Personal Allowance 2025/26 Calculator

Personal allowance calculator UK 2025/26 — see your tax-free amount (default £12,570), the £100k+ taper, and how Marriag

Quick answer: Your 2025/26 personal allowance is £12,570 by default. It tapers by £1 for every £2 earned above £100,000 — fully gone at £125,140. Marriage Allowance can transfer £1,260 to a spouse, saving up to £252/year.
Mustafa Bilgic
Reviewed by Mustafa Bilgic · UK Calculator Editor ·

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Personal Allowance is the slice of income you can earn each year before paying any income tax. For 2025/26 the default is £12,570 — frozen at this level since 2021/22 and confirmed frozen through April 2028.

How personal allowance 2025/26 calculator works in 2025/26

Personal Allowance applies UK-wide (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) and reduces your taxable income before any band rates apply. Your tax code is your allowance ÷ 10 with a letter suffix — so £12,570 = code 1257L.

Three ways your personal allowance can change:

  1. £100,000+ taper: for every £2 of income above £100,000, you lose £1 of allowance. Fully gone at £125,140.
  2. Marriage Allowance: a non-taxpayer spouse can transfer £1,260 (10%) to a basic-rate spouse, raising their allowance to £13,830 (saves £252/year).
  3. Blind Person's Allowance: £3,130 extra in 2025/26 if registered blind/severely sight-impaired.

The taper creates the infamous "60% tax trap" — between £100k and £125,140, every £100 of extra pay costs £40 income tax + £20 lost allowance × 40% = £60 effective tax. Pension contributions in this band give 60% effective relief.

Worked example: £35,000 standard PA

Full £12,570 PA. £22,430 taxed at 20% = £4,486. NI £1,794.40. Take-home £28,719.60.

Gross: £35,000 → Take-home: £28,719.60/year (£2,393.30/month)

Worked example: £110,000 — taper kicks in

PA reduced by (110,000-100,000)/2 = £5,000. New PA £7,570. Tax £33,432 + NI £4,210.60. Take-home £72,357.40.

Gross: £110,000 → Take-home: £72,357.40/year (£6,029.78/month)

Worked example: £125,140 — PA fully gone

PA = £0. All income taxed. Tax £42,516 + NI £4,512.40. Take-home £78,111.60.

Gross: £125,140 → Take-home: £78,111.60/year (£6,509.30/month)

Frequently asked questions

Has the personal allowance changed for 2025/26?
No — it's frozen at £12,570, unchanged since April 2021. The Autumn Statement 2022 extended this freeze through to April 2028. With ~5% wage inflation, real-terms it has shrunk by ~25% since 2021.
How does the £100,000 taper work?
For every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000, you lose £1 of personal allowance. At £125,140, your allowance is fully removed. This creates a 60% effective marginal rate (40% tax + 20% lost-allowance taxed at 40%).
Can I get more than £12,570 personal allowance?
Yes — Marriage Allowance lets a non-taxpayer spouse transfer £1,260 to a basic-rate spouse, giving them £13,830 (code 1383M). Blind Person's Allowance adds £3,130 for those registered blind. Both can stack.
Does personal allowance apply to savings interest?
Yes — but with extra allowances on top. Basic rate taxpayers also get a £1,000 Personal Savings Allowance; higher rate £500; additional rate £0. So £12,570 PA + £1,000 PSA = £13,570 tax-free interest for low earners.
Does PA apply to dividends?
Yes. Plus there's a separate £500 Dividend Allowance in 2025/26 (down from £1,000 in 2024/25). So PA covers earnings AND dividends, with the £500 allowance on top of dividend income only.
What is tax code 1257L?
Code 1257L = personal allowance £12,570 ÷ 10 = 1257, with L (standard allowance, no adjustments). About 30 million UK workers have this code. Variations: K-codes for negative allowance, BR for second jobs, NT for non-taxable income.
How do I claim back unused personal allowance?
If you didn't use your full PA (e.g. low earnings + some savings interest), you can use form R40 to reclaim tax deducted at source. Marriage Allowance also lets a non-earning spouse "lend" up to £1,260 to a basic-rate partner.

Official UK Sources

Last reviewed: May 2026 against HMRC 2025/26 rates.

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