This is a marginal analysis: it asks how much of the next £1 of employment salary is kept after Income Tax and employee National Insurance. That is not the same as someone's overall or effective tax rate on their whole salary.
Key findings
Scotland — Personal Allowance taper
69.5%
On additional employment income above £100,000 and through the relevant Personal Allowance taper range, the combined marginal Income Tax + employee NI rate reaches 69.5% — about 30.5p of the next £1 is kept under these assumptions.
Rest of UK — Personal Allowance taper
62%
The equivalent combined marginal deduction is 62% — about 38p of the next £1 is kept.
Scotland — around £43,663 to around £50,270
50%
From the Scottish Higher Rate threshold at £43,663 through around £50,270 — while the 8% employee NI main rate still applies — the combined marginal deduction is about 50% — 50p of the next £1 is kept.
Scotland / rest-of-UK Income Tax crossover
About £33,500
Sorvuna's £1-resolution scan found Scotland £0.01 lower at £33,492, equal at £33,493, and Scotland £0.01 higher at £33,494. The crossover occurs at about £33,500, with exact equality at £33,493. This crossover is Income Tax only; employee NI is UK-wide and does not create the Scotland / rest-of-UK difference.
How much of the next £1 do you keep?
The chart compares Scotland with England, Wales and Northern Ireland (rest of UK) across gross annual employment salary. The measure is pence kept from the next £1 after Income Tax and employee National Insurance.
Major steps appear around the Personal Allowance / NI threshold, Scottish band transitions (including Higher Rate from £43,663), the employee NI Upper Earnings Limit around £50,270, Scottish Advanced Rate from £75,001, the Personal Allowance taper from £100,000, and Personal Allowance exhausted at £125,140.
Individual circumstances vary. This model does not describe every real employee's payroll outcome.
| Gross range | Combined marginal | Kept of next £1 |
|---|---|---|
| £0 – £12,569 | 0% | 100p |
| £12,570 – £16,536 | 27% | 73p |
| £16,537 – £29,525 | 28% | 72p |
| £29,526 – £43,662 | 29% | 71p |
| £43,663 – £50,269 | 50% | 50p |
| £50,270 – £75,000 | 44% | 56p |
| £75,001 – £99,999 | 47% | 53p |
| £100,000 – £125,139 | 69.5% | 30.5p |
| £125,140 and above | 50% | 50p |
| Gross range | Combined marginal | Kept of next £1 |
|---|---|---|
| £0 – £12,569 | 0% | 100p |
| £12,570 – £50,269 | 28% | 72p |
| £50,270 – £99,999 | 42% | 58p |
| £100,000 – £125,139 | 62% | 38p |
| £125,140 and above | 47% | 53p |
Scotland vs rest of UK — annual take-home
At lower salaries Scotland can remain slightly favourable on Income Tax. After the crossover around £33,500, the rest of UK take-home lead widens. At £50,000, Scotland's annual take-home is −£1,496.05 versus the rest of UK; at £100,000 the gap is −£3,300.05; at £130,000 it is −£5,331.35.
Annual take-home — selected salaries
- £20,000Scotland +£39.67 vs rest of UKrUK£17,920.08Scotland£17,959.75
- £30,000Scotland +£34.93 vs rest of UKrUK£25,120.08Scotland£25,155.01
- £40,000Scotland −£65.07 vs rest of UKrUK£32,320.08Scotland£32,255.01
- £50,000Scotland −£1,496.05 vs rest of UKrUK£39,520.08Scotland£38,024.03
- £60,000Scotland −£1,750.05 vs rest of UKrUK£45,358Scotland£43,607.95
- £75,000Scotland −£2,050.05 vs rest of UKrUK£54,058Scotland£52,007.95
- £100,000Scotland −£3,300.05 vs rest of UKrUK£68,558Scotland£65,257.95
- £125,140Scotland −£5,185.55 vs rest of UKrUK£78,111.20Scotland£72,925.65
- £130,000Scotland −£5,331.35 vs rest of UKrUK£80,687Scotland£75,355.65
- £150,000Scotland −£5,931.35 vs rest of UKrUK£91,287Scotland£85,355.65
- £200,000Scotland −£7,431.35 vs rest of UKrUK£117,787Scotland£110,355.65
| Gross salary | Rest of UK take-home | Scotland take-home | Scotland − rUK |
|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £17,920.08 | £17,959.75 | +£39.67 |
| £30,000 | £25,120.08 | £25,155.01 | +£34.93 |
| £40,000 | £32,320.08 | £32,255.01 | −£65.07 |
| £50,000 | £39,520.08 | £38,024.03 | −£1,496.05 |
| £60,000 | £45,358 | £43,607.95 | −£1,750.05 |
| £75,000 | £54,058 | £52,007.95 | −£2,050.05 |
| £100,000 | £68,558 | £65,257.95 | −£3,300.05 |
| £125,140 | £78,111.20 | £72,925.65 | −£5,185.55 |
| £130,000 | £80,687 | £75,355.65 | −£5,331.35 |
| £150,000 | £91,287 | £85,355.65 | −£5,931.35 |
| £200,000 | £117,787 | £110,355.65 | −£7,431.35 |
Why the 62% and 69.5% bands occur
The Personal Allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000, until the allowance is exhausted at £125,140. For the simplified employment-only assumptions in this analysis, that withdrawal amplifies the marginal Income Tax cost of additional salary.
