Scottish Income Tax Rates and Bands 2026/27

Scottish income tax bands for 2026/27

The Scottish Budget raised the starter and basic band thresholds for 2026/27 while keeping the higher, advanced and top thresholds unchanged. The table assumes the standard £12,570 personal allowance.

2025/26 Scottish bands

For 2025/26 the rates were the same but the lower thresholds were lower: starter £12,571 to £15,397, basic £15,398 to £27,491, intermediate £27,492 to £43,662, higher £43,663 to £75,000, advanced £75,001 to £125,140 and top above £125,140.

Scotland vs England: £30,000, £50,000 and £80,000

These figures are for 2026/27 with a standard tax code and no pension deductions. NI is identical in both countries, so the difference in take-home pay comes entirely from income tax.

At £30,000 a Scottish taxpayer pays £753.73 at the starter rate, £2,597.80 at the basic rate and £99.54 at the intermediate rate: £3,451.07 in total, which is £34.93 less than in England. Roughly speaking, anyone earning under about £33,500 pays slightly less in Scotland.

At £50,000 the 42% higher rate has already kicked in from £43,663, so Scottish tax is £8,982.05 against £7,486 in England, a difference of £1,496.05 a year.

At £80,000 the advanced rate of 45% applies above £75,000. Scottish tax is £21,732.05 versus £19,432, so you pay £2,300.05 more.

The Scottish higher-rate NI quirk

National Insurance is a UK-wide tax. The 8% main rate runs to the UK upper earnings limit of £50,270, but the Scottish higher rate starts at £43,663. Between those two figures a Scottish employee pays 42% income tax plus 8% NI, a combined marginal rate of 50%. Above £50,270 it falls back to 44% (42% plus 2%), then 47% in the advanced band.

The £100,000 personal allowance taper applies in Scotland too. Between £100,000 and £125,140 the effective rate is 45% plus the lost allowance, which works out at 67.5% income tax, or 69.5% with NI.

Who counts as a Scottish taxpayer?

It depends on where you live, not where you work. If your main home is in Scotland you are a Scottish taxpayer, even if you commute to England. If you have homes in both, HMRC looks at where you spend most of your time. Scottish taxpayers have a tax code starting with S, such as S1257L. If your code lacks the S, tell HMRC through your personal tax account, as your employer cannot change it on their own.

Savings interest and dividends are taxed at UK rates, not Scottish rates, so a Scottish landlord or saver is taxed differently on different types of income.

Scottish vs English tax at more salary levels

Scotland's lower starter and basic bands save up to about £40 a year for lower earners. The gap reverses in the low £30,000s and grows quickly once the 42% higher rate starts at £43,663, almost £6,600 below the English higher-rate threshold.

The Scottish Parliament sets the rates and bands for non-savings, non-dividend income. The personal allowance, NI, and tax on savings and dividends remain set by Westminster, which is why the £12,570 allowance and £100,000 taper are identical across the UK.

The Scottish bands as HMRC publishes them

HMRC and payroll software set out Scottish bands on taxable income, meaning what is left after the personal allowance. The salary ranges people quote, such as "42% from £43,663", assume the full £12,570 allowance. If your tax code is not S1257L, use the taxable-income column.

Moving to or from Scotland during the year

You are a Scottish taxpayer for a whole tax year or not at all. Tax is never split between Scotland and the rest of the UK by month.

If you move during a tax year, the question is where you lived for longer in that year. The tipping point is roughly early October. If you move from Manchester to Glasgow in December, you lived longer in England in that tax year (April to December), so the whole year is taxed at English rates and your S code should start the next April. If you move in July, most of the year is spent in Scotland and the whole year becomes Scottish. People with no home, such as offshore workers or people living in hotels, are Scottish taxpayers if they spend more days in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK. Members of the Scottish Parliament are always Scottish taxpayers.

Tell HMRC your new address using its "change your personal details" service. Your employer cannot add or remove the S prefix themselves. When HMRC changes your tax rate after a move, the change goes back to 6 April of that tax year, and your employer or pension provider recalculates deductions so the right total is paid over the year.

Pension tax relief works differently in Scotland

Scottish taxpayers get pension relief at their Scottish rate, but providers using relief at source can only claim 20% automatically. Whether you need to claim more depends on your band.

• Starter rate (19%): the provider still claims 20%, and GOV.UK confirms you do not have to pay back the extra 1%.
• Intermediate rate (21%): claim another 1% on contributions matching income taxed at 21%.
• Higher rate (42%): claim another 22%. Advanced rate (45%): claim another 25%. Top rate (48%): claim another 28%.
• Net pay and salary sacrifice schemes give relief at your Scottish rate automatically because the contribution comes off before tax.

Worked example: £55,000 with a 5% workplace pension

Take a £55,000 salary with a 5% pension under a net pay arrangement, which leaves £52,250 of taxable pay. In Scotland income tax is £9,927.05, against £8,332.00 in England. NI is £3,110.60 in both. Take-home is £39,212.35 in Scotland and £40,807.40 in England, a gap of £1,595.05 a year, or about £133 a month.

Under net pay, each extra £100 paid into the pension saves 42% income tax but no NI, so it costs a Scottish higher-rate taxpayer £58 of take-home pay. Under salary sacrifice it would also save 2% NI and cost £56.