The UK effective marginal tax rate map, 2026/27
Your marginal rate is what the next £1 of pay actually costs you in Income Tax and employee National Insurance combined. Under 2026/27 rules it is not a smooth climb from 20% to 45% — it steps, and in one stretch it runs far above every headline rate.
Every percentage on this page is a combined marginal deduction rate calculated by UKCalc, not an official HMRC tax band. HMRC publishes rates of 20%, 40% and 45%; the figures here are what those rates, the Personal Allowance taper and employee National Insurance add up to on the next £1 of pay for an earner matching the assumptions set out below. Your own rate will differ if your circumstances differ.
Corrected 9 September 2026. An earlier version of this page derived the higher-rate band incorrectly during the Personal Allowance taper, and reported an additional band of 69.5% between £116,760 and £125,140. No such band exists: the 45% additional rate begins only once the allowance has gone, at £125,140. The calculation, this page and the affected examples across the site have been corrected.
The short answer
Up to £50,270 the combined marginal rate is 28%; from there to £100,000 it is 42%.
Between £100,000 and £125,140 it jumps to 62% — the familiar "60% trap" plus employee National Insurance — and stays there for the whole £25,140 stretch.
Above £125,140 the allowance is gone and the combined rate falls to 47% — the 45% additional rate plus 2% National Insurance. The heaviest marginal rate in the system is not the top rate.
Why the 62% band arises
One rule does all the work. The Personal Allowance is withdrawn by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000, so £1 of extra pay adds £1.50 to taxable income. At the 40% higher rate that is 40% × 1.5 = 60% of Income Tax, plus 2% employee National Insurance — 62%.
It holds all the way to £125,140, where the allowance reaches zero, the ×1.5 multiplier disappears and the rate drops back.
Why the taper and the additional rate never overlap
It is tempting to think the 45% rate must start biting part-way through the taper, because the taper inflates taxable income. It does not, and the reason is arithmetic rather than policy.
The additional rate applies once taxable income passes £125,140 — the basic band of £37,700 plus the higher band of £87,440. Setting taxable income equal to £125,140 and solving for gross pay:
gross − (£12,570 − (gross − £100,000) ÷ 2) = £125,140
1.5 × gross = £125,140 + £12,570 + £50,000
gross = £125,140
The crossover lands exactly on £125,140 — the same income at which the allowance reaches zero. That is not a coincidence: HMRC set the additional-rate threshold there because it is where the allowance runs out. So taxable income can never reach the additional-rate threshold while any allowance is still being withdrawn, and the two rules cannot stack. GOV.UK's "additional rate: over £125,140" is true for every taxpayer, with no hidden exception inside the taper.
The full marginal rate map
Combined Income Tax and employee National Insurance on the next £1 of gross pay. Employed earner on PAYE, England/Wales/Northern Ireland, no children and no student loan. Computed at £1 resolution. UKCalc calculation, not official HMRC bands.
| Gross salary | Combined marginal rate Income Tax + employee NI | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| £12,570 – £50,269 | 28% | |
| £50,270 – £99,999 | 42% | |
| £100,000 – £125,139 | 62% | |
| £125,140 – above | 47% |
What student loans and Child Benefit add
Student loan repayments and the High Income Child Benefit Charge behave like extra marginal rates in the bands where they apply. They do not change the tax bands — they stack on top.
Assumptions for this table: each figure is the combined marginal rate on the next £1 of gross pay, including Income Tax, employee National Insurance, the High Income Child Benefit Charge and student loan repayments where shown. Child Benefit is assumed to be claimed in full for the whole year and the charge to fall on this earner; student loan repayments assume the earner is above the relevant repayment threshold and still repaying. Employed earner on PAYE, England/Wales/Northern Ireland, no pension contributions or salary sacrifice — any of which would change the result. These are UKCalc calculations under 2026/27 rules, not official HMRC figures.
| Scenario | £45,000 | £65,000 | £70,000 | £90,000 | £110,000 | £120,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No children, no student loan | 28% | 42% | 42% | 42% | 62% | 62% |
| 1 child | 28% | 49% | 49% | 42% | 62% | 62% |
| 2 children | 28% | 53.7% | 53.7% | 42% | 62% | 62% |
| 3 children | 28% | 58.3% | 58.3% | 42% | 62% | 62% |
| Plan 2 student loan | 37% | 51% | 51% | 51% | 71% | 71% |
| Postgraduate loan | 34% | 48% | 48% | 48% | 68% | 68% |
| Plan 2 + postgraduate | 43% | 57% | 57% | 57% | 77% | 77% |
| 2 children + Plan 2 | 37% | 62.7% | 62.7% | 51% | 71% | 71% |
| 2 children + Plan 2 + postgraduate | 43% | 68.7% | 68.7% | 57% | 77% | 77% |
The Child Benefit charge bites between £60,000 and £80,000 and is fully withdrawn above that, which is why the children columns converge again at £90,000. Student loan repayments continue for as long as the loan does, so they lift every band above their threshold.
Worked examples
A £2,000 pay rise at £120,000
Gross £120,000 → £122,000. Deductions rise from £43,842.60 to £45,082.60, so of the £2,000 rise the earner keeps £760.00.
The same rise at £70,000 with two children
Deductions rise from £20,011.30 to £21,085.04 — the earner keeps £926.26, because the Child Benefit charge is withdrawing alongside the tax.
Income tax calculator · Take-home pay calculator · Child Benefit calculator · Student loan calculator · Pension contribution calculator
Every statutory figure used here is published with its source on UK rates and thresholds 2026/27.
The underlying figures as data
Every number in the tables above is also published as a JSON file, with the same methodology, assumptions and source list attached, so it can be checked or reused without re-typing it: marginal-rate-bands-2026-27.json.
The band boundaries and stacked-scenario rates are UKCalc calculations, not an official HMRC dataset. The statutory inputs behind it are the same ones published on the verified UK rates page.
What is fact, what is assumption, and what is UKCalc's analysis
- Personal Allowance £12,570, taper from £100,000
- Basic 20%, higher 40%, additional 45%
- NI 8% / 2%
- Child Benefit £27.05/£17.90 a week; charge £60,000–£80,000
- Student loan thresholds and rates
- Employed earner on PAYE. Class 1 National Insurance, not self-employed.
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland income tax. Scotland sets its own bands.
- All income is employment earnings. No dividends, savings interest or other income.
- No salary sacrifice or pension contributions, which would change adjusted net income.
- Where children are shown, the High Income Child Benefit Charge is assumed to fall on this earner and Child Benefit is claimed in full for the whole year.
- The £125,140 crossover, calculated from the taper and the additional-rate threshold
- The 62% combined rate and every rate in the tables
- The stacked scenario rates
UKCalc derives these under 2026/27 rules. They are arithmetic on published statutory figures, not official HMRC output.
Sources
- HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) — income tax rates
- HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) — National Insurance
- HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) — Child Benefit
- GOV.UK / Student Loans Company — student loans
Limitations
- Scotland sets its own income tax bands; this map is England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Pension contributions, salary sacrifice and Gift Aid reduce adjusted net income and can move you out of a band entirely.
- Self-employed earners pay Class 2/4 National Insurance, not Class 1, so their curve differs.
- Marginal rate is not average rate — it applies to the next £1, not the whole salary.
Statutory figures last verified 2 September 2026 against the sources above, from UKCalc statutory registry 2.6.0. This is general information, not financial or tax advice.