Is take-home pay different in Wales compared to England?

Full answer

Since April 2019, the Welsh Government has had the power to vary Income Tax rates for Welsh taxpayers under the Welsh Rate of Income Tax (WRIT), and Welsh taxpayers are identifiable on payroll by a "C" prefix tax code (for example C1257L). In practice, the Welsh Government has set the Welsh rate at exactly the same level as the rest of the UK for the basic, higher and additional rates every year since the power was introduced, including 2026/27. This means that although Wales technically has its own devolved Income Tax rate, the actual amount of tax deducted from a Welsh taxpayer's payslip is identical to someone earning the same salary in England or Northern Ireland: £12,570 Personal Allowance, 20% basic rate to £37,700 of taxable income, 40% higher rate to £125,140, and 45% above that. National Insurance is also calculated identically across all four UK nations, since it is not devolved at all. The one area where Wales genuinely differs is property and local taxes -- Wales has its own Land Transaction Tax (replacing Stamp Duty Land Tax) and its own Council Tax bands (A to I, an extra band compared with England's A to H) -- but these do not affect salary take-home pay. If the Welsh Government were to diverge from rUK rates in a future budget, the "C" tax code prefix is what would trigger the different calculation on your payslip.

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More answers

• What does a 'C' prefix tax code on my Welsh payslip mean in 2026/27?
• How much tax do I pay in Northern Ireland on £40,000?
• Why does Wales have nine council tax bands A–I and how do they differ from England's A–H?