Compare your take-home pay in 2025/26 vs 2026/27 side by side — income tax, NI, student loan and dividend changes.
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Founder, Calks.uk
Last updated: · Verified against HMRC and GOV.UK 2026/27 rates
Rates verified: 6 July 2026
Quick Answer
For most rUK employees, take-home pay is unchanged in 2026/27 — income tax and NI thresholds are frozen until 2028, so inflation quietly raises your real tax burden ("fiscal drag"). The genuine April 2026 changes: Scottish starter/basic bands uprated, student loan thresholds up (Plan 2 → £29,385), dividend rates +2 points (10.75% / 35.75%), and the National Living Wage £12.21 → £12.71.
Take-home change in 2026/27 vs 2025/26
+£0.00
No change — rUK thresholds are frozen to 2028
| 2025/26 | 2026/27 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income Tax | -£5,486.00 | -£5,486.00 | — |
| National Insurance | -£2,194.40 | -£2,194.40 | — |
| Take-Home | £32,319.60 | £32,319.60 | — |
What actually changed in April 2026:
• rUK income tax and NI thresholds — frozen (no change until 2028; inflation quietly raises your real tax burden — "fiscal drag")
• Scottish starter/basic bands uprated (~£1,100 more taxed at 19–20% instead of 21%)
• Student loan thresholds up: Plan 1 → £26,900, Plan 2 → £29,385, Plan 4 → £33,795 (repayments fall slightly)
• Dividend tax +2pp: basic 10.75%, higher 35.75% (Budget 2025)
• National Living Wage £12.21 → £12.71/hour
Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or tax advice. All calculations are performed locally in your browser — no personal data is collected or sent to our servers. Rates and thresholds are sourced from HMRC and GOV.UK and are updated for the current tax year. Always verify results with HMRC or consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
How It Works
Every April the tax year rolls over, and the headlines rarely match what happens to your payslip. This calculator runs your salary (and optional dividends) through the complete 2025/26 and 2026/27 rules side by side — income tax (rUK or Scottish bands), employee National Insurance, student loan and dividend tax — and shows exactly where the difference comes from.
For employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland the striking answer is usually "nothing changed": the Personal Allowance (£12,570), basic-rate limit (£50,270) and additional-rate threshold (£125,140) are all frozen until April 2028. A freeze is not neutral — if your pay rises with inflation, a larger share of it falls into higher bands each year. Economists call this fiscal drag, and it is the largest stealth tax rise of the decade.
Scotland uprated its starter and basic bands for 2026/27 (starter now runs to £16,537 and basic to £29,526), which trims a few pounds a month off Scottish tax bills at most income levels — the higher-rate threshold stays frozen at £43,662.
Student loan thresholds rose with RPI in April 2026: Plan 1 to £26,900, Plan 2 to £29,385 and Plan 4 to £33,795 — that alone puts up to ~£80/year back in graduates' pockets. Plan 5 and Postgraduate thresholds remain frozen at £25,000 and £21,000.
Dividend tax went the other way: Budget 2025 added 2 percentage points from April 2026, taking the basic rate to 10.75% and the higher rate to 35.75% (the £500 allowance is unchanged) — company directors on a salary-plus-dividends mix feel this directly.
Example: £40,000 salary, Plan 2 loan, England
- Income tax: identical both years — thresholds frozen (£5,486)
- National Insurance: identical both years (£2,194.40)
- Student loan 2025/26: (£40,000 − £28,470) × 9% = £1,037.70
- Student loan 2026/27: (£40,000 − £29,385) × 9% = £955.35
- Take-home difference: +£82.35/year — entirely from the Plan 2 threshold uprating
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why is my take-home pay the same in 2026/27 as last year?
- Because the rUK income tax thresholds are frozen: the Personal Allowance has been £12,570 and the higher-rate threshold £50,270 since April 2021, and both stay frozen until April 2028. Employee National Insurance (8% and 2%) and its thresholds are also unchanged. The freeze is itself a tax rise in disguise — "fiscal drag": if your pay rises 4% with inflation but the tax-free and basic-rate bands don't move, a bigger slice of your income is taxed, and at higher rates. The OBR estimates threshold freezes will pull millions of people into higher bands by 2028. Source: HM Treasury, OBR.
- What actually changed in April 2026?
- The genuine movers: (1) Scottish starter and basic bands were uprated (starter now to £16,537, basic to £29,526), slightly cutting Scottish bills; (2) student loan repayment thresholds rose with RPI — Plan 1 to £26,900, Plan 2 to £29,385, Plan 4 to £33,795 — reducing graduate repayments by up to ~£80/year; (3) dividend tax rose 2 percentage points (basic 10.75%, higher 35.75%) under Budget 2025; (4) the National Living Wage went from £12.21 to £12.71/hour; (5) benefits, statutory pays and the State Pension were uprated. Employer NI stayed at 15% with the £5,000 secondary threshold. Source: GOV.UK, gov.scot.
- Who is worse off in 2026/27?
- Mainly people taking income as dividends: a company director drawing £30,000 in dividends above the £500 allowance pays about £590 more tax than in 2025/26 because of the 2-point rise (10.75%/35.75%). Higher earners also lose more in real terms from the threshold freeze — someone whose salary rose 5% into the £50,270+ zone pays 40% on the increase where a year earlier the threshold would have been uprated. Savers with large interest income face the same frozen Personal Savings Allowance. Graduates on Plan 5 (post-2023) see no threshold uprating either — theirs is frozen at £25,000 until 2027. Source: HMRC, Budget 2025.