Guidance

Income Tax rates and allowances: current and past

Updated 26 April 2017

How much Income Tax someone pays in each tax year (from 6 April to the 5 April the following year) depends on:

• how much of their taxable income is above their Personal Allowance
• how much of this falls within each tax band

Personal Allowances

The Personal Allowance is the amount of income a person can get before they pay tax.

Allowances	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017	2015 to 2016	2014 to 2015
Personal Allowance	£11,500	£11,000	£10,600	£10,000
Income limit for Personal Allowance	£100,000	£100,000	£100,000	£100,000

The Personal Allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 of income above the £100,000 limit. It can go down to zero.

Personal Allowances for people born before 6 April 1948

People born before 6 April 1948 may be entitled to a bigger Personal Allowance.

From 2016 to 2017, everyone gets the standard Personal Allowance.

Allowances	2015 to 2016	2014 to 2015	2013 to 2014
Personal Allowance for people born between 6 April 1938 and 5 April 1948	£10,600	£10,500	£10,500
Personal Allowance for people born before 6 April 1938	£10,660	£10,660	£10,660
Income limit for Personal Allowance	£27,700	£27,000	£26,100

This Personal Allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 above the income limit. It won’t go below the standard Personal Allowance for that year. There’s more guidance about Personal Allowances for people born before 6 April 1948 and pre 6 April 1938.

Before 2013 to 2014

Before the 2013 to 2014 tax year, the bigger Personal Allowance was based on age instead of date of birth.

Allowances	2012 to 2013
Personal Allowance for people aged 65 to 74	£10,500
Personal Allowance for people aged 75 and over	£10,660
Income limit for Personal Allowance	£25,400

Other allowances

Allowances	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017	2015 to 2016	2014 to 2015
Married Couple’s Allowance - maximum amount	£8,445	£8,355	£8,355	£8,165
Married Couple’s Allowance - minimum amount	£3,260	£3,220	£3,220	£3,140
Blind Person’s Allowance	£2,320	£2,290	£2,290	£2,230

Tax rates and bands

Tax is paid on the amount of taxable income remaining after allowances have been deducted.

Band	Rate	Income after allowances 2017 to 2018	Income after allowances 2016 to 2017	Income after allowances 2015 to 2016	Income after allowances 2014 to 2015
Starting rate for savings	10% (0% from 2015 to 2016)	Up to £5,000	Up to £5,000	Up to £5,000	Up to £2,880
Basic rate in Scotland	20%	Up to £31,500	Up to £32,000	Up to £31,785	Up to £31,865
Basic rate in rest of UK	20%	Up to £33,500	Up to £32,000	Up to £31,785	Up to £31,865
Higher rate in Scotland	40%	£31,501 to £150,000	£32,001 to £150,000	£31,786 to £150,000	£31,866 to £150,000
Higher rate in rest of UK	40%	£33,501 to £150,000	£32,001 to £150,000	£31,786 to £150,000	£31,866 to £150,000
Additional rate	45%	Over £150,001	Over £150,001	Over £150,001	Over £150,001

Dividends

The following rates for tax on dividends apply from 6 April 2010 to 5 April 2016.

Band	Dividend tax rates
Basic rate (and non-taxpayers)	10%
Higher rate	32.5%
Additional rate (from 6 April 2013)	37.5%
Additional rate (dividends paid before 6 April 2013)	42.5%

From 6 April 2016 there’s a new dividend allowance.

Historical and future rates

You can view Income Tax rates and allowances for previous tax years.

New tax bands and allowances are usually announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget or Autumn Statement.

National Insurance and other tax rates

There are different rates and allowances for:

• National Insurance
• Capital Gains Tax
• Inheritance Tax

You can view other tax rates and allowances.