The personal allowance is the amount you can earn each year without paying income tax. In 2026/27 it is £12,570 — but not everyone gets the full amount.
The personal allowance is one of the most fundamental concepts in UK tax — yet many people are unclear on exactly how it works, who qualifies, and what happens when you earn above certain thresholds. This guide explains everything in plain English.
See exactly how your personal allowance affects your take-home pay
The personal allowance is the amount of income you can receive in a tax year completely free of income tax. In 2026/27, the standard personal allowance is £12,570. This applies to most UK residents regardless of their total income — up to a point.
It covers all forms of income: salary, self-employment profit, pension income, rental income and savings interest are all counted together. The personal allowance is applied to the total before tax is calculated.
The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. So the 2026/27 personal allowance covers the period from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.
If you are employed, your employer applies your personal allowance automatically through the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) system using your tax code. The standard tax code for someone with the full personal allowance is 1257L — the “1257” represents £12,570 divided by 10, and the “L” means standard personal allowance.
Your monthly personal allowance works out at £1,047.50 per month (£12,570 ÷ 12). This means the first £1,047.50 of your monthly gross pay is tax-free. Everything above that is taxed at the applicable rate.
| Income band | Tax rate | 2026/27 band |
|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | 0% | £0–£12,570 |
| Basic rate | 20% | £12,571–£50,270 |
| Higher rate | 40% | £50,271–£125,140 |
| Additional rate | 45% | Over £125,140 |
The personal allowance has been frozen at £12,570 since April 2021 and will remain at this level until April 2028 at the earliest. This is a deliberate government policy — by keeping the threshold fixed while wages rise, more people are dragged into paying income tax and existing taxpayers pay more.
If the personal allowance had risen with inflation since 2021, it would be approximately £15,200 in 2026/27. The difference — £2,630 — is taxed at 20%, costing the average taxpayer around £526 more per year than they would otherwise pay. This is known as fiscal drag.
The personal allowance is not available to everyone in full. If your adjusted net income exceeds £100,000, your personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 above that threshold.
| Adjusted net income | Personal allowance | Effective marginal rate |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £100,000 | £12,570 (full) | 40% |
| £110,000 | £7,570 | 60% |
| £120,000 | £2,570 | 60% |
| £125,140 or more | £0 | 45% |
This taper creates an effective 60% marginal tax rate between £100,000 and £125,140. For every extra £1 earned in this band, you pay 40% income tax AND lose 50p of personal allowance (which is also taxed at 40%). The combined effect is 60p lost from every £1.
Pension contributions reduce your adjusted net income. If you earn £110,000, a £10,000 pension contribution brings your adjusted net income back to £100,000, restoring your full personal allowance. The effective tax relief on that contribution is 60% — the most generous in the UK tax system.
If you are married or in a civil partnership and one of you earns less than the personal allowance (£12,570) while the other pays basic rate tax (not higher rate), the lower earner can transfer £1,260 of their unused personal allowance to their partner.
This reduces the higher earner’s tax bill by £252 per year. You can also backdate the claim for up to four previous tax years — potentially worth £1,008 as a lump sum.
Claims are made through HMRC’s online service at gov.uk. It takes about 10 minutes and applies automatically until you cancel it.
Registered blind or severely sight-impaired individuals receive an additional tax-free allowance of £3,070 on top of the personal allowance — giving a total tax-free income of £15,640 in 2026/27. Any unused portion can be transferred to a spouse or civil partner.
If your income is approaching £100,000, protecting your personal allowance is one of the most valuable tax planning actions available:
Calculate your exact income tax and take-home pay for 2026/27