Nothing's as certain as death and taxes. Yet while there's no doubt we'll all be taxed, the rates can change rapidly. This guide covers income tax thresholds, the personal allowance, national insurance and more for the tax year 2023/24, starting 6 April 2023.
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What's my personal tax allowance?
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Each of us has a 'personal allowance'. This is the amount we can earn without paying any income tax.
If you earn more than your personal allowance, you pay tax at the applicable income tax rate on all earnings above the personal allowance, but the allowance itself remains untaxed.
Married or in a civil partnership? Or earning interest on savings? Remember to read the extra information below.
What income tax band am I in?
Once you know your personal allowance, anything extra earned above that will be subject to income tax. For the 2023/24 tax year, if you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, there are three marginal income tax bands – the 20% basic rate, the 40% higher rate and the 45% additional rate (also remember your personal allowance starts to shrink once earnings hit £100,000).
Marginal bands mean you only pay the specified tax rate on that portion of salary. For example, if your salary puts you in the 40% tax bracket, then you only pay 40% tax on the segment of earnings in that income tax band. For the lower part of your earnings, you'll still pay the appropriate 20% or 0%.
If you live in Scotland, there are five marginal income tax bands – the starter rate of 19%, the 20% basic rate, the 21% intermediate rate, the 42% higher rate and the 47% additional rate.
I live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland – what's my income tax rate for 2023/24?
| EARNINGS (IF YOU LIVE IN ENGLAND, WALES OR NORTHERN IRELAND) | RATE |
|---|---|
| Under your personal allowance (PA) For most, £12,570 |
No income tax payable |
| Between PA and PA + £37,700 (basic rate) For most, over £12,570 to £50,270 |
20% |
| Between PA + £37,701 and £125,140 (higher rate) For most, over £50,271 to £125,140 |
40% (1) |
| Over £125,140 (additional rate) | 45% |
(1) Personal allowance drops by £1 for every £2 earned between £100,000 and £125,140.
| EARNINGS (IF YOU LIVE IN SCOTLAND) | RATE |
|---|---|
| Under your personal allowance (PA) For most, £12,570 |
No income tax payable |
| Between PA and PA + £2,162 (starter rate) For most, over £12,570 to £14,732 |
19% |
| Between PA + £2,163 and PA + £13,118 (basic rate) For most, over £14,733 to £25,688 |
20% |
| Between PA + £13,119 and PA + £31,092 (intermediate rate) For most, over £25,689 to £43,662 |
21% |
| Between PA + £31,093 and £125,140 (higher rate) For most, over £43,663 to £125,140 |
42% (1) |
| Over £125,140 (additional rate) | 47% |
(1) Personal allowance drops by £1 for every £2 earned between £100,000 and £125,140.
National insurance is separate from income tax
While your income tax rate is important, it's not the only thing to affect your take-home pay.
In addition to plain old income tax, most UK workers also have national insurance contributions deducted from their pay. These kick in based on your earnings from the age of 16, and you usually stop paying when you reach state pension age.
The table below shows the current national insurance rates you're paying.
What's my 2023/24 national insurance rate?
| EARNINGS TABLE_CELL_STYLE | NATIONAL INSURANCE RATE (FOR EMPLOYED, NOT SELF-EMPLOYED) |
|
|---|---|---|
| A week | Annual salary | |
| Under £242 | Under £12,570 | No national insurance payable. |
| £242 and £967 | £12,570 to £50,270 | 12% on everything earned between £242 and £967 a week |
| Over £967 | Over £50,270 | 12% on everything earned between £242 and £967 a week, 2% on everything above that |
| Some advanced national insurance rules are complicated. See the HM Revenue & Customs website for full rates. | ||
If you're employed, class 1 national insurance will be collected through your usual payslip at the relevant level.
If you're self-employed, class 4 national insurance contributions will automatically be calculated when you file your self-assessment tax return for 2023/24.
Capital gains tax
Capital gains tax (CGT) is one of the least common taxes on income, and for many it won't apply. However, if you sell or give away an asset worth more than £6,000, you could have to pay CGT. It doesn't apply for main homes, cars or lottery/pools winnings, among other things.
Each year, individuals have an 'annual exempt amount' that allows them to receive some gains tax-free. Above this, you pay CGT on all gains.
2023/24 capital gains tax
| Annual exempt amount | £6,000 for individuals |
|---|---|
| Standard CGT rate | 18% on residential property, 10% on other assets |
| Higher CGT rate | 28% on residential property, 20% on other assets |
| Your rate of CGT will depend on your other taxable income. See Gov.uk for more on how to work this out, and for more on the increased annual exempt amount, see this Gov.uk webpage. | |
You have 60 days from the completion of the sale of your property to report and pay your capital gains tax to HM Revenue & Customs.
Dividend tax
There are two ways you make money from investing. One is when the shares increase in value and then you reap a nice profit when you sell them. The other is when they pay dividends.
Dividends are a bit like interest on a savings account. If a company makes a profit, it gives some of it back to you – it could be on a regular basis or as a one-off. And just as you have a personal savings allowance for tax-free interest on savings, you also have a tax-free dividends allowance.
The allowance for tax-free dividends is halved to £1,000 for the 2023/24 tax year, but there's no change for dividend tax.
Any dividends received above this allowance are taxed at the rates shown below, unless your shares are held in a stocks & shares ISA (where dividends are always tax-free).
If you earn more than £1,000 a year in dividend income outside of a stocks & shares ISA, you'll need to inform HM Revenue & Customs.
Dividend tax in 2022/23
| TAX BRACKET | RATE |
|---|---|
| Basic rate | 8.75% |
| Higher rate | 33.75% |
| Additional rate | 39.35% |
Paying into a pension?
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One of the key attractions of pensions is the tax breaks they give savers. Generally, when you put money into a pension, the state tops up your contribution with tax relief.
How much tax relief do I get on my pension contributions?
Basic-rate taxpayers receive 20% tax relief on their pension contributions. Higher-rate taxpayers can get up to 40% relief – or up to 45% for top-rate taxpayers – though they may need to claim the additional relief through their tax returns. Scottish taxpayers paying slightly higher rates of income tax (21%, 41% or 46%) than elsewhere in the UK also need to claim their extra tax through their tax returns.
If you're not a taxpayer – for example, you don't earn enough to pay income tax – but are contributing to a pension, you'll still have the tax saving added to your contributions up to a certain amount. You'll be given an extra £20 for every £80 you pay into a pension up until you've contributed £2,880. This means the state tops up your pension to £3,600.
Is there a limit on tax relief I can get?
Generally, you can put as much as you earn each tax year into your pension and receive tax relief, up to an annual contribution limit of £60,000.
This limit – called the annual allowance – includes the money you put into your pension, the basic-rate tax relief the state adds, and any contributions your employer makes.
However, for high earners with incomes over £260,000, the £60,000 annual allowance is reduced.
When does tax relief become tax charge?
The pension lifetime allowance – a limit on the total value you can build up in all your pensions without suffering a tax charge was £1,073,100 for the 2022/23 tax year and was supposed to be frozen at this level until the 2025/26 tax year.
However, the Government has now said the LTA will be completely abolished from 6 April 2024, meaning there will be no cap on how much you can build up in pension benefits while continuing to get tax relief.
The separate 'lifetime allowance charge' was also scrapped from 6 April 2023. Despite this, the amount you can take as a tax-free lump sum is capped at £268,275. This is the maximum you can get under the current LTA of £1,073,100.
To check what your take-home pay should be, including pension contributions and student loan repayments, use our free Income Tax Calculator.
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