Answers · UK 2025/26

What is the Scottish top rate of Income Tax for 2026/27?

The Scottish top rate of Income Tax is 48% for 2026/27, applying to taxable income above £125,140. It is the highest marginal Income Tax rate anywhere in the UK, 3 percentage points above the 45% additional rate charged in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Last updated: 3 July 2026Last reviewed: 3 July 2026How we verify

Full answer

Scotland has its own Income Tax rates and bands, set by the Scottish Parliament and applying to non-savings, non-dividend income (mainly employment, self-employment and pension income) for anyone who is a Scottish taxpayer, generally meaning their main home is in Scotland. For 2026/27, Scotland has six bands rather than the three used in the rest of the UK: starter rate 19% on the first £3,967 of taxable income above the £12,570 Personal Allowance, basic rate 20% on the next £12,989, intermediate rate 21% on the next £14,136, higher rate 42% on the next £31,338, advanced rate 45% on the next £62,710, and top rate 48% on anything above £125,140 of taxable income (equivalent to £137,710 of total income before the Personal Allowance is deducted, and note the Personal Allowance itself is fully withdrawn by this point). The 48% top rate is 3 percentage points higher than the 45% additional rate charged on the equivalent slice of income in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, making Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK for very high earners on employment income. Someone with £150,000 of taxable income in Scotland would pay noticeably more Income Tax than an identical earner in England, though National Insurance, which is set at a UK-wide level, is calculated identically regardless of where in the UK you live. Dividend and savings income is still taxed using UK-wide rates and bands even for Scottish taxpayers, since only non-savings, non-dividend income falls under Scottish Income Tax.