UK Tax Rates 2024/25 vs 2025/26: What Changed in April 2025?
April 2025 brought one of the most expensive single Budgets in recent memory for UK employers, with a £25 billion-a-year rise in employer National Insurance taking effect at the same time as the National Living Wage jumped by 6.7%. For individuals, most allowances stayed frozen — quietly pushing more earners into higher tax bands through fiscal drag. This page compares every official tax rate, threshold and statutory payment between 2024/25 and 2025/26, with the change for each metric colour-coded.
Employer NI rate up: 13.80% → 15% and secondary threshold cut from £9,100 to £5,000.
National Living Wage (21+) up: £11.44 → £12.21 per hour (+6.7%).
Business Asset Disposal Relief CGT rate: 10% → 14.00% (and rising further to 18% in April 2026).
Income Tax (England, Wales & Northern Ireland)
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Personal Allowance
£12,570
£12,570
No change
PA taper threshold
£100,000
£100,000
No change
PA fully withdrawn at
£125,140
£125,140
No change
Basic rate (band width)
£37,700 @ 20%
£37,700 @ 20%
No change
Higher rate threshold
£125,140
£125,140
No change
Higher rate
40%
40%
No change
Additional rate
45%
45%
No change
Every income tax rate and threshold for the rest of the UK is unchanged for the third year running. The Personal Allowance has now been frozen at £12,570 since 2021/22 and is locked until April 2028. With wages typically rising 4–6% per year, roughly 4 million additional people are projected to be dragged into income tax or higher-rate tax over the freeze period — OBR estimates this raises around £40 billion per year by 2028/29 without a single rate change.
Scottish Income Tax (Scottish taxpayers)
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Starter rate band (cap)
£2,306
£2,827
↑ £521
Starter rate
19%
19%
No change
Basic rate band (cap)
£13,991
£14,921
↑ £930
Basic rate
20%
20%
No change
Intermediate rate band (cap)
£31,092
£31,092
No change
Intermediate rate
21%
21%
No change
Higher rate
42%
42%
No change
Advanced rate
45%
45%
No change
Top rate
48%
48%
No change
Scotland nudged its lower-band thresholds upward — the Starter and Basic rate bands widened — giving a small saving for lower earners. All six rates stayed the same. Scottish higher earners continue to pay materially more than their counterparts in the rest of the UK once income exceeds around £29,000, because the Scottish higher rate of 42% kicks in well below the rUK higher-rate threshold of £125,140.
National Insurance — Employee Class 1
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Primary Threshold
£12,570
£12,570
No change
Upper Earnings Limit
£50,270
£50,270
No change
Main rate (PT → UEL)
8%
8%
No change
Upper rate (above UEL)
2%
2%
No change
National Insurance — Employer Class 1 (the headline change)
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Secondary Threshold
£9,100
£5,000
↓ £4,100
Employer rate
13.80%
15%
↑ 1.20 pp
Employment Allowance
£5,000
£10,500
↑ £5,500
National Insurance — Self-Employed Class 4
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Lower Profits Limit
£12,570
£12,570
No change
Upper Profits Limit
£50,270
£50,270
No change
Main rate
6%
6%
No change
Upper rate
2%
2%
No change
Student Loans
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Plan 1 threshold
£24,990
£26,065
↑ £1,075
Plan 2 threshold
£27,295
£28,470
↑ £1,175
Plan 4 threshold (Scotland)
£31,395
£32,745
↑ £1,350
Plan 5 threshold
£25,000
£25,000
No change
Postgraduate threshold
£21,000
£21,000
No change
Plan 1/2/4/5 repayment rate
9%
9%
No change
Postgraduate rate
6%
6%
No change
Stamp Duty Land Tax (England & Northern Ireland)
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Nil-rate band
£250,000
£125,000
↓ £125,000
2% band (top)
n/a (no 2% band)
£250,000
New band added
5% band (top)
£925,000
£925,000
No change
10% band (top)
£1,500,000
£1,500,000
No change
12% band (above)
£1,500,000
£1,500,000
No change
First-time buyer nil-rate
£425,000
£300,000
↓ £125,000
FTB max property price
£625,000
£500,000
↓ £125,000
Additional property surcharge
5%
5%
No change
Non-resident surcharge
2%
2%
No change
The temporary SDLT thresholds from the 2022 Mini-Budget expired on 1 April 2025, restoring the pre-2022 nil-rate band of £125,000 and reintroducing a 2% band on £125k–£250k. First-time buyers now benefit from the lower £300,000 threshold (down from £425,000), and the FTB property cap fell from £625,000 to £500,000.
