UKCalc Data & Analysis for Journalists
UKCalc publishes independently calculated UK tax, property and personal finance analysis, built on statutory figures that are checked against their official source and dated. This page collects the findings most likely to be useful to reporters, with the working, the sources and the caveats attached.
UKCalc is published by Animateed Limited. It is not a financial adviser, an FCA-regulated firm, an accountant or a tax adviser, and it is not the government source for any figure. Every statutory number below links to the official source it came from.
1. Latest UKCalc analysis
Two current findings, each derived from verified statutory data. Full working, tables and sources are on the linked analysis pages.
A 69.5% combined marginal rate between £116,760 and £125,140
Between £116,760 and £125,140 of gross salary in 2026/27, UKCalc calculates that an extra £1 of pay costs 69.5p in Income Tax and employee National Insurance combined. The Personal Allowance is still being withdrawn in that band — adding £1.50 of taxable income per £1 earned — while the 45% additional rate has already begun. That gives 45% × 1.5 = 67.5%, plus 2% employee National Insurance.
| Gross salary | Combined marginal rate |
|---|---|
| £12,570 – £50,269 | 28% |
| £50,270 – £99,999 | 42% |
| £100,000 – £116,759 | 62% |
| £116,760 – £125,139 | 69.5% |
| £125,140 – above | 47% |
Assumptions: employed earner on PAYE paying Class 1 National Insurance; England, Wales and Northern Ireland only (Scotland sets its own bands); all income is employment earnings; no pension contributions or salary sacrifice, which would change adjusted net income. Excludes student loan repayments and the High Income Child Benefit Charge, which stack on top where they apply.
“Most people have heard of the 60% tax trap above £100,000. What is less well known is that there is a narrower band, between £116,760 and £125,140, where the Personal Allowance is still being withdrawn and the 45% rate has already kicked in. On our calculations that combination takes 69.5p out of every extra pound, once employee National Insurance is included. It is not an official tax band — it is what the published rules add up to.”
— UKCalc Editorial Team
Full working and tables: The UK effective marginal tax rate map, 2026/27 · data: marginal-rate-bands-2026-27.json
Sources: HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) — Income Tax rates · HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) — National Insurance rates
A £5,000 first-time buyer stamp duty cliff at £500,000
First-time buyer stamp duty relief in England and Northern Ireland does not taper away above £500,000 — it stops. A qualifying first-time buyer paying £500,000 owes £10,000.00. At £500,001 the relief is withdrawn in full, standard rates apply to the whole price, and the bill is £15,000.05. One pound on the purchase price costs £5,000.05 in tax.
| Price | Standard | First-time buyer | Relief worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| £300,000 | £5,000.00 | £0.00 | £5,000.00 |
| £400,000 | £10,000.00 | £5,000.00 | £5,000.00 |
| £500,000 | £15,000.00 | £10,000.00 | £5,000.00 |
| £500,001 | £15,000.05 | £15,000.05 | £0.00 |
Assumptions: a qualifying first-time buyer purchasing their only residential property; no additional-property or non-resident surcharge; price equal to chargeable consideration.
“Most tax reliefs taper. This one does not. A first-time buyer who agrees £500,000 pays £10,000 in stamp duty; agree one pound more and the relief vanishes completely and the bill is just over £15,000. It is a £5,000 jump in tax for a £1 difference, and it sits exactly where a lot of negotiations land.”
— UKCalc Editorial Team
Full working and tables: The first-time buyer stamp duty cliff at £500,000 · data: ftb-sdlt-relief-2026-27.json
Source: HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) — SDLT residential property rates
2. Data and methodology
UKCalc keeps a statutory registry of every rate, threshold and allowance its calculators use. Each value records the official source it came from, the period it applies to, and the date it was last checked against that source. The public UK rates and thresholds 2026/27 page and its machine-readable JSON are generated from that registry, so the page, the data file and the calculators cannot silently disagree.
Please keep two things separate when citing us:
- Official statutory rates — for example the £12,570 Personal Allowance or the £500,000 first-time buyer relief ceiling. These are set by government and published by HMRC. UKCalc compiles and verifies them; it does not set them. Cite HMRC or GOV.UK as the source, not UKCalc.
- UKCalc-derived analysis — for example the 69.5% combined marginal rate, or the £5,000.05 stamp duty step. These are UKCalc's calculations on top of the official figures. If you use these, UKCalc is the right attribution.
How each calculator works: Methodology.
3. Using UKCalc data
You are welcome to quote these findings in your reporting. Please attribute them to UKCalc and link to the analysis page the figure came from.
The underlying statutory rates are Crown copyright and published by HMRC and others under the Open Government Licence — we compile and verify them, we do not own them. What we ask you to attribute is the calculation, not the tax rate itself.
Suggested attribution wording:
“…according to analysis by UKCalc” — with a link to the relevant analysis page.
Or, in a chart source line: “Source: UKCalc analysis of HMRC rates.”
If you need the underlying figures in a different format for a graphic, ask and we will send them.
4. Media enquiries
Email hello@ukcalc.uk, or use the contact form. Please include your deadline — we would rather tell you we cannot make it than miss it.
We are happy to check a figure, explain a method, or say plainly when something is outside what we can support.
5. Corrections and transparency
If you believe a UKCalc figure is wrong, please tell us — corrections are made openly and we would rather be corrected than cited incorrectly. Our sourcing rules and correction process are set out in our editorial policy. How the numbers are produced is set out in the methodology.
Where UKCalc works with a commercial partner, that relationship is disclosed transparently. Commercial relationships do not determine UKCalc's calculations, conclusions or editorial recommendations. The current position, and any change to it, is recorded in the editorial policy.