For each additional £1 earned in this part of the taper, about 50p of Personal Allowance is lost. That 50p would otherwise have been tax-free, so it is taxed at the marginal Income Tax rate that applies in that region — on top of Income Tax on the £1 itself, plus employee NI on the £1.
- Rest of UK (illustrative): 40% on the £1 + ½ × 40% from allowance withdrawal = 60% Income Tax, plus 2% employee NI ≈ 62% combined on the next £1.
- Scotland in the Advanced Rate taper zone (illustrative): 45% + ½ × 45% = 67.5% Income Tax, plus 2% employee NI ≈ 69.5% combined on the next £1.
These figures describe the next pound in that band. They are not an overall tax rate on the whole £100,000 (or any full salary).
Methodology
All figures come from Sorvuna's production Income Tax calculator for tax year 2026/27 — not a separate research engine. Key assumptions:
- Tax year 2026/27
- Employment income only
- Automatic standard Personal Allowance / 1257L-equivalent position
- Employee below State Pension age
- NI Category A
- Equal monthly employment pay
- No pension contribution or salary sacrifice
- No student or postgraduate loan
- No benefits in kind
- No other income
- No Marriage Allowance
- No Blind Person's Allowance
- No other tax-code adjustment
National Insurance period methodology
HMRC publishes an annual Primary Threshold of £12,570 (monthly £1,048) and an annual Upper Earnings Limit of £50,270 (monthly £4,189).
Sorvuna's production calculator models equal monthly payroll for this research. Twelve monthly periods therefore imply £1,048 × 12 = £12,576 and £4,189 × 12 = £50,268. That is why precise engine-generated marginal transitions can differ by a few pounds from HMRC's published annual equivalents.
HMRC's published annual Upper Earnings Limit remains £50,270. Under this equal-monthly model, the main-to-higher employee NI transition appears around £50,268. Likewise, employee NI on the next £1 can begin slightly above the published annual Primary Threshold of £12,570 — around £12,576 in this dataset.
Actual payroll deductions can also differ slightly because of pay periods, cumulative tax codes, payroll rounding and individual circumstances.
For readability, the chart and table use published annual thresholds for very small differences created by annualising monthly NI limits. Raw engine outputs remain available in the downloadable data.
Sources and validation
Rates and thresholds were taken from official publications used by Sorvuna's 2026/27 tax-year configuration, including:
- GOV.UK — rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
- GOV.UK — Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances
- Scottish Government — Scottish Income Tax rates and bands 2026 to 2027
- Scottish Government — Scottish Income Tax 2026 to 2027 technical factsheet
Sorvuna's Scotland / rest-of-UK take-home results were cross-checked against the Scottish Government's published 2026/27 comparison examples (technical factsheet Table 2) and matched within the tolerances documented in the research report. This does not mean government approval or endorsement.
Download the data
Underlying research outputs are available as CSV and JSON. They are the same engine-generated artifacts validated for this analysis — not a second calculator.
- Marginal segments (CSV) · JSON
- Scotland vs rest of UK comparison (CSV) · JSON
- Full salary curve £0–£200,000 (CSV) · JSON
- Dataset manifest (metadata)
Cite this analysis
Sorvuna Research, "How much of your next £1 do you keep? The UK salary tax map for 2026/27", 8 August 2026. https://sorvuna.com/research/uk-salary-tax-map-2026-27
Media or data enquiries: hello@sorvuna.com
Explore your own figures
Model a salary and circumstances in the Income Tax Calculator. For background on bands and codes, see Income Tax Bands Explained, Scottish Income Tax Explained, and Tax Codes Explained.
Estimates only — not tax, legal or financial advice. Figures reflect the stated assumptions and Sorvuna's production calculator.