Land & Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland)
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Nil-rate band
£145,000
£145,000
No change
2% band cap
£250,000
£250,000
No change
5% band cap
£325,000
£325,000
No change
10% band cap
£750,000
£750,000
No change
Additional Dwelling Supplement
8%
8%
No change
Land Transaction Tax (Wales)
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Nil-rate band
£225,000
£225,000
No change
6% band cap
£400,000
£400,000
No change
7.5% band cap
£750,000
£750,000
No change
10% band cap
£1,500,000
£1,500,000
No change
Additional property base rate
4%
5%
↑ 1.00 pp
Additional property top rate
16%
17%
↑ 1.00 pp
VAT
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Standard rate
20%
20%
No change
Reduced rate
5%
5%
No change
Registration threshold
£90,000
£90,000
No change
Deregistration threshold
£88,000
£88,000
No change
Dividend Tax
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Dividend allowance
£500
£500
No change
Basic-rate dividend tax
8.75%
8.75%
No change
Higher-rate dividend tax
33.75%
33.75%
No change
Additional-rate dividend tax
39.35%
39.35%
No change
Capital Gains Tax
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Annual exempt amount
£3,000
£3,000
No change
Residential — basic rate
18%
18%
No change
Residential — higher rate
24%
24%
No change
Other assets — basic rate
18%
18%
No change
Other assets — higher rate
24%
24%
No change
BADR rate
10%
14.00%
↑ 4.00 pp
BADR lifetime limit
£1,000,000
£1,000,000
No change
Inheritance Tax
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Nil-rate band
£325,000
£325,000
No change
Residence nil-rate band
£175,000
£175,000
No change
RNRB taper threshold
£2,000,000
£2,000,000
No change
Main rate
40%
40%
No change
Charity-discounted rate
36%
36%
No change
ISA Allowances
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Total ISA allowance
£20,000
£20,000
No change
Lifetime ISA allowance
£4,000
£4,000
No change
LISA government bonus
25%
25%
No change
Junior ISA allowance
£9,000
£9,000
No change
Corporation Tax
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Small profits rate
19%
19%
No change
Small profits upper limit
£50,000
£50,000
No change
Main rate
25%
25%
No change
Marginal relief upper limit
£250,000
£250,000
No change
National Minimum / Living Wage (from April of each year)
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
NLW (age 21+)
£11.44
£12.21
↑ £0.77
Development (18–20)
£8.60
£10.00
↑ £1.4
Young workers (16–17)
£6.40
£7.55
↑ £1.15
Apprentice rate
£6.40
£7.55
↑ £1.15
Statutory Pay
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
SSP (weekly)
£116.75
£118.75
↑ £2
SSP lower earnings limit
£123
£125
↑ £2
SMP standard (weekly)
£184.03
£187.18
↑ £3.15
SSP max weeks
28
28
No change
SMP max weeks paid
39
39
No change
State Pension
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
New State Pension (weekly)
£221.20
£230.25
↑ £9.05
Basic State Pension (weekly)
£169.50
£176.45
↑ £6.95
Triple-lock uprating
8.5%
4.1%
↓ 4.40 pp
Pension Allowances
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Annual Allowance
£60,000
£60,000
No change
Taper threshold (income)
£260,000
£260,000
No change
Taper floor
£10,000
£10,000
No change
Lump Sum Allowance
£268,275
£268,275
No change
LSDBA
£1,073,100
£1,073,100
No change
MPAA
£10,000
£10,000
No change
Child Benefit & HICBC
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
First child (weekly)
£25.60
£26.05
↑ £0.45
Additional child (weekly)
£16.95
£17.25
↑ £0.3
HICBC starts at
£60,000
£60,000
No change
HICBC fully clawed back at
£80,000
£80,000
No change
Vehicle Excise Duty (Road Tax)
Metric
2024/25
2025/26
Δ Change
Standard rate (year 2+)
£190
£195
↑ £5
Premium-car supplement
£410
£425
↑ £15
EV first-year rate
£0
£10
↑ £10
EV standard rate
£0
£195
↑ £195
Who pays more in 2025/26? Three worked examples
Because the Personal Allowance, the higher-rate threshold and the employee NI rates are all unchanged, anyone whose salary was identical in both years sees no change in take-home pay. But the worked examples below show why salaries rarely stay still — a small wage rise can still push earners into materially higher tax bills because thresholds are frozen.
