Scottish Income Tax Calculator 2026/27
See your tax in each of Scotland's six bands, your take-home pay, and exactly how much more or less you pay than someone on the same salary in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Last updated: October 2026 · 2026/27 rates
Your details
Before tax. Wages, pension or other non-savings income. Savings interest and dividends use UK rates, so leave them out.
Taken off your pay before tax, NI and student loan.
Most people who studied in Scotland repay Plan 4.
Take-home pay in Scotland
£34,515.10/year
£2,876.26 a month. Scottish income tax £6,882.05 (15.3% of taxable pay).
You pay £396.05 more a year than someone on the same pay in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (£33.00 a month).
Break-even salary: £33,493.00. Above it, Scottish taxpayers always pay more.
Your tax, band by band
| Band | Rate | Income taxed | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | 0% | £12,570.00 | £0.00 |
| Starter | 19% | £3,967.00 | £753.73 |
| Basic | 20% | £12,989.00 | £2,597.80 |
| Intermediate | 21% | £14,136.00 | £2,968.56 |
| Higher | 42% | £1,338.00 | £561.96 |
| Advanced | 45% | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Top | 48% | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Total Scottish income tax | £6,882.05 | ||
Scotland vs rest of the UK
| Scotland | England, Wales, NI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay after sacrifice | £45,000.00 | £45,000.00 |
| Income tax | £6,882.05 | £6,486.00 |
| National Insurance | £2,594.40 | £2,594.40 |
| Student loan | £1,008.45 | £1,008.45 |
| Take-home pay | £34,515.10 | £34,911.15 |
National Insurance and student loan repayments are the same across the UK, so the whole gap comes from income tax.
How Scottish income tax works
How it works
Everyone in the UK gets the same £12,570 Personal Allowance, withdrawn by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000. What changes in Scotland is how the income above it is taxed: six bands set by the Scottish Parliament instead of three. The calculator takes your pay, removes any salary sacrifice, applies the allowance, then fills each band in turn.
The Scottish Government publishes the bands as gross income for someone with the standard allowance. In law they are widths of taxable income, which is why they move down if your allowance shrinks:
| Band | Rate | Gross income (standard allowance) | Taxable income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 19% | £12,571 to £16,537 | £1 to £3,967 |
| Basic | 20% | £16,538 to £29,526 | £3,968 to £16,956 |
| Intermediate | 21% | £29,527 to £43,662 | £16,957 to £31,092 |
| Higher | 42% | £43,663 to £75,000 | £31,093 to £62,430 |
| Advanced | 45% | £75,001 to £125,140 | £62,431 to £125,140 |
| Top | 48% | Over £125,140 | Over £125,140 |
Worked examples for 2026/27, salary with no sacrifice or student loan:
- £30,000: Scottish tax £3,451.07 against £3,486.00 elsewhere, so £34.93 less. NI £1,394.40 either way. Take-home £25,154.53.
- £50,000: Scottish tax £8,982.05 against £7,486.00 elsewhere, so £1,496.05 more. NI £2,994.40 either way. Take-home £38,023.55.
- £80,000: Scottish tax £21,732.05 against £19,432.00 elsewhere, so £2,300.05 more. NI £3,610.60 either way. Take-home £54,657.35.
On £30,000, for example, taxable income is £17,430: £3,967 at 19% (£753.73), £12,989 at 20% (£2,597.80), £474 at 21% (£99.54).
The starter rate of 19% saves a little at the bottom, worth at most £39.67 a year. The intermediate rate of 21% starts clawing that back from £29,527. Solving numerically, the two systems charge exactly the same tax at £33,493.00. Below that, Scottish taxpayers pay slightly less. Above it they always pay more, and the gap widens sharply from £43,663, where the 42% higher rate starts, well before the £50,270 point where 40% begins elsewhere.
Not sure what your salary is worth after tax in the rest of the UK? The main income tax calculator handles both systems, and the salary calculator shows monthly payslip figures.
Your marginal rate is what you lose from the next £1 of salary. For a Scottish employee with the standard allowance and no student loan:
| Salary | Income tax | Tax + NI | Rest of UK, tax + NI |
|---|---|---|---|
| £12,571 to £16,537 | 19% | 27% | 28% |
| £16,538 to £29,526 | 20% | 28% | 28% |
| £29,527 to £43,662 | 21% | 29% | 28% |
| £43,663 to £50,270 | 42% | 50% | 28% |
| £50,271 to £75,000 | 42% | 44% | 42% |
| £75,001 to £100,000 | 45% | 47% | 42% |
| £100,001 to £125,140 | 67.5% | 69.5% | 62% |
| Over £125,140 | 48% | 50% | 47% |
Two rows stand out. Between £43,663 and £50,270 you pay 42% tax and still the full 8% NI, because NI's upper limit is set UK-wide: 50% in all. Between £100,000 and £125,140 each extra £1 also removes 50p of allowance, which is then taxed at the 45% advanced rate, so the effective income tax rate is 67.5%, or 69.5% with NI. A Plan 4 loan adds another 9%. Salary sacrifice into a pension is the usual way out; see the salary sacrifice calculator and our guide to the £100,000 tax trap.
Income tax calculators
This calculator is part of a family. The main calculator covers the general case.
Main calculator: Income Tax Calculator
PAYE tax, National Insurance and take-home pay for any UK salary, including Scotland.
Related calculators
Other free UK tools that follow on from this calculation.
Income Tax Calculator
PAYE tax, National Insurance and take-home pay for any UK salary, including Scotland.
Salary Calculator
Annual, monthly and weekly take-home pay after PAYE, NI, pension and student loan.
Plan 4 Student Loan Calculator
Scottish Plan 4 repayments at the highest threshold, with your Scottish tax and NI marginal rate.
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Scottish LBTT with first-time buyer relief, the 8% ADS and a side-by-side stamp duty comparison.
Reviewed by Alexandre Bernier, LLM (UK), CFP®
Educational tool: estimates only. Not individual financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Using it does not create an adviser-client relationship. Rules and figures change; check them against current HMRC and GOV.UK guidance and speak to a qualified professional. Editorial policy →
Sources
Every rate and threshold used by this calculator is taken from the official pages below. If a figure here disagrees with one of these, the official page is right, please tell us.