2025–26 Tax Year · Scottish Budget Rates
Scotland Income Tax
Calculator 2025–26
Calculate your Scottish take-home pay using all six SRIT bands, including the Advanced Rate introduced for high earners.
Calculate your Scottish take-home pay using all six SRIT bands, including the Advanced Rate introduced for high earners.
| Band | Rate | Taxable in Band | Tax |
|---|
| Band | Rate | Income Range | Max Tax in Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | 0% | Up to £12,570 | £0 |
| Starter Rate | 19% | £12,571 – £15,397 | £536 |
| Basic Rate | 20% | £15,398 – £27,491 | £2,419 |
| Intermediate Rate | 21% | £27,492 – £43,662 | £3,396 |
| Higher Rate | 42% | £43,663 – £75,000 | £13,162 |
| Advanced Rate New | 45% | £75,001 – £125,140 | £22,563 |
| Top Rate | 48% | Above £125,140 | No limit |
Scottish income tax rates are set by the Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act 2016. National Insurance is reserved to Westminster and is the same across the UK. Source: Scottish Government · HMRC factsheet
Scotland controls income tax rates and bands on non-savings, non-dividend income under powers devolved by the Scotland Act 2016. The result is a six-band system that is meaningfully different from the three-band system used in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland — with lower starting rates and higher top rates.
If your main residence is in Scotland, HMRC assigns you a Scottish tax code with an "S" prefix — for example S1257L. Your employer uses this code to deduct Scottish income tax rates via PAYE rather than UK rates. The switch happens automatically; you do not need to register or apply.
Scottish rates apply only to earned income and pension income. Savings interest and dividends are still taxed at UK-wide rates, regardless of where you live.
Scotland's Starter Rate of 19% applies to income from £12,571 to £15,397. This band does not exist in England, where income above the Personal Allowance immediately enters the 20% Basic Rate band. For incomes below £27,491, Scottish taxpayers pay marginally less income tax than English taxpayers — the Starter Rate saves up to £27 compared with England.
In England, the Higher Rate of 40% kicks in at £50,271. In Scotland, the Higher Rate of 42% begins at £43,663 — a threshold that has been frozen since 2023. This means a Scottish higher-rate taxpayer pays 42% (not 40%) on income above £43,662 and enters higher-rate territory £6,608 sooner than an equivalent English taxpayer.
For a salary of £60,000, a Scottish taxpayer pays approximately £1,500 more in income tax than someone in England earning the same salary — largely due to this threshold divergence.
The Advanced Rate of 45% applies to Scottish income between £75,001 and £125,140. This band was introduced in the 2024 Scottish Budget as an additional intermediate step before the Top Rate. In England, income in this range is still taxed at the Higher Rate (40%), making the Advanced Rate a significant Scottish-specific surcharge for higher earners.
National Insurance contributions (NICs) are a reserved matter, set by the UK Government and collected by HMRC on the same basis for all UK employees. For 2025–26, employees pay 8% NI on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on earnings above £50,270. Living in Scotland has no effect on your NI liability.
Scottish students who studied in Scotland typically repay on Plan 4, which has a higher repayment threshold (£31,395 for 2025–26) than Plan 2 (£27,295). Repayments are 9% of income above the threshold, collected via PAYE alongside tax and NI.
Scottish taxpayers get income tax relief on pension contributions at their marginal Scottish rate. For basic rate contributions made through salary sacrifice, the relief is automatic. Higher and advanced rate taxpayers can claim additional relief through Self Assessment — the Scottish rate difference means the relief calculation can differ from the UK-wide rates, and some pension providers have struggled to administer this correctly. It is worth double-checking your pension relief if you are a Scottish higher-rate taxpayer.