Profile
2024/25 take-home
2025/26 take-home
Δ
£30,000 PAYE employee (rUK)
£25,120
£25,120
No change
£80,000 PAYE employee (rUK)
£56,957
£56,957
No change
£50,000 self-employed (Class 4)
£40,268
£40,268
No change
These figures cover income tax and National Insurance only (no student loan, no pension, no benefits-in-kind) and use the rates imported directly from our 2024/25 and 2025/26 data files. For your own numbers, use the Take-Home Pay calculator.
⚠
Changes hitting employers hardest
The combined effect of the secondary-threshold cut from £9,100 to £5,000 and the rate rise from 13.80% to 15% is a cost increase for every employee. On a £30,000 salary, employer NI rises from around £2,884 in 2024/25 to £3,750 in 2025/26 — roughly an extra £866 per worker per year. The Employment Allowance was raised from £5,000 to £10,500 to soften the blow for small employers, but only the first £10,500 of NI is reclaimable, and the allowance is no longer restricted to small employers (the £100k payroll cap was removed). Most mid-sized businesses are materially worse off.
Frozen for another year (and why it matters)
Nearly every headline allowance for individuals stayed exactly the same between 2024/25 and 2025/26. With CPI inflation running around 3% and wage growth around 5%, this freeze is doing a lot of quiet revenue-raising work — what the Treasury calls "fiscal drag".
Personal Allowance — frozen at £12,570 (since 2021/22)
Higher-rate threshold — frozen at £125,140
Additional-rate threshold — frozen at £125,140
Dividend allowance — frozen at £500
CGT annual exempt amount — frozen at £3,000
IHT nil-rate band — frozen at £325,000 (since 2009)
IHT residence nil-rate band — frozen at £175,000
ISA total allowance — frozen at £20,000 (since 2017/18)
Pension Annual Allowance — £60,000
NI Primary Threshold and UEL — frozen at £12,570 / £50,270
The OBR estimates the income-tax and NI threshold freezes alone will raise £40+ billion a year by 2028/29. In effect, the government collects ever-larger tax bills without ever increasing a published rate. If you had a pay rise this year, a meaningful slice of it will go to tax that wouldn't have applied if thresholds had risen with inflation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest tax change between 2024/25 and 2025/26?
For employers, the biggest change is the rise in employer Class 1 National Insurance from 13.80% to 15% combined with the secondary threshold dropping from £9,100 to £5,000. For workers, the National Living Wage rise from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour is the most visible change.
Did the personal allowance change in April 2025?
No. The Personal Allowance remains frozen at £12,570 — unchanged since 2021/22. It is currently set to stay frozen until April 2028, which means more people drift into paying income tax (or higher-rate tax) each year as wages rise. This is known as fiscal drag.
Has employee National Insurance changed?
No. Employee Class 1 NI stayed at 8% (between the Primary Threshold of £12,570 and the Upper Earnings Limit of £50,270) plus 2% above that. The two cuts to employee NI happened earlier (Jan 2024 and Apr 2024).
What happened to Business Asset Disposal Relief?
The BADR rate increased from 10% to 14.00% on qualifying disposals from 6 April 2025. The lifetime limit of £1,000,000 is unchanged. A further rise to 18% is scheduled for April 2026.
Did Stamp Duty (SDLT) change?
Yes. The temporary nil-rate band of £250,000 (in place since Sept 2022) reverted on 1 April 2025. The standard nil-rate band is now £125,000, and the first-time buyer threshold returned from £425,000 to £300,000 (max property price £500,000).
Are electric vehicles still tax-free?
No. From April 2025, EVs pay VED. New EVs registered from April 2025 pay £10 in the first year, then the standard rate of £195 (matching petrol/diesel cars). EVs costing over £40,000 also now pay the £425 expensive-car supplement.